Employee Engagement - Drivers
What drives employee engagement? While there is not one panacea for leveraging employee engagement, there are some broad drivers which are presented below −
- Work/Job Role
- Work Environment/Organization Culture
- Rewards and Recognition
- Learning and Training Opportunities
- Performance Management
- Leadership
Employee Engagement has transcended from being the latest business buzzword to being recognized by organizations as a tool that positively influences business performance. Hence, it is vital for companies to understand what “causes” employee engagement.
Steps to Drive Employee Engagement
These following steps will help you determine why people work for your company. This becomes important intelligence as you create your employment brand.
Link your engagement efforts to high performance − Employee engagement is not about employee satisfaction. The last thing you should want is a team of satisfied but underperforming employees.
Employee engagement starts at the top − Most studies show that a key employee engagement driver is the actions of senior leaders. Leaders must demonstrate support for an engaged company culture by personally living their company’s values.
Engage first-line leaders − The longstanding adage, “Employees Join Great Companies, But Quit Bad Bosses” is true.
Focus on communication, the cornerstone of engagement − Successful leaders recognize the power of a robust communication plan, one built on clarity, consistency, and transparency.
Individualize your engagement − Your philosophy should go beyond “treat people they way you want to be treated;” the new mantra is “treat people the way they want to be treated.”
Create a motivational culture − Leaders cannot motivate employees for a long-term. Leaders must create motivational cultures with an engaged workforce where employees can flourish and motivate each other.
Create feedback mechanisms − Companies need to ask employees what they think; employee engagement surveys are a great tool to assess an organization’s pulse.
Reinforce and reward the right behaviors − Employees are incredibly motivated by achievement, not money. Money can disengage if employees perceive unfairness.
Track and communicate progress − Employees are no different than leadership – they both want to work for a ‘Winning’ organization. Leaders need to reinforce “line of sight” by telling their employees where they’re going, how they’re performing and where they fit in.
Hire and promote the right behaviors and traits for your culture − Although we place much emphasis on one’s educational background and skills, people generally succeed or fail because of their behaviors and traits.
By understanding these drivers and leveraging them, organizations can try and manage engagement levels of their employees.
