Employee engagement

Employee engagement

One of the most significant aspects of an organization's culture is employee engagement. Employees who are engaged are more likely to be motivated and satisfied with their jobs, and they are more likely to contribute to increased productivity and stay with the company for a longer period of time. One of the most important tasks for HR professionals is to increase employee engagement in the organization, as less engaged employees are more likely to leave. Employees who are engaged are more involved and work harder, which leads to the achievement of more corporate goals, whereas employees who are disengaged are more likely to do the bare minimum to get by. (firstup, 2021)

Employee engagement definitions

There are no common understanding of employee engagement. (CIPD, 2021). Employee engagement has a variety of definitions and explanations. Job satisfaction, motivation, amount of contribution or dedication, and positive behavior are some of the other definitions. (SHRM, 2022)

Ø  Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward the work they do, their teams, and their organization. (Ryba, 2021)

 

Figure 01: Employee engagement. Source (Ryba, 2021)

 

Ø  Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. (Gallup, 2022)

 

Figure 02: The employee engagement model . Source (Gallup, 2022)

Importance of employee engagement

Employees require leadership that is concerned about their well-being, recognition for their achievements, and opportunities to advance professionally. Employees that are engaged don't work for a paycheck or the next promotion; instead, they have a clear knowledge of their job responsibilities and work to achieve the organization's objectives. It's challenging to keep talented personnel because they're continuously looking for new opportunities. Having a solid employee engagement plan is critical in order to have a highly engaged workforce, and this will serve as a tool to both retain existing competent employees and recruit new talent. (engagementmultiplier, 2022)

Levels of employee engagement

Employee engagement allows you to track and control how people feel about their jobs. Knowing how employees feel about their workplace is beneficial to the employer. Employees can be divided into four categories. (Ryba, 2021)

ü  Highly engaged           - Employee who plan to stay for a long time

ü  Moderately engaged  - Favorable, but something holds them back

ü  Barely engaged           - indifferent and at risk for turnover

ü  Disengaged                 - Negative and disruptive

 

Figure 03: Engaged employees. Source (Ryan, 2019)

 

William Kahn’s theory of employee engagement 

One of the first to use the term "employee engagement" was psychologist William Kahn. He described employee engagement as the ability to bring their "full self" to work. His research included two workplace studies, the first of which took place at a summer camp and the second of which took place at an architecture business. There are three psychological conditions that enable engagement.

Meaningfulness: Is an employee's job meaningful to them?

Safety: Is the individual comfortable expressing his or her thoughts at work without fear of repercussions?

Availability:  Is the employee psychologically and physically capable of unleashing their greatest potential at this time?

Khan also defined three types of involvement: physical, cognitive, and emotional engagement. According to Khan's theory, when employees are engaged and feel safe, the company does not need to ask them to do their jobs, and they will always believe that the more they do, the more the company benefits. (Thompson, 2021)

 

Benefits of employee engagement (Ryba, 2021)

·         Increased employee productivity

·         Higher employee retention

·         Increased customer satisfaction

·         Lower absenteeism

·         Improved quality & higher profitability   

 

The roles of HR & management in employee engagement

HR should take responsibility of the employee engagement process, measure it, and support managers by giving the necessary resources and guidelines.

By cultivating excellent relationships with employees, managers can actively participate in employee engagement activities. Managers should be involved in strategic decision-making and provided with the necessary authority. (Ryba, 2021)

Conclusion

Showing that you care about your staff is the first step toward employee engagement. Furthermore, having an engaged team makes it easier to run a business, allowing leaders to concentrate on innovation, process improvement, and development. (engagementmultiplier, 2022). Therefore employee engagement is so important to the success of a company. Any measure of engagement will be high if a person feels proud of their work and the company they represent.

 

References

cipd, 2021. cipd. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/engagement/factsheet#gref
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

CIPD, 2021. Employee engagement and motivation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/engagement/factsheet#gref
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

engagementmultiplier, 2022. engagementmultiplier. [Online]
Available at: https://www.engagementmultiplier.com/resources/why-is-employee-engagement-so-important/
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

firstup, 2021. firstup. [Online]
Available at: https://firstup.io/blog/employee-engagement-key-to-company-success/
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

Gallup, 2022. gallup. [Online]
Available at: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/285674/improve-employee-engagement-workplace.aspx
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

Ryan, T., 2019. Bonusly. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.bonus.ly/tips-for-engaging-employees
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

Ryba, K., 2021. quantumworkplace. [Online]
Available at: https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/what-is-employee-engagement-definition
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

SHRM, 2022. SHRM. [Online]
Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/sustainingemployeeengagement.aspx
[Accessed 10 April 2022].

Thompson, M., 2021. wethrive. [Online]
Available at: https://wethrive.net/employee-engagement/employee-engagement-models-and-theories/
[Accessed 10 April 2022].