Increased Employee Engagement and Larger Profit Margins 'Go Hand-in-Hand'

An article written by Amanda Silliker, a Canadian HR Reporter, explains how engagement in the workforce can result in increased company profits. “People work harder when they are engaged,” said Mark Jackson, managing director of the Hay Group in Western Canada. Employees who are in a disengaged work environment are less likely to feel personally committed to the vision, mission and values of their organization as well as their clients. Employees who are more engaged at work, deliver a higher degree of quality service and products to their customers while staying personally committed to the organization.

“There’s no doubt those two variables do exist together – high performing organizations and high engagement go hand-in-hand.” – Julie Naismith, director of consulting services at Towers Watson in Toronto

Take a look at these statistics:

• Companies with high engagement levels have profit margins almost three times larger than organizations with disengaged workers. This was surveyed by 32,000 employees globally, including 1,000 from Canada. – Global Workforce Study
• Nearly all (97%) of Canadian employees that are highly engaged believe they have the work tools and resources they need to achieve exceptional performance. This is compared to only 20% of disengaged employees. – Tower Watson Report
• Not having the proper access to the resources, tools and support can leave employees frustrated. 33% of workers claim to have barriers put in place by their employer, preventing them from excelling. – Hay Group Report
• Only one-third (38%) of Canadian employees believe their senior leaders encourage and support a healthy workforce, while 39% think senior leaders have a sincere interest in their well-being. Create a presence with employees and break this perception by having open communication and by reaching out to them through all media available. – Towers Watson Report

In Canada, the number one driver of employee engagement is senior leadership. “A lot of it with leadership is symbolic actions, its often not the strategic things, the thought-through things or the things your communications and PR (public relations) team can help you with – it’s the symbolic things you do every day as a leader.” says Julie Naismith.
Read the full story here.
Silliker, A. (2012, August 13). Engagement Linked to Profits: Report. Canadian HR Reporter,pp 1-2.