“THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION AN EMPLOYEE FEELS TOWARDS THEIR ORGANIZATION, WHICH TENDS TO INFLUENCE THEIR BEHAVIORS AND LEVEL OF EFFORT IN WORK ACTIVITIES.”
– The Business Dictionary
IN OTHER WORDS…..
THE MORE ENGAGEMENT AN EMPLOYEE HAS THE MORE EFFORT THEY PUT FORTH.
Employee Engagement is quickly becoming a “buzzword”, again, in today’s business world. According to a recent study from Deloitte, 78% of business leaders say it is both an urgent and important priority! Employers want growth and employees are the main drivers of that growth. Gallup has volumes of statistics from their own studies and according to their statistics ALL the core business measures – profitability, productivity, customer satisfaction, quality, retention and sales – are significantly higher at companies with a higher concentration of engaged employees. According to these leaders, employee engagement has become the new currency in today’s economy.
One problem though: The majority of employees are disengaged. 70% in fact. That translates to a half-a-trillion dollar problem in our country alone! THIS is why employee engagement has opened the eyes of today’s leaders to its importance and potential impact on all businesses.
Key factors of engagement are as follows:
- Nature of the job (is it interesting work)
- Trust & communication between employees & management
- The ability to see how one’s own work contributes to the organization
- Opportunities for growth
- Level of pride in working there
Let’s explore some ways to start tackling those items in our own teams.
12 Questions to Answer
- Do I know what is expected of me at work?
- Do I have the materials & equipment that I need in order to do my work right?
- At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
- In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
- Does my supervisor, or someone at work, care about me as a person?
- Is there someone at work that encourages my development?
- At work, do my opinions seem to count?
- Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel that my job is important?
- Do I have a best friend at work?
- In the past six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
- This past year, have I had the opportunities at work to learn and grow?
- “Are my fellow employees committed to doing good work?”
(*The Gallup Q 12 Questions)