An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work…Engaged employees care about the future of the company and are willing to invest the discretionary effort – exceeding duty’s call to see that the organization succeeds.

Although there seems to be fairly widespread recognition that employee engagement matters, the challenge is often in convincing business leaders this is the case, particularly in today’s tough economic climate and especially in an atmosphere of widespread cost cutting.

We are going to form our own rationale that employee engagement is a real concern based on the responses we have had from several hundred participants in our Best Management Practices training course we instruct. At first we were shocked at the answers but then began to realize over the course of time that these numbers were very consistent from company to company. We asked, what in % terms is the level of your engagement in your job; meaning how much of your effort, wisdom, knowledge, ideas and initiative is the company getting from you?   Participants said they were on average only 40-60% engaged in their jobs.  We went on to illustrate and explain how a more focused people management style would greatly improve employee engagement, but there are many other contributing factors too. In fact, the conscious use of the HR Power Centre would serve as a platform for developing higher employee engagement in any organization.

According to Gallup, one of the leading research firms in this area, when comparing top and bottom quartiles of engagement scores, highly engaged organizations have 2.6 times the earnings per share growth rate of their lower performing peers in the same industry. (Gallup, 2010)

Some other interesting metrics from Gallup include:

In average organizations, the ratio of engaged employees to disengaged employees is around 1.5 to 1; in high performing organizations, the ratio is more like 8 to 1. Gallup estimates the cost of lost productivity due to actively disengaged employees in the United States to be $300 billion.

How To Improve Employee Engagement

• Provide employees with an understanding of how their jobs fit in with the overall organization and how their work contributes to organizational goals.

• Ensure that employees have opportunities for promotion and career advancement, and that those opportunities are communicated to them.

• Provide training to managers and supervisors on how they can gain the trust of their employees.

• Ensure that health, safety and ergonomic concerns are taken seriously in the workplace.

• Ensure that the workplace is physically pleasant and that temperature, air quality and noise levels are optimal.

• Ensure that the total rewards package (including cash compensation, benefits, pensions and other rewards) is competitive and fair, both externally and internally.

• Provide opportunities for employees to socialize and get to know one another.

• Provide employees with a reasonable degree of job security wherever possible.

• Clearly communicate the organization’s vision, mission and values to employees.

• Ensure that employees have adequate vacation time, and that they take the time off that is owed to them.

• Provide a safe and secure work environment.

• Provide employees with opportunities to innovate and excel in their jobs.

• Ensure that managers and supervisors take the time to get to know their direct reports and that they demonstrate genuine concern for their well-being.

• Provide opportunities for employee empowerment, job rotation, enrichment and enlargement.

• Wherever possible, provide stimulating work which is not boring or repetitive.

• Ensure that employees have the equipment and materials required to be successful.

• Implement a pay-for-performance culture that recognizes superior performance.

• Ensure that senior management builds trust with employees by being honest and forthright in their communications, and by being available and approachable.

• Provide opportunities for employees to work cooperatively and collaboratively.

• Ensure the right employees are placed in the right roles at the right levels.

• Foster effective communications throughout the organization; where possible, ensure that employees are kept in the loop with regard to organizational changes and developments which would likely affect them.

• Provide proper context for performance management; let employees know what is expected of them.

• Ensure that employees have reasonable demands placed on them.

• Involve employees in the decision-making process wherever possible.

• Cascade clearly defined organizational goals to all employees; allow them to participate in the setting of their own goals and objectives.

• Ensure proper work-life balance.

• Develop policies dealing with a respective workplace and ensure those policies are enforced; do not tolerate bullying and harassment of any kind.

• Provide constructive feedback to employees regarding their performance.

• Provide employees with as much freedom as possible to determine how they complete their work.

• Provide learning and development opportunities wherever possible.

• Demonstrate compassion and provide emotional support during difficult times.

• Conduct regular employee engagement surveys and report on their results in a transparent manner; develop meaningful action items in relation to areas of concern and take concrete steps towards implementing the required changes.