Employee engagement set to drive productivity in 2020

David McCormack

Engaged employees can increase business productivity by as much as 25 % and businesses that prioritise an employment engagement strategy, are seeing not only a rise in productivity but a rapid return on their investment. David McCormack, Managing Director of employee engagement innovators HIVE360, explains.

Research suggests that around just one-third of UK employees are engaged with their employer and workplace, with some studies putting disengagement as high as 85 percent.

As growing numbers of staff are looking beyond financial gain to an employer that recognises the importance of a positive work:life experience for its workforce, the impact of employee engagement on an organisation’s productivity has been the topic of much research and debate.

Such studies have categorically proved the positive link between engaged employees and improved productivity. For instance, data reveals a clear increase in productivity of between 20 and 25 percent when a workforce says it is engaged with the business, and that engaged employees boost productivity by 18 percent and profitability by 12 percent.

A recent ONS survey found that output per hour in the UK was 15 percent below the average for the rest of the G7, making it the widest productivity gap since 1995. UK productivity continued to be low throughout last year, with statistics for 2019 indicating consistent negative growth for labour productivity.
Little surprise nor coincidence that this is alongside the rise in disengagement amongst the country’s employees. Doubtless, employee disengagement is contributing to the UK’s disappointing productivity figures given the clear correlation between employee engagement and high organisational productivity and performance across all sectors of the UK economy.

Businesses can take control and play a part in reversing the slide in UK productivity, by investing in a forward-thinking and relevant employee engagement strategy.

Engaged people are better people
As well as performance and productivity, employee engagement impacts positively on levels of absenteeism, staff retention and innovation, client and customer service, and on employee purpose and their communication of their employer brand. It has the potential to deliver a high financial return, as well as a powerful tangible differentiator for staff retention and recruitment strategies.

Firms must understand that employee engagement embodies more than monetary gain as the only reward for employees’ performance and productivity. They must proactively look after the current and future needs and expectations of their staff, with rewards their workforce really needs from flexible working, healthcare services, personal development plans, to financial and mental wellbeing support. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to employees not performing at their peak, becoming disengaged and unmotivated, in turn leading to sustained poor productivity for UK businesses and the wider economy.

For firms spending more and more time dealing with people issues, absenteeism and poor performance, or struggling to attract the best talent for the business, finding ways to better engage with employees has to be high on the agenda.

Everyone deserves the best work:life experience and the key to unlocking this is to take an innovative approach to employee engagement which has great communication, wellbeing support and financial benefits as its cornerstones. Engaged employees truly perform at their best. Employees will be more committed, innovative, creative, energetic, enthusiastic and ultimately productive, as engaging with employees and enhancing their work:life delivers the potential to ignite business growth and sustained success.

People feel engaged when they feel a connection, an attachment to their employer and visa versa, and an innovative employee engagement strategy is at its heart. An employee engagement model can truly empower businesses to achieve better engagement with their people by enhancing a workforce’s work:life.

HIVE360 champions a new model of employment administration and employee engagement for the UK market by empowering businesses to deliver essential communication, wellbeing support and lifestyle benefits to their people. The HIVE360 mobile App delivers a wealth of support and benefits:

• Personal doctor service
• Mental Health support helpline
• Care support and discount outlet
• Secure and encrypted central Pay portal
• User-friendly Pension dashboard
• Personal insurance policy discounts
• Health zone
• Online Training portal.

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