4 Unexpected Drivers of Employee Engagement

As companies and HR professionals look for ways to increase employee satisfaction and engagement, understanding the drivers of engagement becomes an invaluable tool. Eighty-seven percent of corporate executives said that achieving high levels of employee engagement was their most important goal according to a recent survey by Deloitte University Press. And the results of an engaged workforce are dramatic and well-documented: Businesses in the top 25 percent in employee engagement numbers outperformed bottom-quartile units by 10 percent on customer ratings, 22 percent in profitability, and 21 percent in productivity, according to a 2013 Gallup poll. Additionally, these businesses experiences lower turnover, shrinkage, and absenteeism—as well as and fewer safety incidents and product quality defects. With that in mind, here are a few of the top proven ways to drive employee engagement:

Relative Pay

In 2016, U.S. employers are expecting to raise the median base salary three percent, making it the fifth consecutive year of wage increases. While increased pay rates may seem to correlate with higher engagement and satisfaction, evidence suggest that it is “relative pay”—what an employee is compensated relative to their expectations and what their co-workers make—have a stronger impact on employee satisfaction and subsequent engagement.

Performance-based Incentives

“Today’s new pay reality for employees is one where guaranteed pay growth is out, but companies remain quite willing to pay for performance—even more so if those individuals can drive business innovation,” says Tom McMullen, a vice president in Hay Group’s Reward Solutions Consulting practice. By incentivizing individual excellence with benefits accruals, companies invest in the human capital of their staff, and the staff in turn commits more energy to their tasks.

Flexible Work Options

Data recently released from the Calgary-based WORKshift conference suggests that flexibility in hours and worksite can boost employee engagement nearly 90 percent. While some wiggle room built into time and attendance can result in impressive engagement gains (typically boosting positive engagement 14 percent), the biggest driver was the ability for employees to work remotely—increasing high engagement levels from 18 percent to 34 percent overall. And with software-as-service and cloud-hosted workspaces, it has never been easier to coordinate organizational structure across mobile platforms.

Mobile Survey Tools

With the ubiquity of mobile devices and offsite workers, mobile survey tools allow administrators to take the pulse of employee engagement in real time—using the platforms  that employees are already comfortable with. Through apps like Nudge Rewards, companies have seen huge gains in participation: close to 85 percent of every piece of information accessed through the Nudge app gets read, up from 25 percent average response rate through traditional emails. HRnext Holdings provides personalized, flexible service and single source HR software that can help you track engagement and more. Fully integrated with payroll, time & attendance, and benefits administration systems, our secure HR solutions can ensure you are getting the most out of your human capital.