Institute Feature: How Employee Engagement Works

The Retail Learning Institute’s series on engagement brings industry experts into your business to highlight an innovative method for improving results and building a better culture. Beginning with an introduction to Employee Engagement, this series of classes discusses objectives for hiring and corporate culture creation, and then concludes with action items to start fostering engagement in your own business.

Course Description:

This series of short presentations is based on authoritative academic research evidence that explains what employee engagement is, how it impacts business performance, and which organizational building blocks are required to create and sustain it.

Since the concept of employee engagement was first introduced, it has been the subject of numerous research studies, which have identified it as a key driver of business success. Employee engagement not only boosts productivity, but it can also create a sense of fulfillment for associates. With traits such as persistence and adaptability, engaged employees create a positive and dedicated workplace.

Engaged employees can have a significant impact on financial performance. Employee engagement has been linked to better organizational health and well-being, including increases in annual revenue, a higher return on assets, more profitability, and greater shareholder value.

As this course explains, employee engagement can lead to better employee performance. It is also linked to lower employee turnover, which remains an issue for the grocery industry. Shrinkage, a continual problem for grocery, can also be reduced by increasing employee engagement. Furthermore, employee engagement can be a factor in customer engagement, which results in increased loyalty and satisfaction.

So, how do you build employee engagement? The fifth presentation of this series focuses on specific steps to start building engaged employees. Executives must first make engagement a core value and communicate the value of engagement. Hiring and building an engagement-focused culture are also key targets.

With the strategies presented in this course, retailers will learn more about what employee engagement is, and how to build it in their own businesses.