Employee engagement is a hot-button topic!
At Up Your Culture, we define employee engagement as an emotional commitment and willingness to give your best at work. Cultivating engagement takes a lot of communication, compassion, and dedication over a long period of time. It all starts with a strong investment at the leadership level.
As a leader, you may be thinking that sounds like a lot of work. What’s in it for me?
Happy Employees
First and foremost, high employee engagement leads to happier, more satisfied employees. You may be familiar with the story surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s tour of the NASA headquarters in 1961. As he walked down the hallway of the facility, he came upon a janitor who was mopping the floor. JFK stopped to introduce himself and asked the janitor what his job was at NASA. The janitor answered, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!”
It was clear the janitor was fully engaged in his job. He understood NASA’s vision and was motivated by his involvement. His energy was evident and inspirational to those who encountered him. Happiness is contagious!
Inspired Customer
I was recently waiting in line at a sporting event. It was twenty minutes after the gates were scheduled to open, and everyone was getting antsy. Finally, the attendants unlocked the gates to begin herding people through the metal detectors and scanning tickets. I made it to the front of the line, emptied my pockets, walked through the metal detector, and had my ticket scanned. The gate attendant said a monotonous “thanks” and moved on to the person behind me. “Thanks,” I heard her say after each person went through her line. I thought to myself, wow, she really isn’t enjoying her job.
As I waited for the rest of my group to make it through, I couldn’t help but notice the gate attendant working in the line next to mine. She smiled at a man with his son as they made their way through the metal detector. She asked the little boy if he’d ever been to a game before. When he replied he hadn’t, she asked what he was most excited about and told him where he could go to try to get an autograph before the game. The little boy’s excitement was obvious. I could tell the gate attendant was passionate about giving everyone the best experience possible at the game. I was certainly inspired and walked away with a smile.
Have you ever been surrounded by someone who clearly isn’t motivated by what they do? How about someone who clearly is? When you have high employee engagement, your customers notice.
Brand Improvement
Your company culture is part of your company's “brand.” Your brand isn’t necessarily what you say it is; it’s what your employees and your customers say it is. The strength of your culture and engagement is directly correlated to the strength of your brand.
We can all agree that we’re more likely to become repeat customers when we’re surrounded by those who are engaged in their positions. Your customers will feel the investment your employees have, and your brand will spread like wildfire. Now there’s your ROI - it’s as simple as that!
Pride Across the Company
With engagement comes a sense of pride, ownership, and investment. Every employee you have is critical to the success of your organization. You’re all in the boat together, rowing in the same direction towards the same vision. Productivity and quality increase when everyone takes pride in the work they do. You’ll create raving fans not only out of your customers but out of your employees themselves.
So, now that you know what’s in it for you are you ready to take the next step?
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