Every business owner has a lot to worry about including the need to improve employee engagement, but entrepreneurs have the added pressure of keeping an unestablished company afloat in a very competitive business world. 

Day in and out, these professionals likely notice many weaknesses within their business that could potentially compromise their company’s short- and long-term goals. One of these is how their employees are performing due to their high or low engagement levels.

What are engagement levels and why are they important?
Before we dive into Microsoft Dynamics 365, formally known as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and how it can improve employee engagement levels, let’s explain why it’s pivotal managers measure this metric. 

Gallup reported that only 32 percent of employees in the U.S. are engaged in their work. While that number is frightening, it’s actually just over double the rate worldwide, which sits at a mere 13 percent. Employees who aren’t engaged could be less motivated to produce high-quality work. In return, they may cost the company revenue if unhappy clients leave for competitors. 

While large corporations may be able to weather these effects, poor engagement levels may have an irreversible effect on an entrepreneur’s operations.

As you can see, high employee engagement levels can help solve many of the underlying issues that cost entrepreneurs profits. The question now is: How do you increase those levels? The answer is simple: Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Here are three ways Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help turn your office into a thriving place of innovation, creativity and collaboration:

1. Keeps employees from leaving
Think about the different reasons you’ve left former jobs. You might have abandoned your post because you disliked your manager or you didn’t enjoy the work you were performing. If that was the case, you’re not alone. A recent Paychex survey of 2,000 employees of different ages and in various industries revealed that nearly 45 percent of respondents left their jobs because they didn’t like their boss. Fifty-two percent moved on because they felt their employers didn’t care about them and around the same amount quit because they too didn’t enjoy their work.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 could help solve all of these issues by improving in-office communication.

How important is that? Very.

A survey of 2,058 U.S. adults conducted by Interact found that nearly 40 percent of managers felt uncomfortable about giving direct feedback to employees about their performance if they felt the employee wouldn’t take it well.

It’s safe to assume that at least some of these managers might also be uncomfortable communicating general policies and procedures, which means their employees aren’t receiving the type of information they need to perform at a high level and, as the theme of the article suggests, retain a high engagement level.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 can’t talk for managers – nor provide direct feedback – but it can give all employees a centralized view into information they otherwise wouldn’t have had. For example, they’ll have access to call logs, appointments, emails and other exchanged documents. 

This kind of transparency can help employees better enjoy their jobs by simplifying processes while also raising the approval ratings of managers. 

2. Improve communication
Employees want smooth, constant communication in the workplace. Gallup found that employees are most engaged when there is some type of daily, fast communication – face-to-face, phone or digitally – with their managers. 

While Gallup’s research didn’t focus on CRM tools, it’s safe to assume that these types of solutions are great ways to meet employees’ communication and transparency demands. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can eliminate office silos, which disrupt the flow of information, synchronize departments and streamline communication processes. So not only can Microsoft Dynamics 365 improve how information is exchanged, it can eliminate sluggish processes.

3. Increase flexibility to adjust quickly
Businesses today move fast, and employees are constantly under pressure to adjust quickly to meet operational requirements and business goals. They can’t do this if they’re consistently struggling to find the right information, whether that’s in sales, operations or marketing.

In general, Microsoft Dynamics 365 gives employees greater insight into what their department is doing and, if they have access, to how other areas of the company are performing as well. 

By increasing transparency, employees are less likely to be waiting around for data to make high-level business decisions and therefore more likely to be engaged in their work. 

Entrepreneurs can’t waste time and resources trying to put out brush fires because their staff is disengaged from their work and therefore not meeting company expectations. They can tackle this problem head on by integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 into their companies.