What You Can Learn From 2018 Employee Engagement Statistics

Organisations usually aim for high employee engagement. Why? Because it translates into lower turnover, higher productivity, fewer safety incidents, lower absenteeism, better customer ratings and higher profitability.

The following statistics of 2018 bring attention to the alarmingly low rate of employee engagement, as well as provide insight on what organisations can do to achieve high employee engagement:

1. Only 15% of employees worldwide are engaged in their jobs. (Gallup)

2. 42% of employees think learning and development is the most important benefit when deciding where to work. (Udemy)

3. Offering career training & development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their jobs. (Bridge)

4. Only 15% of adults say they wouldn’t leave their current job for any reason. (Yoh)

5. 83% of employees who joined mentoring programs think that their experience positively influenced their desire to stay at their company. (River)

6. 60% of employees think that meetings are a source of distraction. (Udemy)

7. 77% of employees said they would accept a job offer if they knew they could telecommute. (Robert Half)

8. 77% of workers say they are more productive when working away from the office. (Upwork)

9. 32% of workers would take a 10% pay cut for a job they’re passionate about. (Jobvite)

10. Organisations with a strong learning culture enjoy employee engagement and retention rates around 30-50% higher than the ones that don’t. (Robert Half)

We can learn a lot from these statistics. Even though employee engagement seems very low worldwide, there are many ways to improve an organisation’s engagement levels. Some of them are::
 

Opportunities to learn and develop skills

Smart employees know that one needs to keep learning and gaining new skills in order to stay ahead. Those who are content of being stagnant without growth opportunities are not engaged and don’t feel valued. Once employees realise their potential, they will feel more valued and more engaged with their work.

Career training and development

This is similar to the last point but it is more about the career path rather than knowledge and skills. It’s not easy to wake up and be happy to engage in a job that with no option for promotion. (Read: Staff Training & Development - Is it Worth the Time and Costs?)

Provide a mentoring program

Giant organisations such as Boeing, Caterpillar, and Zynga have been praised for their great corporate mentoring programs. There are many options for either formal and informal mentoring programs. Both of these programs can help improve employee engagement, but it depends on which one that fits the organisational culture.
 

Don’t make meetings a distraction

There are many employees whose schedules are filled with meetings. Most of the time, they are too nice or nervous to decline a meeting invite when they know they don’t need to be there. Organisations that are more efficient and productive will train their employees to create meeting invites to only invite those who need to be there. It’s not easy to enjoy work and be effective when you have unnecessary meetings interrupting your day.

Offer ways for telecommuting / flexible workplace

Telecommuting can be beneficial for employees and the organisation. It can be very refreshing to get a change of scenery and get away from the monotonous office environment. Though there are some job requirement that simply don’t allow this, one should know that relaxation is also very important. So for jobs that don’t allow a change of scenery, employers could encourage employees to use vacation days and re-energize instead.
 

During selection process, measure job interest and passion

There are a few ways to measure job interest and passion. A job analysis can identify tasks, elements and competencies that are important for a job. Then personality assessments, cognitive ability tests, realistic job previews, simulations, and interviews can tell if the candidates have high competency level. Hire the right people with high job engagement potential.
 

Create a strong learning culture

A company culture could influence employee engagement. A company culture that revolves around learning will allow employees to learn naturally and consistently. When this culture is created successfully, every employee will become a resource. This culture allows for an environment of learning where everyone is a teacher and a student.
 

Employee engagement is important not just for the employee but also the organisation. Nobody wants to work 40 hours a week doing something that doesn’t interest them! These suggestions will help both parties to achieve success.

Is your company hiring? Hiring is fast and easy at AJobThing.com try it today.

This article is adapted from 10 Employee Engagement Statistics of 2018: How to Learn From Them by Trevor McGlochlin