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While most business owners and managers understand how much added value engaged employees bring to the table, many don’t realize the true cost of employees who don’t feel engaged — and who spend critical time working on tasks not even related to their core responsibilities. But, thanks to recent research, there’s a number to quantify that cost — $687 billion. That’s the potential opportunity cost of time spent by U.S. employees each year on unnecessary administrative tasks.

If you think that number is stunning, you should check out the additional research in our latest free ebook, It explores the importance of employee engagement, discusses possible barriers, and more. Here are some highlights of the research results:

1. Stuck in the middle: Today’s employees are torn between meeting customer needs and manager expectations.

Work is becoming increasingly complicated, making it difficult to complete essential tasks because of time spent dealing with internal and external demands.Reducing administration and paperwork, providing the right technology to automate tasks, and improving structure and support within and among departments can simplify the workday for your employees. This increases engagement and productivity at all organizational levels.

2. Small changes create big rewards: Why reducing one hour of wasted time can save billions of dollars

Based on the survey, workers waste 3.4 hours a week, 3.1 hours of which are spent on pure administrative tasks. This costs your company money.Reducing admin work by just one hour per employee per week equates to $1,518 per employee a year — saving U.S. organizations a total of $229 billion!

3. Why your greatest asset shouldn’t be a liability: Balancing the needs of people with the numbers.

Today’s generation of on-demand, flexible, and mobile employees won’t stay with your company unless they feel valued, believe their voices are heard, and feel empowered to make a real difference.An engaged employee is much more likely to ‘go the extra mile’ for your company – driving the collaboration and innovation that are critical for success.

4. Bridging the engagement gap: Turning technology into an advantage.

Almost 2/3 of operations and line managers report that outdated systems or technology are a workforce management challenge.72 of respondents want more up-to-date technology to help them feel more engaged.Technology choices need to make work easier— so that time and money that can be reinvested in better systems and continuous innovation.

5. Don’t dash for cash: Use communication, collaboration, and culture to keep employees engaged

While fair and competitive compensation is important, money is not the primary driver for keeping employees engaged and productive on the job.Simply paying unhappy and disengaged employees more won’t make them more productive or stop them from leaving.Long-term success relies on freeing managers and employees to focus on critical tasks and to better communicate and collaborate with their coworkers.

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The good news is there are things you can do to improve engagement and get the most from your most valuable assets – your employees. By automating manual processes, streamlining administrative tasks, and simplifying information access for employees and managers, you can provide the time and flexibility they need to focus on the aspects of their job that allow them to be more fully engaged.

Want to know more? To learn how Workforce Go! HCM can benefit your business, call 214.800.5575.