http://www.vbrag.com/index.htmlA 360 degree view of awarding anyone around youeninfo@vbrag.comCopyright 2009 Vbrag Inc.2009-09-01T22:23:05-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:18:30 -0500info@vbrag.comEmployee Engagement2009-09-01T22:23:05-05:00http://www.vbrag.com/blog/files/9fd75f48386fac5c44a2b0c587340d68-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.vbrag.com/blog/files/9fd75f48386fac5c44a2b0c587340d68-0.html#unique-entry-id-0The VBrag team knows that employee recognition is important not only for the employee, but also for the employer. Lack of a sustainable, company-wide system that promotes employee engagement by way of recognition puts the employer organization at risk to its competitors. Consumers pay for the lack of employee recognition in the long run with less than desirable customer service. How many times have you made a call to a company and hung up wondering why the person on the other end was less than helpful? More than likely the employee on the other end suffers from systemic disengagement.

Not only does employee disengagement lower the customer service experience, it hurts the consumers where it counts most in this economy – the pocketbook. According to a 2008 Gallup poll, lost productivity costs the bottom line of American business approximately $300 billion annually (2008). Obviously, those costs are passed on to the consumer.

And guess what? Unengaged employees are not productive. In fact, a disengaged employee’s attitude and work ethic spreads among other employees and is akin to a blood clot in the organization. The negative attitude and lack of productivity forms as a small clot and gradually becomes larger and larger and eventually, if not treated, can clog the organization and create irreparable damage and even death.
The disengaged employee syndrome is not the fault of only the employee. In surveys conducted by VBrag, we found that nearly 29% of respondents reported that their employer only recognizes them when they “do something exceptional” and an additional 15% reported that their employer only recognized their efforts “during their scheduled review.” This systemic lack of appreciation is the fault of management.

In a long term (30 year) study of 125+ organization, Gallup estimates that “engaged organizations have 2.6 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with lower engagement in the same industry.” Organizations that demonstrate gratitude toward their employees make more money.

One of the many costs related to employee disengagement is the cost of employee turnover. It is significant. There are several studies that claim the replacement rate for a position costs between 65% - 115% of the salary. Remember, there are costs associated with the resignation (i.e. time taken to transition duties to others, the exit interview and the IT costs to cancel accounts), the recruitment (costs of ads, time of recruitment and HR personnel), on-boarding, training, and decreased productivity. Costs can be significantly higher in the case of key employees.

An organization with a culture dedicated to employee recognition on an ongoing, sustainable basis will create a more engaged workplace. Engaged workers are absent far less, more productive and contribute more to the bottom line. An organization with high levels of employee engagement have a competitive advantage over their competitors. Happy employees foster happy customer relationships. Happy customers buy more. We can all see where this leads!

There are many tools that, together, can create a culture of employee engagement – recognizing employees on a regular basis is a simple and low cost tool to implement. Keep visiting VBrag.com to learn about the virtual offerings that are in development now.

VBrag’s mission is to create an internet based subscription service to help organizations and individuals recognize, brag about, reward, and reengage their employees, friends, members, volunteers, partners, vendors, and customers. ]]>