Engaged employees contribute to the bottom line

From Business Wire...

Businesses looking for ways to increase sales and profits often overlook a critical component: employee engagement. In one of the largest research studies conducted on engagement, which found that one out of every 10 customers was hurt by disengaged employees. The research explores how employee engagement impacts a business in real dollars and suggests ways that businesses can capitalize on this opportunity.

Emotionally engaged employees believe they are doing something valuable for their organizations and that their efforts will make a difference. The positive feelings that employees have about their jobs and employers influence the level of service they give to customers. These positive experiences “spill over” to customers, who become advocates for the company’s products and services. In research, it has been that increasing employee engagement had a direct effect on customer engagement, which leads to increased sales and profits. Companies are missing a huge opportunity by not focusing on employees as a way to increase customer loyalty and engagement. This is especially critical in a slowing economy.

Job enhancers that, combined with the absence of stressful barriers, are effective at creating employees who are likely to be emotionally engaged. It is this emotional connection – the desire to do what is best for the organization – that spills over to customers, creating emotionally engaged customers. Critical job enhancers include:

*       Having a positive impact on the lives of customers and team members
*       Having opportunities for learning important new skills
*       Having the ability to offer suggestions
*       Completing whole jobs from start to finish
*       Receiving feedback about the results of efforts
*       Feeling free to perform the work the way they believe is best

“Engaged employees contribute to the bottom line. As their engagement is reflected in their service to customers, they are helping to create more loyal customers, and we know that highly engaged customers buy more products, refer potential customers to a company, stay longer and give more feedback, which, in turn, gives companies the opportunity to address issues and concerns and preserve potentially lost revenue.”