Employee Satisfaction vs. Engagement in Manufacturing: Which Matters More and What's the Industry Standard?

Dear Seniors, I would like to understand which attribute is more important for a manufacturing setup—employees' satisfaction or engagement? What is the standard percentage level in both of these cases as per industry norms? Please suggest. Thanks in advance!

I appreciate your radical view, though I wanted to emphasize the importance of capturing the employees' satisfaction level or engagement level. What you highlighted comes from a more operational point of view. Ours, being a productivity-driven setup, finds these ratios and metrics shared to be very vital for the organization's performance. However, from a people-centric approach, diagnosing satisfaction and engagement can't be derived from these metrics.

Moreover, production has to happen at any cost, yield has to be more, and ratios must be maintained. But whether my employees are actually enjoying their work and to what extent is what I wanted to capture!

Thanks
Regards

Dear HR team at Sneh, Ok. In that case, to answer your query, I would like to give priority to "Employee Engagement" over "Employee Satisfaction." This is because an employee may be satisfied for various reasons such as having less time to commute from home to the workplace, job stability, protection provided by the labor union, a salary above market standards, etc. However, such an employee may not be engaged. Engagement is more comprehensive than satisfaction.

Other seniors may share their views.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Dinesh, thank you for your remarks. Could you please share some insights on the percentage level or a standard that a company must achieve to be recognized as the best place to work? I also invite other senior members to contribute their thoughts on this matter.

Regards,
Sneh

It is nice to see that an HR person is keen on Employee Satisfaction and their 'engagement'.

Measuring Satisfaction vs. Engagement

Comparatively speaking, the 'Satisfaction' index is easier to measure than 'Engagement'. It is more important to measure the trend than the absolute figure, which will vary according to location, industries, and such. Also, the measures help in locating the stronger and weaker areas in each of those indices so that the weaker areas can be strengthened.

'Engaged' employees are likely to be more 'satisfied'. Generally speaking, a satisfaction level of 75% will be very good. But then you have to stratify it based on the years of employment, designation, areas of work, etc. That kind of breakup will reveal the weak areas.

Understanding Employee Engagement

'Engagement' is more difficult to quantify as such but consists of many items like participation in teamwork (at work and in recreational activities), camaraderie, etc. Even the face of the employee while at work and how he takes instructions, how he behaves during discussions tell a lot about how well he is 'engaged'.

Regards,
R. Ramamurthy

Rightly written by Mr. Ramamurthy, "Engaged employees are likely to be more satisfied."

Questions on Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

Two of my questions may add some value to my friend's comment thread. First one - how can employees be engaged? Secondly - why do employees feel satisfied?

Engagement

If a proper job description is in place, responsibilities are accompanied by commensurate authority, and tasks align with the employee's knowledge, skills, and qualifications.

Satisfaction

It comes through the work environment, the boss-subordinate relationship, job security, career development, the organization's future, compensation, etc.

Some common factors that boost and facilitate both engagement and satisfaction include motivational programs, employee welfare, reward and recognition schemes, grievance handling cells, etc.

Both the terms engagement and satisfaction go hand in hand. I agree with Mr. Ramamurthy's statement that 75% of satisfied employees is a very good ratio.

Regards,
Asish

Once we initiate a pro-employee culture and initiatives, we need to work more on employee engagement programs. If we have optimum engagement activities, chances are that satisfaction will proportionately build up. However, engagement activities aren't the sole basis for increasing satisfaction among employees.

Factors Influencing Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is more of a final product in reaction to engagement activities, promotion policies, annual salary revisions, disciplinary mechanisms, grievance addressal, functioning of the canteen, a caring feeling, and several other factors. Engagement activities, if properly driven, will certainly yield you significant results.

The Importance of Employee Satisfaction and Engagement

The major factor for a company or business to earn profits and achieve a better ROI is employee satisfaction and engagement. To improve or achieve higher employee engagement, employee satisfaction is essential. In this way, ROI, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction are interconnected and influence each other.

You need to have a higher rate or percentage of employee satisfaction; only then can you improve or achieve a higher rate of employee engagement, ultimately leading to significant profits and better ROI.

Can more people directly address the main question asked: "What is considered a good percentage in Employee Satisfaction and Employee Engagement?" Members who have conducted a survey on these aspects, please share your figures and percentages.

I would like to draw your attention to identifying the key attributes that are significant in determining the engagement level of employees. With the contributions above and my research, one thing is clear: an engaged employee is a satisfied employee, but the reverse is not true!

In the current skill deficit market, where identifying the right people for the right job is becoming increasingly challenging, retention of an engaged employee is a must. It is imperative for companies, rather a must, to raise the bar on the engagement level or to have engaged employees on their rolls.

I hereby request my seniors to highlight those specific attributes that account for engagement measurement.

Thanks,
Sneh