Workforce Management Featured Article
Employee Engagement Drives Business Outcomes
The employee experience is not often on the top of priority lists among company leaders. The customer is a key focus for sure, as is the brand, social networking and market performance. Without a close focus on the employee base, however, companies may be ignoring an important asset that can be used to better the experience for the customer as well.
MLive recently focused on a study conducted by Stryker Corp. The company likes to measure the engagement of its employees. This is an important and ongoing practice for the company that values passionate employees. While the company may employ workforce management initiatives to ensure efficient operation, monitoring and encouraging engagement is actually the leading indicator for business outcomes.
In examining a broader scope, consider a new study by Gallup. The firm determined that sleepwalking employees – those who are not engaged in their jobs – are actually costing U.S. companies $450 to $550 billion each year in lost productivity alone. Its State of the American Work Place report shows that only 30 percent of U.S. workers are actively engaged in their work. Another 70 percent are checked out or unhappy with their careers.
For those who may question the data, Gallup received responses from more than 25 million, with 22,000 of those from Stryker employees. Roughly 52 percent of the same workforce reports that they are emotionally disconnected from their work, while another 18 percent are actively disengaged. A company, according to Gallup, will easily bleed as a result of disengaged workers.
Stryker doesn’t appear to be bleeding. In fact, Gallup recognized the medical device maker with a Great Workplace Award in 2013 for the sixth time. This award is only given to companies that have five times the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees. When employees are highly engaged, business outcomes are exponentially higher. For Stryker, that engagement is largely due to the priority placed on employee development.
The pitfalls associated with disengagement are a threat to any organization, especially if they don’t pay attention to the impact. If it’s not important to top management that employees are engaged, there is little motivating the employee beyond completing his or her tasks for the day and then walking away. It does little for business development and doesn’t contribute to a strong bottom line.
For those companies that want to change the tide, however, workforce management is a great place to start. It enables company leaders to address a diverse workforce and offer solutions that match the culture of the company and the needs of its employees. By deploying a tool that focuses on empowering employees to meet the needs of the business, they become more engaged and the company profits.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi