Employee engagement is a frequently used term. However, many employers are unaware of the true meaning of employee engagement. Engaged employees are fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work, taking positive action to further improve the organization’s reputation and advance its interests.
Many articles cite boosted productivity and higher retention rates, but it’s so much more than that. Engaged employees are the backbone of a construction business, especially in an industry with a large skills gap and the potential for high turnover as job growth rebounds in 2018. Prioritizing employee engagement will give companies the skilled, passionate workforce needed to be successful for years to come.
Profile of an Engaged Employee
Not all employees are the same, so don’t expect engagement to look the same for every employee. Just know that many of these characteristics are proof of a highly motivated, engaged worker. An engaged worker is:
- Willing to collaborate with team members on projects;
- Frequently recognized for their contributions to the team’s success;
- Seeking further development opportunities;
- Happy, motivated and well-equipped to handle day-to-day duties; and
- Highly committed to the quality of projects.
As projects come and go, and as the workforce evolves, these are the common characteristics among engaged employees—though many manifest differently in each employee. For example, Bob is seeking a degree at the local community college, whereas Susan is looking to join an organization for women in construction. Both are seeking opportunities for development, but in different ways. Work with employees to find personalized ways to develop these characteristics, so they can be among the 33 percent of employees who are engaged at work, according to Gallup .
Why Business Owners Want Engaged Employees
It can be easy to think employees stay with a company for the money, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, it’s quite likely that employees who are unhappy with their organization (yet have a competitive salary) will leave for another company where they feel they will be valued, even if the starting salary is slightly lower.
If an employee is engaged and enthusiastic about the work a company does, they will be much more likely to stick around, reducing hiring and training costs in the long term. As an added bonus, engaged employees are much more likely to speak positively about the company to their friends and networks, making a great source for referrals for open positions once the busy season rolls around. Engaged employees are also significantly safer than disengaged employees, with 49 percent fewer accidents and 60 percent fewer errors and defects, according to Gallup.
Engaged employees make easy work of performance reviews, as engaged employees tend to be higher performers than their unengaged peers. Higher productivity and performance means paths to succession will be clear, saving companies significant time and money when finding and training employees to fill roles left empty by retiring baby boomers. These baby boomers fill roles such as executives, project managers and other higher-level positions that are expected to see attrition rates of 20 percent in the next year, according to FMI, so it’s important to have engaged employees ready to step in.
Quick Changes to Make
If a company has a few highly engaged team members, contractors should use their enthusiasm to encourage other team members to improve their engagement. Help engaged employees to become leaders to actively engage others on the team. There are probably a few great examples on each contractor’s staff already. It makes great sense to use them to model engaged behaviors.
Are employees already engaged? Go the extra mile and reinvest the money saved due to engagement in development and recognition initiatives to keep the cycle of engagement going and to attract fresh faces to the company.
If employees are actively disengaged and searching for new employment opportunities, it’s time to kick company culture into gear and help bring them back from the brink. Consider working with employees to find incentives to stay, such as development opportunities, career paths in the company or collaborative projects to develop strong relationships on the team. Communication is key to the success of these tactics. Business owners should make sure they’re communicating clearly and frequently because nearly a quarter of employees from high-performing construction companies give and receive frequent feedback. If these small changes succeed, be prepared to watch retention rates drastically improve.
Employee engagement can often be ambiguous and tough for employers to fully grasp. By knowing what engaged employees look like, why they matter and how to get them, contractors can have a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting and retention.
