You know who they are. Those unengaged employees who simply show up, do their jobs and then go home, not giving their work a second thought. However, the fully engaged employees also are obvious—those who are clearly passionate about what they do, why they do it and the impact their work is having on the world around them.
Unfortunately, high employee engagement among millennials—the largest workforce in the United States—is proving to be the exception and not the norm. A recent Gallup poll of more than one million participants revealed that less than one-third of millennials (29 percent) are engaged in their jobs.
The data underscores the critical difference employee engagement makes, considering that business units in the top quartile of employee engagement realize multiple key benefits that directly impact the bottom line. Specifically, engaged employees:
- are 17 percent more productive;
- experience 41 percent less absenteeism;
- have 10 percent better customer ratings;
- are involved in 70 percent fewer safety incidents; and
- are 21 percent more profitable than business units in the bottom quartile.
Millennials make up 38 percent of the current workforce, but in less than 10 years they are expected to account for a staggering 75 percent of America’s labor pool. This is why today’s savvy forward-thinking employers are seeking innovative strategies to increase employee engagement among millennials, to benefit all involved now and into the future.
Drivers of Millennial Employee Engagement
To find the best ways to engage millennials, it’s important to understand why current engagement levels are so low. In order for engagement to occur, an employee must feel a sense of purpose in their work. While this can take many forms, one way is to empower employees to make a meaningful and quantifiable impact in helping address environmental and social issues.
Confidence in their leaders is also critical for employee engagement. A survey conducted by Australian startup Culture Amp found that 74 percent of respondents consider confidence in their leadership as a key driver of engagement. The good news: this means the ball sits squarely in the company’s court within its own span of control.
Make Work Meaningful
For millennials, making a difference isn’t exclusively about money. Simply passing around the proverbial cup for charitable donations won’t cut it to get staff pools fully invested in a cause or overarching company culture. Rather, there must be a direct, hands-on connection with the problem, issue or goal being addressed. Millennials are motivated to give themselves and their talents—not just their money.
One way to do this is to build a socially conscious, cause-minded company culture through fun and simple campaigns that galvanize groups for a greater good.
For example, if a company’s goal is to improve staff physical fitness and, in doing so, lower the city’s escalating obesity rates (and mortality and economic concerns related thereto), challenges might include skipping the elevator and taking only the stairs, drinking eight glasses of water a day or taking a local exercise class during the lunch break.
A company can seek third-party solutions to foster optimum millennial engagement in the workplace or curate an approach in-house, but the overarching initiative must accomplish key concerns. This includes giving employees a sense of purpose and empowerment while also giving management a confidence boost. A solid program will also facilitate team building endeavors and curate staff pride in the organization, all while building excitement in the company culture.
