why employee engagement should matter to employers.

As a concept, employee engagement is nothing new. Employers have long known that engaged employees are a good thing, but many still have a hard time articulating exactly why. So let's begin by dispelling the notion that employee engagement is a feel-good concept — something that receives lip service from executives and HR with no real benefit to the bottom line. In fact, the opposite is true.

There are a variety of real-world benefits businesses receive from having a highly engaged workforce: higher levels of productivity mean a boost to your bottom line, and a happy and healthy work environment can help attract new talent and improve retention rates to ensure that your top talent stays put.

In short, an engaged employee is a productive employee, and that has positive ramifications for every aspect of your organization. But these are far from the only benefits businesses reap from engaged employees.

the not-so-obvious benefits of an engaged workforce

Sure, a happy and invested workforce can be a boon to productivity. But there are a few less conspicuous perks, as well:

• Reduced absenteeism. According to a Gallup poll, U.S. companies with a highly engaged workforce enjoy a 41 percent reduction in absenteeism. Happy, engaged employees feel a responsibility to the company, and unnecessary absences go down accordingly.

• Lower turnover. The same Gallup survey found that companies with exceptional employee engagement experience 59 percent less turnover. Not only are these companies avoiding the hassle of a never-ending hiring cycle, they're also saving themselves the substantial outlay of money involved with frequent new hires.

• A circle of increased profitability. Engaged employees consistently produce better work, which leads to increased customer satisfaction, retention and referrals, which, in turn, lead to employee satisfaction and heightened engagement. It's a cycle of terrific outcomes all around.

But here’s the flip side: if your team is understaffed and overworked, stress, frustration and disengagement aren’t far away. Morale will plunge, and that shiny circle of profitability? It goes in the other direction, spiraling into lower productivity and decreased profits.

According to another Gallup poll, a mere 32 percent of employees in the U.S. are engaged at work, meaning that over two-thirds of employees nationwide go to their jobs every day with a feeling of detachment and disengagement. Luckily, there are some easy ways to keep your workforce as engaged as possible.

the importance of vacation

Here's a tip: encourage your employees to use all of their vacation days. With all this talk about productivity, telling them to take time off may seem like contradictory advice, but it isn’t — everyone needs time away from the workplace to unplug, rewind and recharge, leading to increased productivity upon return. (Speaking of vacation, look ahead to the holidays, as they’re the perfect time to boost employee engagement.)

And there’s no need to worry about coverage for those vacation days, because it couldn’t be simpler to partner with Randstad for short-term assignments. With three ways to hire through Randstad (temporary, direct hire and temporary to hire), coverage is assured:

• If you’re in need of temporary seasonal staff, have a hire whose loyalty is uncertain or need to meet demand during high-volume cycles, Randstad can have an experienced candidate ready in as little as a few hours.

• If you’re certain about hiring for a permanent position, direct hires are the way to go. Our qualified, pre-vetted network of nationwide talent means we can determine whether a candidate’s skills, experience and working style will be the right fit for your company and its culture.

• If you need to fill a gap immediately but prefer a trial period before making things permanent, the temporary-to-hire option ensures there’s no loss of productivity while you’re making sure your candidate is the right choice.

Sitting down with your Randstad partner to review staffing requirements and company culture will take the headache out of maintaining employee engagement during even the most demanding seasons. 

key takeaways

If employee engagement isn’t on your radar, you’ll be missing out on 59 percent lower turnover, 70 percent fewer employee safety incidents and 20 percent higher sales. With a little coordination, planning and the right partner, consistently high employee engagement is well within your reach. See how we can help you reach your engagement goals.