Engaged employees work passionately, are deeply connected to their organization, and drive the business forward. Disengaged employees, however, aren’t just unhappy at work but may also undermine the positive impact of engaged colleagues. Read this article to understand and combat the cost of disengaged employees and to learn how to lead them to the path of brand ambassadorship.
Your Brand
Talented employees, who are actively engaged, become strong brand ambassadors. Your employees know the business and they have valuable information, which can be shared and promoted to customers, prospects and employment candidates.
Engaged employees who feel supported by their company tend to project positivity around the brand as they service customers. Regardless of whether they are customer-facing or not, their level of engagement is witnessed by the marketplace; customers and otherwise.
Ultimately, employees are the marketers of your company as well as your brand representatives. For this reason, engaged employees could be your best advocates for obtaining and preserving customers.
Company Culture
Engaged employees are passionate about their careers and work hard to help the business grow. These employees know that when the business flourishes, so do they. Passionate and hardworking employees set the standard for their colleagues.
Disengaged employees tend to have the same effect, but it’s a liability. For example, when team members work alongside colleagues that put in the time, but aren’t bought into the importance of their role or the value of the product, it can be discouraging rather than motivating. By allowing disengaged employees to continue working for you, there’s a higher risk of losing engaged employees or lowering the standard of engagement.
The Bottom Line
Your business thrives on hard work and productivity, which is easily hindered by disengaged employees. Not only do disengaged workers tend to take more unplanned time off, they also are typically less productive and less profitable overall. Hardworking employees know that they flourish within businesses that are growing. Disengaged employees do not feel connected with that outcome and they are not committed to going the extra mile to see the company succeed.
Ultimately, finding ways to engage your employees will result in more leveraged use of employee time at work and even decrease unplanned time off.
How to Effectively Engage Employees
If employees are an organization’s more important assets, then leaders and managers should prioritize their care. Employers have the unique and valuable opportunity to create fulfilling experiences, empowering employees to do their best work.
So, how can you effectively engage your employees? Take a look at the following ways to better engage your employees and improve company culture:
- Implement flexible scheduling;
- Offer a benefits package;
- Work with employees to develop career paths / opportunities for advancement;
- Require engagement from managers and supervisors; and
- Use Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Surveys to measure engagement at your organization.
To learn more about these points, read another blog by Best Employee Surveys titled “5 Simple and Effective Ways to Enhance Employee Engagement.”
