Organisations with higher employee engagement significantly outperform their competitors in both revenue and share price, according to HR Daily. The online news service cites a recent investors' report from Macquarie Wealth Management looking at measures of environment, social and governance.The report, sent to clients last month, was based on an employee engagement survey run by Macquarie, covering ASX 200 companies. It specifically looked at employee engagement indicators including turnover, absenteeism and productivity, noting that managing these "can provide a competitive cost advantage over peers". The report said Westpac had higher labour productivity than ANZ, and that this equated to a six per cent difference in revenue. CBA was a bank with "relatively low" voluntary turnover rates, suggesting strong employee engagement, Macquarie said.On another measure, Macquarie estimated the cost of absenteeism in lost wages at A$23 billion per annum, excluding productivity losses and overtime worked.While there is a lack of consistency on how organisations report on absenteeism, making comparisons difficult, Macquarie found absenteeism at Insurance Australia Group, for example, equated to 4.4 per cent of wage expense, compared to the sample average of 2.6 per cent.It found that at IAG employees "maxed out" their sick leave, taking 11 days each - exceeding the national average - while ANZ and Mirvac Group "manage absenteeism well".Comparing average remuneration and labour productivity levels (total revenue per employee and revenue-to-wage cost ratio) in the banking sector, it found Westpac "generated an additional $1.2 million (six per cent) in revenue per year from better labour productivity".National Australia Bank's higher productivity equates to a 2.8 per cent benefit in revenue per year, while Commonwealth Bank's productivity sits at the sector average, it said.The report said ANZ's productivity remained "noticeably below other major banks", and raising it to align with its competitors would equate to an additional $1.9 billion (9 per cent) in revenue per year.Macquarie noted that corporate information was "scant" on other factors known to affect productivity - such as flexible work, employee share schemes, staff discounts, health and wellbeing programs, and parental leave.Another indicator of human capital management and employee engagement metric that positively affects productivity and financial returns is gender diversity, Macquarie said.The list of ASX200 employers with a high female participation and high retention rates includes Westpac, which currently has 46 per cent female representation in senior management and "an aspiration target of 50 per cent of leadership roles to be held by women in 2017" the report noted.