Introduction
In the contemporary world of business, it is hiring the right talent that forms just the beginning. The major task that follows is keeping employees motivated, connected, and committed – this is where employee engagement steps in. More than just a buzzword, employee engagement has proven to be critical for organizational success. Therefore, it is not just about keeping employees happy; rather creating an environment where employees are willing to come to work, contribute work willingly, and add to their personal development. When workers feel valued, they connect deeply with their tasks, bringing passion and enthusiasm to collaborative innovation. The workplace environment plays a crucial role in shaping their emotions and mindset. This positive atmosphere boosts their commitment to the organization, leading to higher productivity, lower turnover, and overall better performance.Engaged employees are driven by passion and a clear sense of purpose in their work. As such, psychological commitment to the productivity mission of the organization makes employees more productive, collaborative, and resilient. At its most fundamental, an employee engagement model is a structured framework or approach that organizations use to understand, measure and improve the level of engagement in their workforce. Consider it a roadmap that helps you navigate the twists and turns in keeping your employees motivated, committed and happy. In turn, a lost workforce will be associated with high turnover low team dynamics performance and organizational health culture; understanding nurturing engagement moves from “nice to have” to strategic necessity.
Understanding Employee Engagement
Employees are at the core of the success of any organization, and they are the driving force behind it. Effective methods of engaging employees can increase the level of involvement and commitment. Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric indicated worker commitment is the number one indication of an organization’s health (Vance, 2006). Employee engagement is best described as “the willingness and ability of employees to invest their best efforts in helping the company improve its overall business performance” (Cook, 2008). Engaged employees experience fulfillment, are more emotionally positive, and are healthier. Engaged employees can generate job and personal resources independently, moreover they can transfer their individual engagement to others, and build team engagement (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008).
A lack of engagement is rooted in manageable job demands and limited resource support. Employees are unable to achieve their personal and organizational goals (Chung & Angeline, 2010). Job resources can come in the forms of physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of work that help enable employees achieve their job goals, diminish physiological and psychological costs and may encourage individual growth, learning and development (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007).
By increasing job resources such as management styles, support and feedback mechanisms – including sharing of leadership and providing autonomy receive improved engagement. In effect employees become more engaged leaders, decision makers and take ownership of their roles, while corporate management effectively becomes coach that help employees identify and realize their full potential. Success with these types of engagement approaches will enhance retention, improve attendance and work and organizational productivity, capitalize on the profit or service impacts of the organization, and improve stronger alignment of employee goals with organizational goals. Improvements in employee engagement through creating a positive experience for employees will have a beneficial effect on the organization’s culture and improve results that matter to your business.
How do you increase engagement?
- Cultivate strong foundation of organizational trust.
- Encourage co-worker relationships.
- Focus on the meaning behind work.
- Integrate recognition and feedback into the workflow.
- Create channels to ensure employees’ voices are heard.
- Promote work and life harmony.
Successful businesses can strengthen employee engagement by focusing on three pillars:
- Cognitive Engagement: This means that mental energy is devoted to achieving positive outcomes for the organization. For those with cognitive engagement, the norms of engagement are not distorted by trivial distractors from work.
- Emotional Engagement: This refers to the construction of one’s emotional investment in doing one’s job. Employees displaying emotional engagement are more likely to create positive outcomes for the organization.
- Behavioral Engagement: This signifies the intention to behave in ways that positively influence performance. Employees demonstrate behavioral engagement by acting in ways to realize positive outcomes for the organization.
Implementing these three pillars will strengthen employee engagement in a business organization; thereby encouraging a more engaged and productive workforce – thus creating better organizational outcomes and overall employee satisfaction.
The Relevance of Employees’ Engagement in Organization’s Performance
A critical resource is allowing employees autonomy to make decisions, decide their own working practices and even design the very process in which tasks will be carried out. Not only do decisions relate to autonomy but allowing decisions to enhance employee autonomy bridges ownership with engagement. When employees perceive that they are autonomous, they become more engaged because they begin to perceive that take ownership of their work and are more likely to feel a level of responsibility.
Supervisory support also influences the interpretations of the environment as well. Provided that a supervisor is also supportive of their employees’ intentions, they can contribute to overall engagement through feelings of care and caution. Establishing a climate of respect and support amongst colleagues is critical. If employees do not feel supported by colleagues, there is a greater chance of disengagement which in turn makes it nearly impossible for the organization to fulfill its goals and less likely that an organization’s goals will be achieved.
In summary, understanding how an organization can increase organic support and engagement is critical for overall success. As long as employees are perceived to be valued and supported as employees, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated and productive.
Strategic Investments to Improve Employee Engagement
Organizations should strategically invest in the following three areas to create an engaged workforce:
1. Leadership Development
2. Employee Learning and Development
3. Meaningful Benefits Leadership Development
In case the need arises to fill a leadership position suddenly, then the organization may not have a strong enough leadership pipeline to move individuals into these positions quickly. Organizations can remedy this by investing in ‘managers’ of today and succession planning for the leaders of tomorrow.
The core skills of a manager are:
(1) juggling demands from multiple tasks,
(2) interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence,
(3) delegating work, and
(4) feedback – giving and receiving.
One-on-ones with direct reports should be ongoing – preferably weekly. This will help to break the norm of poor communication and build consistency in the organization and provide the manager with experience in developing their people, including active listening skills, to support their improvement as a leader.
Employee Learning and Development
Investing in training employees to learn new skills and develop their capabilities in the workforce is no longer just a good idea but rather a strategic investment to promote retention and develop much needed talent in tighter and shrinking talent markets. It will always be easier to develop your current workforce, rather than go through a recruitment process and re-onboard someone new.
Meaningful Benefits
Understanding the distinction between purpose and meaning is crucial for organizations and leaders. While purpose provides a unified direction, recognizing and fostering individual meaning can enhance employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. When employees find personal significance in their work, they are more likely to be motivated, committed, and productive.
Purpose answers the question, “Why does this organization exist?” or “What is the ultimate goal of this work?” For example, a school’s purpose might be “To educate and inspire students to reach their full potential.”
Meaning answers the question, “Why is this work important to me?” or “What personal fulfillment do I get from this role?” Employees can share the same purpose but derive different meanings from their roles. For instance, a teacher might find meaning in seeing students grasp difficult concepts, a school counselor in providing emotional support, and a janitor in maintaining a clean and safe environment.
By focusing on these areas, organizations can create a more engaged and motivated workforce, ultimately leading to improved organizational performance and employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
Employee engagement is no longer a conceptual nicety – it is a real, quantifiable leverage that prominently influences an organization’s well-being and trajectory. Through the dual focus of hiring and maintaining the right talent, organizations can foster a resilient, high-performing workforce that steers long-term success and sustains business value. Just as the workplace has transformed in this hybrid age, digital engagement strategies must also evolve to strike a balance between structure and flexibility, between general application and personalization. It encompasses leadership, work environment, job design, recognition on the part of the organization towards employees’ betterment of wellness. Current dynamics in remote work technology diversity have altered employee engagement landscape.
Creating an engaged workforce is more than boosting morale; it is creating a culture where employees thrive and feel valued — where they are motivated intrinsically to contribute to the success of the Organization. When engagement is cultivated with sincerity and intent, employees do not just stay – they grow, lead and drive impact. And in today’s competitive world, that may be the most valuable advantage of all.
References
Employee Engagement and Employee Performance at Myint & Associates Telecommunication Ltd. Thein Soe Htaik. 2018-2022
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6 tips to increase Employee Engagement by workhuman. workhuman.com/whblog
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