Do you ever wonder just how motivated and engaged your employees are?
When people are clear about their role and how their contribution makes a difference to the success of the business, they tend to feel committed to progress within your business and empowered to perform.
But what about the people who aren’t fully engaged in driving your business success?
In 2013, leading human resources consultants Aon Hewitt conducted an international research study exploring the impact of employee engagement on business growth. The report concluded that, in Europe and on average, only 57% of employees are engaged. Which means that almost 40% are not engaged in what the business is trying to achieve. And of this group, half are actively disengaged in what they are supposed to be doing i.e. there in body but not in mind and possibly with a significant record of absence.
Now here’s the crucial point. The study showed that typically a +5% increase in employee engagement produced in excess of 3% increase in sales! Aon Hewitt demonstrated a clear correlation between the two, an increase in employee engagement translates directly into growth in sales.
So, imagine your business is typical of the study findings – let’s say 60% of your staff are engaged. If you can increase that percentage by just 15% to 75% of your employees, that shift is likely to produce sales growth of almost 10% without making any additional financial investment. Isn’t that worth having?
Now imagine what might happen to your business performance if the 40% not currently in tune with your business became actively engaged. It would mean significant and sustained sales growth coming your way – and because it’s achieved through your people, this sales growth will profitably flow through to the bottom line!
And that’s not all!
The study identified which factors contribute to increasing levels of employee engagement – factors that also contribute to attracting and retaining the right talent in your business. Top of the list is career and development prospects – no real surprise to know that. This is closely followed by affinity/strength of connection to the brands in the company. Yes, it’s employee engagement! And, just in case you’re wondering, salary increases and bonuses come sixth or seventh on the list depending where in the world you are.
So, are your people proud to work on your brand? Do they associate closely with it? Do they want to invest their career in a business if it is at odds to their value system and what they aspire to achieve?
Your brand, what it represents and its sense of purpose is a key influence when it comes to your employees’ levels of engagement and their performance in their job roles. Attracting and retaining the right talent will build a strong team that will ensure successful business growth. Your brand is an incredibly powerful tool that can help shape and develop your company culture and how that impacts on business performance – day in, day out.
Branding and brand strategy isn’t just about having a nice logo. It’s about where your business is going and why. It’s about taking all that you/your business is passionate about, bottling that essence and presenting it as the best solution to your most valuable customers. It’s about how your business will create customers – and employees – who quickly become fans of your brand, who are loyal and recommend it to others, and so contribute to driving your business to the next level and beyond.
The message is clear. Get your brand right, connect your people to the brand and you’ll see significant upturn in profitable sales growth.
If you’d like to discuss how this might be achieved in your business, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s talk!
