Employee Engagement – what is it & why does it matter?
Let's take a closer look at the often-discussed topic of employee (or colleague) engagement. Let’s drill into it in more detail: Understanding its definition, its importance, and the strategies to enhance it.
What is employee engagement?
💡 Understanding Engagement: The phrase "discretionary effort" captures the essence of engagement:
😐 Low Engagement: We’ve probably all had roles where we have felt disengaged, bored, unmotivated. Here, we do what's necessary and no more. We meet the basics but don't push ourselves any further.
🌟 High Engagement: When we're engaged, we're proactive, think creatively, and contribute more because we want to. We willingly go the extra mile. This is good for us, the team and the organisation.
✅ Employee Engagement - 4 Reasons why it Matters
There are numerous benefits of high levels of employee engagement. Research by @Gallup consistently demonstrates four big benefits of high levels of employee engagement:
Higher levels of productivity
Higher levels of employee retention
Higher levels of customer satisfaction
Higher levels of profitability / financial sustainability
Most of us, as line managers, would like a bit more of this in our teams. So how do we do it?
✅ How do we build engagement in our teams?
How can we increase engagements in our teams? Research by @Gallup consistently shows these 12 things are in place when colleagues are engaged.
Evidence also shows that, as line managers, we account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. So there’s a lot we can do to move the dial.
You may look at Q10 ‘I have a best friend at work’ and think ‘I can’t do much about that as a line manager’ You’re right, you can’t! Why is it there? It’s there because it’s linked to engagement. We can impact the other 11 things, to a greater or lesser extent.
Just some reassurance. These aren’t 11 more things to add to your already very long ‘To Do’ list! These are things to ensure we’re including in our day to day role through general chats, informal catch-ups, 1:1s.
Questions for you to consider: Which 2-3 would your team say you’re strong at? How can you do more of these to increase engagement?
Which 1-2 would your team say could do more of? What would this mean?
How can you discuss engagement more openly with your team in team meetings and 1:1s?
If you’d like to discuss how to increase engagement in your team, or organisation’s teams, do contact me for an informal chat. Or see here for more information on effective leadership training and / or professional coaching.
Kate Jennings