Within British small and medium enterprises (SMEs), there is a gap in perceived employee engagement between senior managers and non-managers.

SEO and search marketing agency Propellernet has conducted a research to showcase the gap in employee engagement among UK SMEs. The research has revealed that 64% of senior managers within SMEs think their staff feels valued, as opposed to the 46% of non-managerial SME employees that actually do feel valued.

Propellernet conducted the research in collaboration with employee engagement and communications consultancy, Become Communications, celebrating the launch of ‘Superengaged,’ a book that gives insight into how putting people and purpose front and centre can reform a brand, written by Propellernet’s managing director Nikki Gatenby.

With 24% employees disengaged, the research focuses on the ignorance of senior managers regarding the impact of employee disengagement can have on an organisation’s revenue and profit. Despite research by voluntary movement EngageforSuccess in 2009 that revealed the correlation between engagement and profitability, the engagement gap has a long way to go.

While 87% of managers claim efforts of increasing employee engagement, only 12% have it as priority and 50% of businesses don’t invest in it. On the other hand, customer satisfaction and revenue and profit stand at the top of businesses’ priorities list.

To make matters worse, only 32% disclose to have a good grasp of the term ‘employee engagement,’ explaining why even if managers sometimes have the will to drive employee engagement, they maybe not have the way.

Lisa Pantelli, director of Become Communications and employee engagement specialist says, “Average UK engagement scores have remained stagnant despite the well-documented link between engagement and profitability. Too often initiatives and ideas are introduced to the business with little understanding as to whether they’re going to work or not – or an articulation of what an engaged team means to them.”

To further prove managers’ disconnect with employee engagement, the research reveals that when senior managers were asked about the ways to improve employee engagement, they offered regular meetings and training as the two best methods. However, when employees were asked the same question, 36% pointed at flexible working and another 36% at the recognition of good work.

Nikki Gatenby, MD at Propellernet, says, “If you step away from just thinking about profit, you can transform your company by putting people and purpose first instead. Some business leaders believe that this can harm the bottom line, but this is a misinformed theory. 

SMEs are failing to excel in what they do because they don’t recognise what they should focus on to succeed and achieve the most they can.

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