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The contemporary business world has come a long way from how it began. In this revamped corporate world, things are no longer limited to the virtue of employee satisfaction. Given the overwhelming competitiveness in the modern world, you need a lot more from your employees besides the feeling of mere satisfaction. This is why business strategies now emphasize dimensions like employee engagement, workplace belonging, retention, upskilling.
A sense of belonging among employees is something more than a feeling. Are you looking for ways to cultivate a radiant sense of belonging among your employees? There are some fascinating business benefits linked to fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace. Employees are at their best when they feel that they belong in the organization. This sense of belonging is pivotal to their motivation, comfort, and allegiance to the organization. To clarify, let us delve deeper into the merits of workplace belonging.
Driving high employee engagement has become a key priority for business leaders. More and more leaders are now acknowledging the significance of active employee engagement. In fact, Gallup shows businesses with engagement can achieve 22% higher profitability than others. That is indeed a great reason to pay heed to engagement.
Does fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace add to employee engagement? Of course it does, and the contribution of belongingness to the cause of engagement can be huge. The Harvard Business Review shows a sense of belonging in employees can optimize job performance by 56%. As you can see, a sense of belonging can literally change the employee engagement dynamics.
When employees feel they belong in the organization, they feel motivated to deliver their best. When employees feel they belong, they feel a stronger emotional and mental connection with their organization. In the ultimate sense, this connection is what lays the launchpad for high engagement.
Keeping the employee turnover rate low is a key performance indicator for businesses. While inconsistency in the workforce affects workflow management, it also attracts excessive financial losses. According to Forbes, employee replacement costs can be as high as 33% of the outgoing employee's annual salary. Indeed, for small businesses, high costs of employee turnover can be a curse.
The bottom line is that you have to find ways to keep employee turnover low. In other words, you need to put great emphasis on employee retention strategies. Even offering free unlimited coffee, in-house food, and life insurance policies can do wonders to retain employees. Moreover, cultivating a sense of belonging in employees is one of the simplest and most effective strategies. To validate, findings from the research published in Harvard Business Review also state that the sense of belonging can reduce employee turnover rates by 50%.
Creating a sense of belonging gives you a fair chance to retain your top talents. That also implies protecting your business from heavy financial losses due to high turnover. Of course, employees would not want to leave a workplace that looks after their comfort and gives them a sense of individuality.
High rates of employee absenteeism are some of the most basic issues organizations face. What is more important to note here is the cost of high absenteeism. As cited by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, American companies lose more than USD 200 billion per year due to increased employee absenteeism. You do not want your business to incur any such losses, right?
Therefore, keeping these costs low would be a measure of success for any business. You can achieve that by endorsing a sense of belonging in your employees. Per Deloitte workplace belonging can reduce employee absenteeism by 75%.
You should care for your employees, make the workplace more inclusive and value their opinions. The more you invest in employee experience, the greater the sense of belonging, leading to lower absenteeism.
Do your employees show the willingness to take additional responsibilities? Or do they shy away from going the extra mile? Your employees should perceive its advancement as their own progress by putting extra effort into the organization. This happens when employees are invested in the organization by all means.
To put it in simple terms, you need to stimulate a strong sense of belonging in your employees. When they are driven by the belief that they belong in the workplace and the organization values their contributions, they will enjoy doing more than what is expected of them.
So, if you think you are dealing with an unproductive team, workplace belonging could well be the missing dimension.
Did you know that strong workplace culture can quadruple a business's revenue growth? This insight from Forbes explains why companies pay a lot of attention to creating a positive workplace culture in contemporary times. Moreover, engagement, motivation, retention, and productivity directly correlate with workplace culture.
What do you think are the quintessential traits of positive company culture? A good culture is defined by amicable relationships, trust between colleagues, empathy, gratitude, and growth opportunities. Promoting a greater sense of belonging will have a massive role in creating a conducive and high-performing culture.
The sense of belonging in employees will manifest trust and excitement among employees to effectively collaborate and communicate. This efficacy is sacrosanct to the success of a business organization as communication will always be the key.
