Employee engagement has taken on new meaning and greater importance in 2021. With many contending with the Great Resignation, employee engagement has become essential for business continuity.  

To strengthen your engagement strategy going into 2022, we’re looking back at some of the most revealing and impactful employee engagement trends from 2021. Review them, learn from them, and move forward with confidence. 

1. Only 36% of employees are engaged in the workplace. 

We define employee engagement as the emotional commitment an employee makes with their workplace. When employees are engaged, they’re not just going through the motions. Rather, they feel like part of your organization, are connected to their work, and want to see the company do well. 

For the average U.S. workplace, only about one in three employees are engaged at work. It’s higher than the global average of 20%, but there’s still lots of room for improvement. 

2. 74% of disengaged employees are actively seeking new opportunities or keeping their eye out for openings. 

 Disengagement is synonymous with dissatisfaction. Of the disengaged employees, three out of four are actively looking for a new opportunity. When the right one comes along, they won’t think twice about leaving their current job. In the current climate, the reasons for such a high level of disengagement are many:  

• Workers were forced to return to the office when they preferred to work remotely. 
• Employees are burned out from picking up the slack left behind by large turnover events. 
• Employers focused more on business continuity during the pandemic and neglected to make engagement a priority. 

There’s a lot we can add to the list. The most important thing to know is that when employees are disengaged — for whatever reason — they are more likely to leave an organization. As we’ve seen with the Great Resignation, turnover can create a domino effect that often makes a problem worse before it gets better. 

3. Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their employer. 

Turnover happens, even when employees are engaged. But it happens less often when your employees feel emotionally connected to their work and the company. Further findings show that engagement starts with the very first day of onboarding. New hires are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years if they enjoyed their onboarding experience. This critical time period sets the tone for the employee experience and continues to play a role in their work. 

4. Companies with high employee engagement enjoy 50% greater customer loyalty and 89% customer care satisfaction. 

There’s something to be said for employee engagement ROI. Not only does it help keep your best talent on board, but it also boosts your business’s image. Employees are passionate about the company and want to create a positive image. They treat it like their own, which can help to add more value over time. 

Does your employee engagement strategy need a boost for 2022? Reach out to Zenvoy today to schedule a demo.