Mississauga, Canada, April 8, 2016 – Innovative Professional Offices (www.InnovativeProfessionalOffices.com), a top provider of executive offices and support services, is commenting on a survey which found that a top priority for employers is employee engagement.
According to a new survey from Talent Keepers, over 82 percent of employers consider employee engagement a top priority for their workplace. The results indicates that more businesses now believe that it is important for their employees to be engaged in and enthusiastic about their work. (Source: Smith, S., “Employers Rank Employee Engagement as a Strategic Priority,” EHS Today, April 4, 2016; http://ehstoday.com/training/employers-rank-employee-engagement-strategic-priority.)
“We’ve seen a big shift from the days when businesses didn’t care about their employees’ satisfaction,” says Eshai Hirshberg, director of Innovative Professional Offices. “Now, more employers are realizing that engaged and satisfied employees have a huge positive impact on the success of a business. They work more, perform better work, and are less likely to quit their jobs.”
Talent Keepers does an annual survey on workplace trends. Their survey found that along with employee engagement, workplace “morale and culture” were also valued by employers, even over other metrics like productivity.
“The idea is that if you have an engaged workforce and a good business culture, that’s going to filter down into every aspect of your business,” says Hirshberg. “Studies have confirmed that these things can have a big effect. In the past, it’s been an area that’s been neglected, but we wouldn’t see these survey results if employers weren’t starting to realize the benefits.”
While employee engagement was considered a top priority, only 26 percent of employers said they were good at engaging their employees. While this was double the result from the previous year, it still indicated that most employers feel they are failing at satisfying their employees.
“Employee engagement isn’t easy,” notes Hirshberg. “Employers really need to be taking an active role to engage their employees. You can’t just put out an espresso machine or act friendlier. Employee engagement needs to be taken seriously.”
The survey also found that employers are spending less on employee engagement for the third year in a row. While this is troubling, Hirshberg says there are techniques that employers can use to engage their staff while staying on a budget.
“It’s been found that one of the things employees really value is training and learning new skills,” says Hirshberg. “Renting a training seminar room is very affordable, and having a few training sessions every couple months can keep employees really satisfied and happy. People like learning new skills and feeling like they can grow.”
According to the lead author of the survey, the greater number of millennials in the workplace is a challenge for businesses, who do not have experience managing or leading these types of employees. To combat that, nearly half of employers are now providing engagement training to their leaders, so they can improve office morale.
“Training is going to become more important as the workplace changes,” says Hirshberg. “When you have these demographic changes, training is essential for staying on top. Without training, you can start to see workplaces become outdated or ineffective.”
Innovative Professional Offices offers flexible arrangements for companies looking for furnished offices, meeting/seminar rooms and administration services. To learn more about all of the services offered by Innovative Professional Offices, visit www.InnovativeProfessionalOffices.com.
