The terms ‘employee engagement’ and ‘employee satisfaction’ are often interchangeable terms felt to be part of the same thing. They are in fact quite different. We all want employees feeling satisfied and fulfilled at work, but, if we want our teams to deliver outstanding, memorable customer experiences on a consistent basis, we need to understand the difference between the two.
What's the difference?
Defining employee satisfaction and employee engagement
Employee satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is the measure of to what extent employees like or feel content in their jobs, or whether they like aspects of the job and the workplace. The elements that make up the job itself and the role it plays in the life of the employee, contribute to how satisfied or dissatisfied an employee may be. For example, the tasks they complete on a daily basis whether there are good development opportunities, or whether they like the way they are supervised. These elements and how they all work coherently together impact how much a person likes the role they are in and in.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement refers more specifically to the results of a work-based approach, where each individual feels motivated to give their best every day and employees are collectively committed to helping the organisation achieve its goals.
It is about having a clear understanding of your role in the organisation and being excited and energised about how your role helps to move the organisation closer to achieving its objectives. Engaged employees feel they have a voice, they have the opportunity to express their views and ideas and feel that their contributions are considered as a part of the decision making process.
An engaging work environment is one where employees are welcomed as whole individuals, they are trusted and treated with respect. They are given frequent constructive feedback and they are encouraged and supported in their development, both within the workplace and personally. They are fully appreciated as members of the team and given genuine and timely recognition on a regular basis.
Going above and beyond
Engaged employees will go above and beyond for you. Satisfied employees will not.
And this is why it is important to understand that employee satisfaction and engagement, whilst related, are not the same. Engaged employees may feel satisfied with their jobs. But, satisfied employees don’t necessarily feel engaged with their work.
As a result of an approach aimed at engaging employees, individuals feel a psychological attachment to their work and their organisation. Because of this attachment, they not only give you their time, but their energy, their creativity, their flair and their passion. Satisfied employees give you their time and do their jobs well, but they won’t go above and beyond for you. And that is the key differentiator here. If businesses only focus on how satisfied employees are and only look to measure team satisfaction, they will never gain the benefits that follow from having an engaged, committed workforce.
What does engagement look like?
Think about some of your own experiences. The most memorable and touching experiences are likely the ones delivered by people who are engaged with what they are doing. The people who have found true meaning and purpose in their work and as a result have made a lasting impact on you and a true connection. They are the ones going above and beyond every single day.
The engaged employee is someone like Mark Weatherby, Operations Manager in Perth Australia, who takes his time to pro-actively look for opportunities for the business to make a great contribution to charity.
Mark took the initiative following a recent Waste discussion with the Service Partner Suez, who were offering a $10 Credit per 240 litre bin of Aluminium Cans & Bottle. Mark actually counted the number of cans and bottles that could fit into a 240litre bin and it actually equated to three times as much per bin. Mark discussed with the Tenant Services Manager an opportunity to approach a Charity [Save the Rhino] who would accept the Bottled and Can Waste instead.
So far over 3 months, Mark has generated over $1,800 to the Charity. In addition the plastic bottle tops are being kept for a separate charity that uses the caps to make plastic bionic hands for children through “Envision.org.” And, to complete his hat-trick, old un-used Spectacles are being recycled through Specsavers. Mark is requesting old glasses from the Commercial Tenants.
This is a great story of several initiatives within the Sustainability area and should be recognised as such. Well done Mark a great way to re-use waste!
Or Jennifer at Peabody, who has consoled her customer, listened with real empathy and acted as a real-life support.
In this case I wish you had an option to select more than one value because Jenny demonstrated every single one of them. It was only by God’s Grace, that my case was allocated to Jenny in the absence of my own housing manager, because I know without her I probably wouldn’t have gotten through the last few months. Jenny’s continued support meant more to me than she could ever imagine. She kept me informed at all stages, contacted me at least once a week to ensure that I was OK and through all my tears she never ever made me feel as if I was a burden. She actively liased with a wealth of departments both within and outside of Peabody to assist my case and provided me with comfort by letting me know that I could contact her whenever I needed to.
She is truly an amazing woman and I owe her an immense amount of thanks. I have been with Family Mosaic, then Peabody for over 10 years and during this time I have faced many challenges and I have never experienced the level of support that Jenny afforded me, so I am doubly grateful that Jenny was placed on this particular case as it has by far been one of the worst times of my life. Jenny thoroughly deserves to be recognised.
The people that deliver these experiences to customers are absolutely invaluable to your organisation, not just for your brand, but for the impact they make on the lives of your customers.
Since my husband’s tragic death…Kate has been an amazing help and strength to me. She has been there to help me when I was absolutely lost…
Conclusion
Putting your people at the heart of your business and the benefits of having an engaged workforce – the stats say it all.
Engagement and satisfaction are equally important but putting an organisation-wide focus on the former will generate better results for your business and for your employees.
Meeting employee expectations on the elements that make up their role, e.g. training opportunities, good management, providing the right equipment etc. will undoubtedly help in achieving high levels of employee satisfaction and this is highly valuable. But, the most successful organisations understand that employee engagement is part of a strategic business approach; something that is monitored, measured and discussed at board level. Woven into the fabric of the organisation, it needs to be nurtured and practiced in order to become behavioural.
Businesses with engaged people deliver 10% higher customer loyalty, 18% higher productivity and 23% higher profitability. Engaged people come to work everyday and bring with them their passion, drive and energy, realising 41% less staff absenteeism and 59% less staff turnover.
These stats showcase that you cannot afford to have disengaged employees. Motivation, commitment and loyalty are an essential in businesses standing out from the crowd and remaining competitive.