What is employee engagement?

There has been a seismic shift in numerous company cultures all over the world, this shift has become employee centric with an aim to make all employees feel valued and gain the recognition that they deserve.

According to Gallup research, companies with highly engaged work forces outperform their peers by 147%.

Many companies create companies that attempt to reflect the overall values of the organisation, which for many involves making sure their workforce stays engaged and enjoy the role that they are in.

What specifically is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is when the entire leadership of an organisation comes together ensuring the workforce are in a thriving environment, allowing them to bring their best selves to work every single day. It also produces brand ambassadors, letting employees feel proud and committed to where they work. This can be done both by focusing on their physical surroundings as well as considering every employees wellbeing.

Employee engagement can’t be something that is fixed quickly, nor should it be a HR process to in place with procedures and regimented rules, it’s quite the opposite it’s a constant learning mechanism allowing management and employees alike to understanding what is motivating and what is at times draining. If you are an inspiring, supportive and logical leader boosting the morale of those working for you there is a much higher chance that those people enjoy their jobs rather than having a command and control attitude to your workforce.

The way a company treats employees bares a direct correlation with engagement and overall retention. According to PwC the annual cost of disengagement can rise annually to $550 billion, when it is costing your company to treat employees the way they deserve surely all organisations should be realising that they will lose out eventually.

Characteristics of engaged employees

Engagement is essential and there are certain key drivers to retain employee engagement that all management should be made aware of. By way of example, typically companies with an interested and enthused workforce tend to demonstrate higher levels of engagement take up new and bolder challenges to create a positive change or set up an extremely conducive work environment.

Here are some of the characteristics you might find in environments like these;

• Drive
• Innovation
• Creativity
• Happiness
• Trusted
• Problem solvers
• Independence

Characteristics of disengaged employees

• Unhappy
• Reserved
• Uncooperative
• Hostility
• Uninterested
• Unappreciated
• Lacking in energy

Is employee enagagement here to stay?

Is the term ‘employee engagement’ the latest corporate jargon? Could it perhaps be the new buzz phrase such as ‘blue sky thinking’ as it’s already being called the employee experience – it’s already seeing a change.

There seems to be a lot of emotion and real learning behind the term, it’s defining how employees feel about their roles and organisations which therefore has a direct impact on the way that particular job is carried out.

You need question, how do you personally begin to engage your employees? It begins with leadership fully believing that their employees are entirely needed to achieve overall success within the business. Leaders need to be engaged and on board with the whole process for it to work, therefore leaders need to design their own specific version of what employee engagement means within their own organisation.

Now, it’s time to question… What does employee engagement mean to you?