Employee Engagement vs Employee Satisfaction

Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organisation, and put discretionary effort into their work – as defined by CustomInsight.

Employee satisfaction is different. It can tell you how happy your employees are but not their level of motivation, involvement, or commitment. Job satisfaction is different for everyone and some people are just happy to have a job which provides a monthly income.

Why is employee engagement important?

Engaged employees look at the company as a whole and understand where and how they fit in. This leads to better communication and more effective decision making.

Now that careers are more mobile than they ever were, as opposed to ‘a job for life’ it is essential to be able to retain top performers as well as attract top talent. Employee turnover is an expensive business, but engaged employees can help to improve profitability and productivity whilst lowering inferior work quality and non-attendance.

In March PwC surveyed more than 2,000 UK workers from a range of industries and found that:

  • 18% said they were “very or extremely likely” to switch to a new employer within the next 12 months
  • Gen Z and Millennial workers were most likely to be seeking new jobs, raises or promotions

So how does it work?

Managers – You need to start at the top with great managers who act as part of the team and who lead by example; those who encourage their team to feel that they belong and cultivate an environment where employees feel a personal responsibility for their own work and that of the team.

Transparency – A survey conducted by SurveyMonkey found that 48% of all employees rated transparent leadership as extremely important.

Appreciation – Sounds obvious, but employee appreciation is neglected. If someone does a good job, praise them for their achievements. Acknowledgement by managers and peers goes a long way to revitalise the workplace.

Employees who feel they have supportive supervisors are 67% more engaged and are more likely to stay with your company.  And those employees who are content and engaged are 12% more productive at work. (SurveyMonkey)

What about freelancers and contractors?

So, we know it’s important to engage with your staff, and employee initiatives are the norm for today, but what about your freelancers and contractors?

It is equally as important to keep everyone who works for you engaged by affording them the same curtesy as permanent employees. Engaged contractors will be eager to learn more about your company, and adapt to your vision as they work through your project. Talent UK report that engaged contractors have been shown to increase profitability by 21%.

Attracting and retaining the right talent

According to LinkedIn, the UK labour market is now at its tightest in more than four decades, there are fewer unemployed people for each job vacancy than there were before the pandemic struck. One in two organisations  are citing that recruiting talent is their biggest challenge for 2022 and the Government website recently crashed with the number of Apprentice adverts being uploaded.

A lot of companies are finding it increasingly difficult to find success with job advertising at all levels and are struggling to attract and retain the ‘right’ qualified applicants.

Reasons why finding and retaining the best talent is important

1) Productivity
Most employees contribute to the productivity of an company. Therefore hiring the right people can contribute to the overall growth of your company and can also lessen the need for you to hire more employees. The right employees are an investment that will pay off in the future so attracting them and retaining them is an important strategy.

2) Saves Time and Money
Hiring the right person is a lot more cost effective than getting the wrong type of employee. Ensuring you have an Employer Value Proposition and brand in place is a very good investment and really supports sustainable growth.

3) Domino Effect
Employees are people first and foremost and they each have their own attributes they can bring to the business. Some are positive, some less so. The right employee will create a long-lasting impact on not only your organisation but the people around them. Attracting and hiring the right employee will create harmony within your organisation, help achieve alignment and will lead to better growth and productivity.

4) Reputation
Your brand and what we’re talking about here as well is your employer brand needs to be fit for purpose in order to attract the right people. Hiring people is risky, get it wrong and can be expensive so mitigate the risks by developing a robust EVP and recruitment strategy. Empower the right people to come to you, so you don’t have to hunt for them. Make your proposition attractive.

5) Customer Satisfaction
Good employees respect their colleagues as well as the customers of your business. Your people will be interacting with your customers so maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction, regardless of the type of business is important. Statistics show that poor customer experience is the biggest reason clients stop working with a company. This then has a knock on affect with the people you want to attract. If your reputation is damaged, this can spread and deter people from wanting to work for you.

So, what is your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?

What can your company and culture offer applicants in exchange for their talent, skills, and experience?

As part of our  Three Two™ services framework, we can assist with Employer Brand Communications. In the hyper-competitive talent market, we’ll use award-winning strategy and creative to help you engage your employees, improve retention, and recruit the very best candidates for every role.

From EVP’s, recruitment campaigns, internal communications and magazines to intranets and social content, we’re able to help.

Give us a call on 01489 892602 or email us at [email protected] to find out more.