Employee engagement leads to greater productivity

Productivity has become a major focus of organisations around the world, as employers place increased demands on their staff members in order to drive greater performance. 

However, there is another element to productivity that is sometimes overlooked by companies – employee engagement. 

Staff engagement levels can have a significant impact on how much work they achieve and their long-term contribution to an business. With staff more mobile than ever when it comes to employment, engaging people within a role has become crucial for retaining valuable workers.

That's according to research from the Harvard Business Review, which has found staff members that are engaged with their work also ranked among the most productive. In a survey of 568 companies with 500 or more employees, the study found that 71 per cent of managers feel employee engagement is one of the most important factors in overall organisational success.

Similar findings were reported when it comes to the use of recognition for high-performing staff members. Almost three quarters of respondents (72 per cent) reported that recognition of top staff members also helps to keep them engaged.

Clearly, engagement and productivity are self-reinforcing, with both playing a role in developing a high-performing workforce that is passionate about their work.

However, while these figures highlight the significant productivity benefits that come from engaged staff, these workers are still in a minority. Only 24 per cent of respondents stated their staff are motivated and passionate about their work, suggesting there is more work that can be done to keep staff members engaged. 

Organisations are also finding it harder to keep track of staff performance, especially against other business metrics like market share and customer satisfaction.

One option for companies looking to boost staff productivity and have actionable data to compare against other metrics is to use recruitment software like FastTrack360. This program makes it easy for businesses to manage their workforce and to keep staff engaged.