Only a third of employees in the US workforce are actively engaged with their jobs. As a marketing agency, you have to work hard on ensuring your employees remain engaged, as that will lead to better results for your clients. In this article, we will talk about the top five reasons employee engagement is vital for marketing agencies. Let’s get into it.
1. Disengaged Employees Are Less Productive
Research shows that the most successful businesses are those that make employee engagement a priority. In fact, engaged employees lead to 21 percent more profitability and an increase in productivity! When employees feel good about their jobs and are more motivated, they will get things done quicker.
This increased productivity will lead to quicker results for your clients. In turn, it will lead to an improved bottom line on your end, with more customers staying on as paying customers. Employee engagement is key to customer loyalty and increasing customer retention rates.
Employee engagement fosters an atmosphere of positivity in the workplace. It also goes hand in hand with a positive company culture.
When employees are engaged, not only do they work harder, but they also communicate better with other employees, collaborate with them on tasks, and motivate others. It starts a snowball effect to get your team working hard.
2. Happy Employees Do Better at Their Jobs
Employees who are disengaged and unhappy will slack at their jobs. You’ll hear a lot being said about employee morale. Some ways to promote employee morale include:
- Providing a positive outlook for the future of the company
- Working on increasing customer satisfaction
- Setting and meeting goals
- Providing advancement opportunities in employees’ careers
Boosting employee morale isn’t something that you can do overnight. You have to focus on providing a positive work environment over the long run.
A lot depends on the leadership: you, the CEO of the digital marketing agency. Employees who feel that the leadership knows what they are doing, has plans for the company’s future, and is engaging employees and cares about them will enjoy improved morale.
People like to feel like they are contributing to the success of something greater than them. Make sure to give employees that sense of belonging and make sure their contributions are being valued.
Employee engagement and improved communication go hand in hand to raise morale. Employees want to know they are being listened to and that their problems are being taken seriously. If they have suggestions for improving customer satisfaction or getting better marketing results, listen to them.
Improving customer satisfaction is crucial to improving morale, and employees will want to feel they are a part of that.
What are some things that decrease employee morale?
- A lack of engagement: If employees feel that management is not engaging with them, they are less likely to have a positive outlook on their future in the agency.
- A lack of communication: As a leader, it is your job to foster open communication between management and employees and between employees. Focus on fostering positive relationships. You can arrange after-work get-togethers to give employees a chance to build those relationships and engage with each other. That will help them collaborate better at work as well.
- A lack of concrete goals: When employees don’t feel the agency is heading in the right direction, they are more likely to get frustrated and leave.
3. Employee Engagement Can Reduce Turnover Rates and Other Losses
Did you know that in 2019, the national turnover rate was above 34 percent and that it had increased by 88 percent since 2010? More and more employees are leaving their jobs, which means you need to try harder at keeping your employees engaged.
Why is employee turnover crucial? Here are some surprising facts that show just how important it is to make sure your employees are engaged and stay on with the agency:
- Companies in the US will lose $430 billion every year by 2030 due to low talent retention.
- Decreasing your turnover rate can maximize your profits by four times.
- More than half of employees think they can find a better job.
Ensuring the talent you hire stays on will help maximize your profits. When you hire new people, you have to spend time and money training them until they understand how to work towards your vision.
Some of them may not end up sharing the same vision, and some may prove inept, forcing you to fire them. Others may not get along with their co-workers, leading to decreased productivity overall. When you find high-quality talent that shares your vision, you need to get them to stay.
4. Employee Engagement Can Prevent Employees From Going to the Competition
When employees are dissatisfied with the lack of engagement they are experiencing at an agency, they are more likely to head over to the competition and bring their talent there. When they quit their jobs and go looking for a new job, most will attempt to find a job in the digital marketing sphere, as that is what they have experience with.
By keeping your employees engaged and adequately satisfied, you can keep the best talent in the industry for yourself. Your competitors won’t stand a chance.
So, how can you prevent your employees from heading over to the competition? Make them feel more valued than your competitors will ever make them feel. Don’t treat them as mere employees; respect them and treat them as partners, with an equal say in your company’s future.
Make their opinions feel valued. Remember, they may bring fresh perspectives that can help your business advance and improve in the long run.
Here’s a tip you may not have thought of: Don’t be too harsh on your employees when they fail occasionally. Failure is a part of life, and nobody is perfect.
If they tried hard and didn’t get the results they were expecting, see it as a learning opportunity to improve in the future. As long as your employees generally bring good results, share your long-term visions and goals, and have a never-ending drive to succeed, they are valuable assets to hold on to.
5. Employee Engagement Can Be Incorporated Into Your Marketing Campaigns
Engaged employees help improve your marketing campaigns in several ways. First, engaged employees will be able to produce better, more motivating, more exciting, and higher-converting persuasive content.
However, you can also incorporate your team members into your social media marketing campaigns by posting pics and status updates showing customers how the team is working together to create amazing things and produce excellent results.
Clients want to see that you have a strong team working together to help them get the results they want. It shows them that you are serious and that their websites and campaigns are in good hands. Use your engaged team as a selling point. By being transparent about who is on your team, you can increase trust, as potential clients will know who they will be working with.
Employees are also your strongest advocates online. You may have heard of influencer marketing and how it is bringing excellent results to many businesses. Indeed, the Influencer Hub Report of 2020 reported that the average ROI for influencer marketing is $5.78 for every $1. Some businesses are earning an ROI of as much as $18 per $1 spent.
However, you don’t have to pay for third-party influencers when you have in-house advocates and online influencers: your team!
When your team is excited about what your business is doing and shares the same goals as you do, they will promote you and spread the word about your business for free. You can have them post to their social media channels, share the news in groups, and appear as models or influencers in posts you publish to your official accounts.
Engaged employees are also more likely to engage with clients, leads, and social media followers online. When they are motivated to work together to reach your goals, they will put in extra effort to engage clients and leads. Your social media accounts will look more active and engaging, and people will get answers to questions or problems quickly.
Here’s something you may not have thought of: While employee engagement helps with your marketing efforts, it is also essential to market to employees first.
Marketing to employees means improving communication, boosting morale, recognizing achievements, empowering employees, listening to feedback, and making sure they understand and share your vision and game plan to reach your goals.
Wrapping It Up
It is vital for all marketing agencies to make sure that their employees are engaged, feel respected, share your company values and mission statement, and have the same long-term vision as you. By keeping your employees engaged, you will produce better and quicker results for your clients, improving customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention rates.
Remember that keeping your employees engaged is a long-term process. You can’t do it once and forget about it.
Employees can become disgruntled or disengaged at any time, which is why constantly engaging them is so important. Make sure to constantly ask for feedback and implement new measures aimed at engaging employees.
- 5 Reasons Why Employee Engagement Is Important For Marketing Agencies — February 4, 2022