Examining the Importance of Employee Engagement in the Corporate Workplace

Holly Grimm

Did you know?

20% 56% 26%of employees are of employees are of employees are

Disengaged

Neutral Engaged

Motivation

is just a new word for…

Passion

Commitment

Engagement is Essential Based upon the idea of creating

successful collaborative teams that work on ambitious projects, engagement creates a meaningful experience that outlasts the training classroom.

Employees are thus fundamentally motivated to learn and work because of the meaningful nature of the work environment and activities.

Engagment is defined as…

to participate in the workplace.

Willingness Need

Desire Compulsion

Engaging employees with creative problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation, they begin to think and act differently about their work.

Appealing to the Masses

Employees differ greatly in terms of their dedication and commitment to their job.

Engagement programs should be designed to appeal to the masses.

Leaders who understand their employees will have the best yield when changing work requirements.

Engaged employees are…

Committed and loyal

Motivated

Opinionated

Active in corporate culture

Satisfied with their job

Disengaged employees say…

“I’m overwhelmed.

”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’m scared.”“I don’t see

the big picture.”

“It’s not my goal.”

“My leaders won’t face

reality.”

Three Bricklayers Jim Haudan, author of The

Art of Engagement (2008) often tells a story of three bricklayers.• Each picks up a brick and sets

it in place. • The first bricklayer says, “I’m

putting one brick on top of the other.”

• The second says, “I’m building the west wall of a church.”

• And the third bricklayer says, “I’m creating a cathedral. It will stand for centuries and inspire people to do great deeds.”

6 Elements of Engagement

1. Connecting through images and stories

2. Creating pictures together3. Believing in leaders4. Owning the solution5. Playing the entire game6. Practicing before performing

Strategic Engagement

Contributions• Build clear

objectives and goals

• Give employees a voice

• Implement recognition program Connections

• Encourage employees to connect with their colleagues

• Take an active approach in employee engagement

• Schedule periodic informal meetings

• Conduct frequent meetings to gauge employee satisfaction

Advancement• Provide mentoring

to all employees• Focus on

employee strengths

• Push employees out of their comfort zone

• Allow employees to explore other roles and duties

• Provide new experiences and training

• Involve employees in designing their career plans

Successful Strategies… Connect to the company’s

objectives and goals. • It is critical that the business

goals and objectives are relevant to employees.

• If employees do not ‘get it’, the strategy will not be successful.

Encourage employee ownership. • Employees with understanding

of the entire picture cannot avoid taking action.

• In essence, the employees will feel like they have been heard and ‘buy’ into the concept.

Benefits of Engagement

Retention

Low absenteeism

Ownership

Empowerment

Advocacy & loyalty

Case Studies

Best Buy reported where employee engagement increased by one tenth of a point, sales increase more than $100,000 for the year (Attridge, 2009).

MolsonCoors, reported that engaged employees were five times less likely to have a safety incident and seven times less likely to have a lost-time safety incident, saving $1.7 million in safety-related costs for that year (Attridge, 2009).

Conclusion There is no ‘one size fits all’ to an engaged workforce.

All generations want balance and satisfaction (Ketter, 2008).

Creating a work culture that values learning, career advancement, and employee engagement is not easy, but is crucial to the success of an organization (Ketter, 2008).

In conclusion: when employees feel engaged, they are motivated and committed to their work and learning. They also have a sense of belonging and accomplishment.

Engaged employees learn most effectively when the leadership makes meaningful connections to the curriculum and creates a safe learning environment that encourages learners to meet challenges while applying high rigor skills to real-world, unpredictable situations inside and outside of the classroom (Jones, 2009).

References Allerton, H. E. (2003). Blood, sweat, and cheers: full engagement. T+D, 57(8),

34. Attridge, M. (2009). Measuring and managing employee work engagement: A

review of the research and business literature. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 24(4), 383-398.

Babcock-Roberson, M.E. & Stickland, O.J. (2010). The relationship between charismatic leadership, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The Journal of Psychology, 144 (3), 313-336.

Billett, S., Smith, R., & Barker, M. (2005). Understanding work, learning and the remaking of cultural practices. Studies in Continuing Education, 27(3), 219-237.

Hauden, Jim. (2008). The art of engagement. New York, New York : McGraw Hill. Jones, R.D. (2009). Student engagement teacher handbook. Retrieved from

http://www.leadered.com/pdf/Student%20Engage%20handbook%20excerpt.pdf from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Kearsley, G, & Shneiderman, B. (1999, April 5). Engagement theory. Retrieved Ketter, P. (2008). What's the big deal: About employee engagement. T+D,

62(1), 44-49.