Employees: The importance of getting them engaged

The Oxford English dictionary defines ‘engagement’ as ‘a promise, obligation, or other condition that binds.’

Sounds simple doesn’t it? But adding in the word ‘employee’ makes things a whole lot trickier.

Employee engagement comes in many guises. It’s a simple concept on the outside, but when looking further, there’s lots of layers that add to its complexity. This is because it means so many different things to different people, and how you define it can vary depending on your role, organisation, individual satisfaction, and even personal happiness.

Firstly, let’s be clear what employee engagement doesn’t mean…

Happy employees

Just because someone is happy at work, doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re working hard or being productive.

Satisfied employees

A satisfied employee may mean they’re happy to show up at work without complaining. It doesn’t mean they’re motivated and committed to the company.

So, we know what isn’t employee engagement…let’s look at what it does actually mean

Forbes.com believe it means the level of commitment, passion, and loyalty a worker has toward their work and company. The more engaged an employee is, the more work they’ll put in.

Generally speaking, engaged employees:

• display a positive attitude and their behaviours lead to improved business outcomes
• Feel proud to be working for the organisation and have a sense of loyalty to them
• Advocate the organisation to clients, users, and customers
• Show high levels of commitment and the extra mile to finish a piece of work
• Have reduced absence rates, accident rates, conflicts and grievances
• Have increased productivity
• Act consistently with the values of the organisation by keeping promises, or provide an explanation why they cannot be kept.

There’s no denying that an engaged workforce will improve the performance of an organisation, so it’s crucial to think carefully about how you can boost employee engagement and enjoy a more committed and devoted team.

If you’re struggling to engage your employees or would like to find out more about the business support we offer, get in touch.