So let’s say that you buy in to the fact that employee engagement is good for your organization, but you still feel like it only affects the soft side of the business and does not really bring in the dollars that are necessary to make your organization thrive.  How can you show the hard benefits of improving your employee’s engagement in your organization to yourself or your leaders?

Over 15 years ago, before employee engagement was the buzz that it is today, the Harvard Business Review produced a study with Sears reviewing the Employee/Customer/Profit Chain.  In that study they determined that the attitude of the employees about their job and their company directly determined how they behaved at their job.  This behavior determined whether or not they stayed at their employer and more importantly determined how they behaved towards their customers.

How the employees behaved towards the customers had a direct effect on the service provided to the customer and even influenced the perceived value of the product purchased by the customer.  This becomes the customer’s impression or experience, which will determine if they will come back to do business with your organizations again and how they will express their experience with their friends.

A positive experience will result in the customer returning with their friends right behind them.  This improves your top revenue line, while holding your expenses down due to reduced turnover, increased productivity, etc.  This results in improved operating margins and improved return on assets on your financial statements.  These financial statements then become great presentations for your stakeholders as they review their investments.

The bottom line is that “A compelling place to work, becomes a compelling place to shop, which makes a compelling place to invest.”  By measuring the right actions and engaged behaviors you can then prove the return on your employee engagement investment.