When your employees show up for work, are they really showing up for work? It’s easy to become complacent in any professional role. Over time, employees can become apathetic about their occupational success and disconnected from the work they’re doing.

If you’ve ever walked past an employee’s desk and noticed them scrolling through social media sites or asked for feedback from your team and gotten nothing but blank stares in return, you’ve witnessed this happening in real-time — and it’s a problem. 

Every company wants to keep productivity levels high and continue exceeding their operational goals, but to achieve that, they need to master employee engagement and retention. The people behind your business are the determining factor of your future success. No matter how incredible your product or service may be or how much cutting-edge technology you use, you will not be able to scale your business without a team of people who truly show up for you every day. 

But how do you create a culture of engagement? And how do you know it will benefit your business long-term? 

We’ll be answering these questions in just a moment, but first, let’s clarify the basics. 

Employee Engagement And Retention — What Are They? 

It’s important to have a foundational understanding of these terms before digging deeper into how they can benefit your business. Here’s what each term means: 

1. Employee Engagement 

Employee engagement refers to how enthusiastic and invested your team members are in their jobs. Engaged employees feel their role is vital to the success of the company they work for and are committed to completing their duties to the best of their ability. 

2. Employee Retention 

Employee retention is used to describe the ability of a company to hold onto its employees for extended periods of time. If the company experiences frequent turnover, its employee retention rate is low. If they are able to keep the majority of their employees for many years, their employee retention rate is high. 

Are Employee Engagement and Retention Related?

Yes, they are. A company’s ability to retain employees is a direct result of high engagement levels. Of course, we don’t expect you to just take our word for it, so here are a few examples of how these two elements correlate with one another: 

1. Less Absenteeism Increases Retention 

When employees are unhappy in their roles, they begin to miss work more frequently, calling in sick unexpectedly or taking extended stress leaves. This is a major concern for employers not only in terms of lost productivity but also because it’s a predictor of high turnover (which is extremely costly). 

Fortunately, studies show that highly engaged workplaces see 41 percent lower absenteeism rates than those with disengaged employees, making this one of the biggest reasons businesses commit to driving employee engagement. 

2. Engaged Workforces Are More Profitable 

More specifically, companies with the most engaged workforces tend to be 21 percent more profitable than those with low engagement rates. And what are profitable companies able to do that financially strained companies cannot? Offer more incentives that motivate employees to stay, such as more comprehensive health benefits packages, paid time off, or 401K match programs. 

Remember, actively disengaged employees cost their employers $3,400 for every $10,000 of salary, or 34 percent of their total annual wages. It’s far better to be proactive than to absorb such a significant loss. 

3. Both Indicate a Positive Company Culture 

Did you know 58 percent of employees have left a job or would consider leaving one due to a negative socio-political culture? Or that 70 percent of Americans say benefits and corporate culture are more important to them than salaries? 

We know that happy employees become long-term employees, so these statistics demonstrate the significance of company culture as it relates to both employee engagement and retention. 

5 Tips for Reaching Your Employee Engagement Goals 

1. Provide Advancement Opportunities 

One study recently found offering career mobility increased employee engagement by 49 percent. If you want to keep your employees committed to your company, completing regular performance reviews and promoting team members who demonstrate excellence is a sure-fire strategy. 

It is also important to offer training and professional development opportunities to your team members so they can continuously improve within their roles, gain new skills, and prepare themselves for senior-level positions. 

2. Be Generous With Vacation Time 

Engagement rates drop dramatically when employees are overworked and on the verge of burnout. For this reason, if you want to maintain a high level of engagement, it’s critical to provide your employees with adequate time off. Sure, it may seem counterproductive at first, but when you consider the fact that employees are 58 percent more productive after they come back from time off, the concept becomes more compelling. Plus, this is a no-brainer for improving team morale. 

3. Invest in Health and Wellness Initiatives 

Did you know employees who maintain proper nutrition through a healthy diet are 25 percent more productive? Or that nearly 86 percent of employees report improved work performance and lower rates of absenteeism after receiving treatment for depression? These are just a few examples of how health initiatives can be drivers of employee engagement. If you haven’t already, there’s no better time to invest in preventative mental health services that meet the needs of your team. 

4. Empower Your Leaders (So They Can Empower Their Teams) 

A positive, engaged workplace starts at the top. When your senior-level staff is informed of leadership best practices and equipped with the skills required to lead with compassion, integrity, and vision, they are more capable of establishing a healthy corporate culture where their teams can thrive too. This is why leadership and employee engagement must go hand-in-hand and why employers should make every effort to prioritize professional development for their executive teams. 

5. Allow For Flexible Working Arrangements 

A considerable 43 percent of employees say flexibility in working hours helps them achieve greater productivity. Now that there’s been a major shift towards working from home due to the pandemic, embracing flexible working arrangements may be more beneficial than ever. While it’s understandable that not all types of employee engagement strategies will work for every company, it’s recommended that businesses consider how they can be more accommodating when it comes to scheduling and remote working. 

Whether you’re considering investing in employee engagement training or simply looking for small, everyday techniques you can use to increase team morale, understanding the connection between employee engagement and retention is a fantastic place to start. We hope these strategies have provided you with some inspiration!

Attract, Empower, and Retain Your Workforce With LeggUP

We exist to help employers develop their leaders, prioritize wellbeing, and improve their retention rates. Our intuitive professional coaching and people development platform were designed to assist companies just like yours, care for their team members, and provide them with the support and resources required to excel within their roles. 

This is achieved through three key offerings: 

1. Inclusive Company Coaching 

We make it easy for businesses to implement company-wide training with our one-size-fits-all digital coaching platform. 

2. Leadership Development 

We make personalized one-on-one coaching sessions accessible and user-friendly via our industry-leading software. 

3. Mental Health Support 

Our preventative mental health platform is specifically designed to establish resilient, thriving teams.

We Invite You To Discover Why 73 Percent of Our Users Experience an Increase in Job Satisfaction!

How would your company benefit if your employees were 73 percent happier? You can find out by meeting with our team today. 

Is LeggUP the Right Fit For You?

We completely understand wanting to be 100 percent confident before investing in a professional coaching and leadership development platform. 

You can review our pricing here to determine if we’re a fit. 

You can also view a case study to learn more about the results we generate for our clients. 

And, of course, if you have additional questions or concerns, we invite you to get in touch at any time. Our trained and knowledgeable representatives are always ready to assist you!