10 reasons why employee engagement can benefit your business

1. Give your business a competitive edge
2. Reduce costs and improve your bottom line
3. Embed sustainability into your business operations
4. Support your energy efficiency goals
5. Develop a sustainable culture within your business
6. Improve employee wellbeing
7. Increase productivity and overall performance
8. Attract and retain the best talent
9. Boost your brand image
10. Build brand loyalty

Kate Raworth’s pioneering 2017 book ‘Doughnut Economics’ draws a direct link between the economy and our environment. She says that business has a direct impact on the world around us. Being aware of that relationship and then acting on it leads to better business outcomes.

The Embedded Economy. Credit: Kate Raworth and Marcia Mihotich. CC-BY-SA 4.0. Citation: Raworth, K. (2017), Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House.

By questioning every business choice and adapting to the needs of the environment, your employees can actively reduce your corporate energy bills, transport costs and carbon taxes.

Applying a long-term view can save your business money in the long run. For example, upgrading your insulation or installing a heat pump might come with upfront costs but will save you money on your energy bills over time.

It’s the same principle when engaging employees with energy efficiency. By encouraging employees to have a long-term mindset around energy savings, you can expect to see a direct impact on capital expenditure later on.

Communicating your environmental policy with employees is a key requirement of ISO 14001. This ensures all employees are aware of your organisation’s environmental policies, objectives and targets, along with their roles and responsibilities in supporting these goals.

Engaging employees in your environmental policy ensures compliance and also helps them embed environmental considerations at every stage of a business transaction. Whether that’s choosing a supplier, negotiating a deal, or communicating with a customer. Over time this mindset becomes part of your company values and helps your business operations become more sustainable.

Reaching your net zero goals and complying with sustainability legislation requires buy-in from every member of staff.

Bring staff on board with your energy efficiency strategy by giving them a sense of ownership over it. For example, invite employees to share their feedback and use this to iterate your plans.

If employees feel empowered by their knowledge and ability to shape the world around them, they’re more likely to make changes that support your business’ goals.

Create a sense of pride among staff by engaging them with your energy saving interventions. By fostering a sense of innovation, you build a reputation as a modern and progressive organisation that people want to be a part of.

Staff with high levels of morale have better mental and physical health, take fewer sick days and are less likely to experience work-related stress.

Engaging employees with energy efficiency can play a big part in boosting their morale. By highlighting the positive impact they can make, you help your employees find a sense of purpose and meaning in their work.

Engaged employees are happier, but they’re also more productive. This can have a knock-on effect on your wider business – improving customer satisfaction, innovation and efficiency.

Engaging staff with sustainability connects them to the business through a shared goal. This results in genuine motivation, which enhances job satisfaction and overall performance.

Job seekers increasingly look at a company’s sustainability credentials when deciding whether to apply for a role. In a competitive recruitment market, help your business stand out by prioritising employee engagement with sustainability.

At the same time, workplaces with high levels of employee engagement keep top talent and reduce the need for frequent, costly recruitments. By engaging colleagues with a topic like the climate emergency, you’ll speak to their values and give them a way to channel those values into action. Through this, you can expect an increase in your retention rates.

You’ll be aware of the concept of greenwashing and your customers are too. Increasingly, businesses and their customers are recognising the importance of being genuine when it comes to their sustainability commitments.

This starts with how your employees embed these ideas into their work and, by extension, their personal lives. If your employees act in a way that’s compatible with your business’ sustainability goals, this automatically feeds into the company’s image.

So, if you’re looking to be seen as a sustainable business outside of your boardroom, begin by engaging your staff.

Engaged employees act as ambassadors, increasing customer loyalty and retention. Giving people a reason to behave in a way that aligns with their values is a big part of this. In the context of the climate emergency, promoting sustainable behaviours is already important and will become increasingly so in the future.

When integrated with your business’ wider sustainability strategy, employee training can encourage employee engagement on your sustainability journey.

Our e-learning platform and interactive modules can help your teams improve their understanding of energy efficiency and sustainability at work and home.

Find out more about our e-learning materials.

You can also contact our team to discover how we can help you.