Have you ever thought about what defines the customer’s experience with your organization? The answer is simple, it’s your employees. In your organization, an employee represents the entire brand and how they interact with your customers is going to define the customer’s experience. Gallup recently released a meta-analysis report which showed that organizations with highly engaged employees record 21% better profitability and 17% higher productivity. If we go further into the statistics, companies that are leading in customer experience are the ones that have 60% or more engaged employees. Considering the impact employee engagement can have on the bottom line, executives around the globe have started to incorporate employee engagement as part of their business strategy.
If you want to lead the CX game, keeping employee engagement as an afterthought is no longer an option. Before we dive into how to develop an engaged workforce, let us first understand what warning signs to look for and if your employees are disengaged.
The Top Four Warning Signs That Your Employees Are Disengaged
Stagnant Productivity
If you notice your once hardworking employees aren’t delivering the same output as they once were, this is a sign that they are no longer feeling the same connection to their work. Disengaged employees are less concerned about the quality of the work and deliverables. This can be seen if they are missing deadlines they once would have easily completed on time.
Ignoring Social Networking
When employees withdraw into their shells and interact less with leaders and co-workers, it is a red flag that they are disengaging from the team. It’s important not to turn a blind eye when your once highly active employee becomes quiet.
No Drive for Improvement
When your top-performing employees lose interest in new challenges and stop progressing toward their career goals, this is a sign that they are no longer driven and are disengaged. A few indicators that an employee has lost their drive include them passing their responsibilities on to others or hesitating when offered new responsibilities.
Frequent Absenteeism
Frequent absences from work and meetings can show that the employee is actively disengaged. Taking frequent leaves without prior notice, arriving late or leaving early, and taking extended breaks during working hours all are red flags that should not be overlooked.
The Impact of Employee Engagement On CX
Happy employees lead to happy customers. Highly engaged employees are aligned with the organization’s purpose and consider the reputation of the organization as their own. These employees are driven and have a lively attitude which directly impacts the experience they create for customers. In today’s competitive CX landscape, your customers have multiple options to choose from. The experience that you create plays a critical role in deciding their loyalty. A study by Dr. Paul Warner shows that companies with high employee engagement retain double the customer loyalty than companies with average employee engagement levels.
Few of The Examples of How Disengaged Employees Impact CX
- A disengaged workforce that is demotivated can show their frustration on your customers and provide incorrect or misleading information to them. A negative interaction between the customer and employee will detrimentally impact the customer’s experience.
- Less engaged employees are likely to leave your organization, which increases attrition rates. When your customers notice this, it raises questions about the credibility of your company.
There have been instances where unhappy employees have negatively discussed their experience with a company to their customers, this should never happen.
Four Ways to Increase Employees Engagement
Make Your Employees Feel Valued and Give Them Purpose
Every single employee from interns to top management must feel valued in the organization. In order to do this, leaders must ensure that each employee is working in line with the company’s values and mission. Employees feel empowered when they are given a voice during meetings and discussions. Giving employees a purpose will cause them to be more engaged and therefore increase their value at your company.
Empower and Equip Your Employees to Serve Better
Your employees want to deliver the best, but they won’t be able to if they aren’t supported by the right tools and technology. At Etech, we ensure that our team members are equipped with the right tools and have access to great training programs. Providing your employees with the best tools can help in driving your team from attrition to retention.
Appreciate The Talent
Who doesn’t love to be appreciated? When an employee’s hard work isn’t recognized, it is often a turn-off for them. Praising employees on specific attributes usually drives higher engagement. A Hubspot study shows that 68% of employees said they would work harder if they were better appreciated. Recognizing their talent lets your employees know that you are paying attention to their work. Employees who work hard should gain the recognition they deserve. Recognition can range anywhere from gift cards, social media accolades, or bonuses, to a simple appreciation during team meetings.
Listen to Your Employees
As important as it is for you to share feedback with your employees, it’s equally important to listen to their feedback. By giving employees a platform to share their concerns, ideas, challenges, thoughts, and frustrations, you are letting your team know that you care for them and their experience. Active listening and effective communication of actions taken is very important. Your employees have an endless supply of data about customers because they are the ones who interact with them directly. This data can help improve both employee experience as well as customer experience.
At Etech, we believe technology is an enabler, but people are the core of a company’s success. It is always about the people. All in all, for an organization to flourish and create remarkable customer experiences, how effectively you engage with your employees matters. If you wish to join or partner with an organization that puts its employees first and prioritizes their needs to create remarkable employee experiences resulting in remarkable customer experiences, then Join Etech!
