What is Employee Engagement? Why Should I Care?

Put very simply, employee engagement is the level at which your employees are willing to “go to bat” for you.   A “highly engaged” employee feels a connection to the company and consciously works to meet company goals.  A “disengaged” employee feels little connection to the company and in fact, may consciously try to sabotage company goals.

How can you tell if your employees are engaged?  Ask yourself the following questions:
• How often does work get done faster than I expected?
• How often does the quality of work exceed my expectations?
• If I were to observe my employees outside of the office, what would they be saying about the company?
If your answer to the first two questions is “never” and the third is “they would be complaining” you have a problem.

So,  what can you do to increase their level of engagement?    Here are a few suggestions:
• Make sure they know why their job is important and how it contributes to company goals.
• Be clear about your expectations for quality performance and what that looks like.
• Model the behavior you wish to see in your employees.

The success of your business depends on your employees’ willingness to fully participate in the work.  This is a shared responsibility – you need to do your part to make it happen.

Sharon Hamersley is Principal of Keys to Performance, Your Resource for Workplace Productivity.  For more information, visit her web site http://k2performance.net or call her at 614-395-9440.