7 Factors That Affect Employee Productivity, Engagement & Retention

Employees with low engagement at work cost U.S. companies up to $550 billion a year. Employee engagement severely impacts your business’s profitability, so it’s critical to find ways to keep your team members happy with their jobs. If your employees are satisfied, you’ll see less turnover and more productivity.

Let’s look at seven key factors that affect employee productivity, engagement, and retention.

1. Work Environment

People are more comfortable with their jobs when they like the work environment. A clean office with solid amenities is essential, but factors of a work environment extend to other areas like:

•     Company culture
•     Atmosphere
•     Employee attitudes and behavior 
•     Leadership attitudes and behavior

A positive environment is more conducive to productivity, and people are less likely to look for another job when they love their place of work.

2. Training and Career Development Opportunities

Providing career growth opportunities gives your employees a sense of purpose, and people who find meaning in their work are more likely to be loyal to the company. According to HBR, 94% of survey respondents said they would stay with a company longer if it invested in its employees’ careers.

3. Pay Structure

There is always a risk that employees will leave the company to seek higher compensation elsewhere. You can hold on to your talent by paying fairly, giving raises, and providing opportunities for advancement. You’ll motivate your team members to be more engaged if you monitor their performance and reward them for doing good work.

4. Benefits

Benefits are a top priority for many job seekers, and they’re the reason why current employees stick with a job for a long time. Providing adequate benefits lets your employees know that you value them and care about their needs.

5. Wellness

Sickness, fatigue, and mental health problems contribute to absenteeism and hurt your company’s productivity. While you can’t directly control the health of your employees, you can facilitate wellness in your organization and have a positive impact on employee productivity levels. 

A Workplace Wellness Trends survey revealed that 63% of companies offering wellness programs to their employees reported increased financial sustainability and growth.

To encourage healthy choices, you can use gift cards as incentives. Create wellness goals with your team and offer the gift cards as prizes for achieving them. The gift cards alone can even encourage health and wellness: Nike, Callaway, or The Vitamin Shoppe

6. Diversity in the Workplace

According to Forbes, diversity in the workplace charges creativity. Companies value innovation and being the first to do the next big thing, and having perspectives of various cultural backgrounds facilitates that out-of-the-box thinking.  It also allows all of your team members to grow, and feel comfortable, seen and appreciated.

7. Perks

Perks make people happier with their job, and happy employees are more likely to go the extra mile. Creating an employee rewards program to show your ongoing appreciation for your team members can make them feel more valued. 

If you want to reward your employees but you’re struggling to work it into your busy schedule, Giftbit can help. It’s a tool that allows you to buy, send, and track your rewards with easy-to-use software. Sign up for Giftbit for free and check out our employee engagement solutions.