Download: How to improve employee sentiment and engagement

Employee engagement. It’s one of those things that people know about, but can’t neatly define. In fact, there are dozens of recognised definitions. And most don't talk about employee sentiment, or how to improve it.

Ask for a definition at the next HR conference you attend and you’ll likely get a mix of answers. That’s why we reviewed all leading definitions and simplified them down to one. Albeit with a decent pinch of behavioural thinking thrown in.

To us and our customers, employee engagement is:

The level of emotional sentiment and commitment an employee has to their work, their peers, and the company’s goals and purpose.

This is vital when it comes to improving engagement as it gives us measurable variables (i.e. sentiment and commitment) as well as factors we can measure against (i.e. our work, our company, our colleagues). When we talk about sentiment, we’re talking about two key things: attitudes and perceptions.

4 benefits of improving employee sentiment

Put simply, sentiment’s the way we see and think about work. We know our perceptions and attitudes impact our work-based behaviours. As such, sentiment impacts engagement which in turn impacts performance, loyalty and effort.

Your people are more productive

In 2015, a study found that improving employee sentiment and engagement led to a 150% jump in productivity.

Your people take less unplanned time off

Studies show that teams who have positive levels of engagement see a drastic reduction in the number of sick days. One piece of research suggested that absenteeism could be reduced by up to 41% where engagement fell in the top 20%.

Your people feel more comfortable sharing their ideas

A surprising outcome is that employees with high sentiment lead to improved innovative, 44% in fact. Whether this is because they are thinking more creatively, are more open to sharing their thoughts around innovation, or a mixture of both isn’t fully understood. But what cannot be denied is that engaged companies are more innovative.

Your people stay

Losing staff is a key challenge for many. Due to the significant increase in remote working over recent times, a focus on attrition is likely to grow. Good news then that engaged employees are more likely to want to stay with you for longer and put off any potential job hunt.

Download our practical guide on improving your employee sentiment, below 👇