The state of employee satisfaction and engagement is at an all-time low. In fact, one survey states that more than one-third of the currently-employed workforce in the U.S. is actively or casually looking for a job (Smarp)! Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report states that only 15% of employees are engaged at their place of work. Due to low engagement, employers have reported that retaining employees is harder than hiring them. This kind of turnover is detrimental to growth and negatively impacts productivity. Businesses experience a 21.2% loss of productivity when employee retention rates are low (Zenefits). These numbers are startling, but what can be done? What can businesses do to stop and maybe even reverse this trend?
Employee Engagement vs. Employee Satisfaction
Aren’t employee engagement and employee satisfaction the same thing? No, not quite.
Employee satisfaction is a worthy goal. Companies should certainly aim to satisfy their employees by providing a safe, comfortable workplace that offers them important and relevant perks along with appropriate recognition for a job well done. But are satisfied employees always engaged employees? According to Gallup, no.
Engaged employees are “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace” (Smarp). Engaged employees are motivated to show up to work every day and do everything in their power to help their companies succeed. Engaged employees are not just satisfied with their work and their workplace, they show up and actually do more work, contributing to increased rates of productivity and lower turnover rates. Engaged employees work hard and stay put.
How do you retain employees and increase employee engagement?
Effective, Engagement-Based Training
“Staff training is vitally important in increasing employee engagement. Employees feel valued through career enhancement and development, which increases motivation to achieve company objectives,” says Rachel Allen, Head of People & Culture at BPS World. Janne Hietala, Chief Commercial Officer at Valamis, agrees, asserting that, “When employees have lots of learning and development opportunities in their workplace, they are most likely more engaged and happier in their jobs” (CMSWire).
Utilizing industry-leading virtual training platforms has the greatest potential for improving training in any industry, and with more brands turning to these virtual platforms to get the job done, the Global Market Insight forecasts that the eLearning market will exceed $200 billion by 2024. With that kind of global investment, effective, engagement-based training is clearly on the right track to improve companies, one employee at a time.
However, not all virtual platforms are created equal. It’s critical to vet these platforms so you get the one focused on engagement and learning, not just getting everyone in a webinar-based system. Jigsaw Interactive is designed specifically for training and learning by providing multiple types and levels of engagement tools that can easily and effectively be used to produce an empowering and powerful learning environment.
In the next article, we will review what engagement-based training looks like, and how it translates in the world of virtual training.
