Business owners need to understand that employee engagement is just as important a part of running an organization, as keeping operations running at optimal efficiency. After all, your employees are the ones responsible for keeping everything moving forward, and if they’re not happy and fulfilled, it can affect the quality of your end product or service. A new study finds that even businesses that have good intentions about employee engagement have trouble guaranteeing that their efforts are effective.

A study by Gallup found that employee engagement in the workplace hasn’t increased in quite some time. In the United States, about 32 percent of employees can be considered “engaged” in their work. This identifier, engaged, is defined as someone who isn’t just content with their job, but rather those who are “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.” While these may be the type of employees that every business wants, they’re the ones that few employers manage to find.

This isn’t a problem with just United States employees, either. Only about 13 percent of the world’s workforce is considered to be engaged in their work, which makes this a major issue that cannot be ignored; particularly because it could be holding your business back from reaching its maximum potential.

One of the main reasons why employees continue to remain disengaged and dissatisfied in the workplace is that employers seem to be more concerned with the metrics behind engagement, rather than actually improving it. With survey tools available for most any business, it’s simple for companies to begin discovering what their employees really think about working for them. Yet, if you don’t use this data for anything, you can’t improve their opinions. This is like collecting data, and then not using it for anything at all, or holding a meeting to discuss a problem, only to never actually resolve the issue.

Below are four ways that your business can improve employee engagement and increase satisfaction:

• Provide them the tools to succeed: If your employees are frustrated about their working conditions, it might just be that you haven’t given them what they need to do their jobs properly. For example, an employee might be flustered and stressed out because their workstation is on the fritz, and IT hasn’t done anything to fix it yet.
• Understand what your employees expect: You may have hired your employees because of their unique qualifications, but you should also consider why the employee wants to work for you in the first place. It’s also important to realize that your employees have lives outside of the office, and that they may have goals that are completely unrelated to your business. If you want to get the most out of your employees, show them how you can help them achieve their own personal goals.
• Invest in your employees’ future: If your employees don’t see themselves working for you for an extended period of time, they will leave and find a position somewhere else that better accommodates their future needs. This includes providing them with benefits like health insurance, a retirement plan, and potential for advancement or professional development. These measures can show your employees that you appreciate their hard work, and that you want to see them stick around.
• Provide regular employee evaluations: Your employees want to know if they’re doing a good job, and how they can improve themselves. If you can take the time to provide good, quality feedback to them, you can show your employees that you want to help them improve their performance, and advance further in the company.

Does your business have a problem keeping your employees engaged? One way you can help is by guaranteeing that they have technology solutions that work for them. In most cases, SMBs have trouble managing technology, but outsourced IT solutions from Network Synergy can be a valuable remedy. To learn more, give us a call at (203) 261-2201.