A Path to Purpose: Employee Engagement in the Modern Workplace

In today’s competitive business landscape, employee engagement is more than a buzzword to be tossed around — it is quintessential to businesses of any size. On October 3rd, 2024, Dr. Shayna Cooke hosted a Lunch and Learn for the Brentwood, TN community. As Dominion Payroll’s Vice President of Human Capital, she shared her thoughts on promoting employee engagement in the workplace.

Let's review the key insights noted by Dr. Cooke and explore the power of finding purpose within the 9-5.

Why Employee Engagement Matters

Gallup explains employee engagement as “the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in the workplace”. Dr. Cooke takes this definition a step further by adding that employee engagement is “a deep connection people feel towards their work which drives motivation and a shared sense of purpose”. When employees are engaged, they are not only happier and more fulfilled, but they also drive significant business results. Promoting engagement will allow your employees to find meaning in their everyday work, increasing the drive for company-wide results. This investment in a company’s success can translate to:

• Increased Productivity: A recent Gallup poll shows that businesses with high engagement achieve 21% greater profitability. Employees who are invested in the business’s results are more focused and produce higher-quality work than those who are disengaged.
• Reduced Turnover: Employees who actively align with the company’s vision are less likely to search for other employment opportunities. This has shown a 59% lower turnover rate among businesses that have engaged employees. These businesses are able to retain experienced talent and intellectual capital while saving on recruitment, onboarding, and training costs.
• Improved Customer Satisfaction: Cooke shared a final, breath-taking statistic with the crowd. Gallup found that highly engaged workforces outperform their peers by 147% in earnings per share. Engaged employees will provide higher levels of customer service that will be noted by clients, even during the most tedious of service-related calls.

Layers of Engagement

Each company has different program needs depending on its size, current level of engagement, and workplace organization. Dr. Cooke identified three levels of engagement to strive for within your company.

• Surface-Level Engagement: this is your typical happy hour and team-building activities. Surface-Level Engagement strives for camaraderie and positive relationships among employees. These events promote a sense of belonging and well-being for your team.
• Longevity Engagement: this level of engagement focuses on the employee’s future with the company. With an emphasis on both personal and professional growth, longevity engagement strives to commit to long-term employee growth and reduce overall turnover. At Dominion, we use 30-60-90-day plans to outline what a new hire will be doing in their first three months with the company. For long-term employees, we ensure that each team member has a 1 on 1 with leadership each week to provide suggestions for the workplace.
• Purpose-Driven Engagement: at this level, businesses strive to align individual purpose with the organization’s mission and vision. This will help employees find meaning in their daily work and fuel their passion to work with the company. This level will execute mission-aligned projects, employee-driven innovation, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Creating a Culture of Engagement:

Explore practical strategies to build a thriving workplace by creating a culture of engagement. Start by surveying your employees to see how they want to engage with your workplace. From there, determine what programs to build around the recommendations. This can range from ongoing training, mentorship programs, leadership development programs, or cross-functional team projects. Whatever suits your business’s needs. Below are a few key takeaways to optimize your company’s engagement processes.

• Focus on Intentional Growth: design programs that align employee development with organizational goals, fostering growth on both fronts. Put a focus on growing people internally and investing in your team rather than replacing them with external hires.
• Leverage Experiential Learning: incorporate real-world training scenarios that allow employees to realistically apply and refine their skills. This will allow your team to apply their unique skills effectively.
• Build Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with external organizations to enhance your team’s learning experience. External partnerships allow for a richer, more diverse learning experience for the company.
• A Note for Companies with Remote Workers: Companies with remote workers must engage their employees with the utmost intention to drive purpose. Ensure ongoing communication with employees at all locations and provide virtual connection opportunities.

Conclusion

Building a culture of employee engagement is an ongoing effort that must be invested in, just as any other project. You can unlock your employee’s full potential by investing in your people, understanding their needs, and creating programs that foster their purpose and growth. Your employees are the engine of your organization’s growth and prosperity, allowing them to drive your business toward success through employee engagement.

?

If you would like to view Dr. Cooke’s Lunch & Learn recording, please click here.