Employee engagement.  It’s all the rage.  Why?  Because for the first time in decades, leaders are acknowledging the undeniable connection between engaged employees and profitable revenue growth.  According to The Economist, 87 percent of C-Suite executives now recognize that disengaged employees are among the greatest threats to their business.  On the other hand, many of the most profitable companies in the world and the companies that are growing the fastest have the highest levels of employee engagement.

What is Employee Engagement
What exactly is employee engagement?  When a worker is engaged, there is an emotional connection to the organization and he or she trusts its senior leaders. Because of this, the employee goes above and beyond the call of duty, gives you a lot of discretionary effort, stays longer, has increased levels of productivity and creativity, and provides extraordinary customer service.

While there are several key drivers of engagement, one that stands out to me is having a digital workplace strategy that defines how your business operates through a common digital platform of tools and services.  When your “Digital Workplace House” is in order, employee productivity, agility, efficiency, communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration rise, resulting in higher levels of employee engagement.

This phenomenon occurs because people in every industry, in every country, and in every generation (yes, even Millennials), have something in common. They all want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, experience a sense of belonging, and “socially interact” with others in the process.  An inspiring digital destination enables this and then some.

Additionally, when your “Digital Workplace House” is in order, it sends a message to employees that you care about their success and are giving them tools to better meet customer’s expectations.  The outcome of this realization is increased employee engagement.

Employees today have much higher expectations than they previously have had in terms of their work environment and the tools their business provides to enable them to succeed.  Most employees have a number of personal productivity apps and devices that are easy to use, connected, and readily accessible (i.e. smartphones, iPods, Fitbits, tablets).  Their personal experience is seamless and positive, and the expectation is to have the same experience at work – if not better – as companies have deeper pockets and more resources at their fingertips than the average individual.

With this current reality, an extraordinary digital workplace is a must for any business that wants to grow, evolve, and enable, empower and engage employees.  The hard truth?  Engaged employees will give you blood, sweat, and tears.  Disengaged employees will give you scraps.  For this reason, creating a world-class digital workplace isn’t an option, it’s a business imperative.  Arm your people with an amazing platform of tools and services, and they, your customers and your bottom line will benefit.  The ROI is undeniable.

Jill Christensen is an employee engagement expert, best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. She was named a Top 100 Global Employee Engagement Influencer, authored the best-selling book, If Not You, Who? Cracking the Code of Employee Disengagement, holds a Six Sigma Green Belt, and works with the best and brightest leaders to improve productivity and retention, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth. Jill can be reached at +1.303.999.9224 or jill@jillchristensenintl.com.