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What is employee engagement?
For such a well-used and popular management term, "engagement" has surprisingly little associated research. A new report by the Institute for Employment Studies focuses on employee engagement and its benefits. IES worked with a range of private and public sector organisations to define and measure what it is and how it functions.
A growing body of evidence suggests that employees who feel valued and truly involved raise the performance of their organisations. But, according to the IES research, engagement as a concept needs to be better understood and addressed.
Engagement defined
There is no single definition of engagement and a number of leading UK companies have developed a range of employee engagement models. But, the consensus among the HR practitioners contacted by IES was that it is much more than simply commitment, or a dogged determination to buy into the workplace. Indeed, the widely-accepted view was that engagement is "one-step up" from commitment.
Broadly speaking, the IES analysis suggests that there are two key aspects of engagement:
| A definition |
| "A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee." -- Institute for Employment Studies. |
According to the IES study, behaviours demonstrated by engaged employees include:
What drives engagement?
A key finding of the research is that engagement is mainly driven by the extent to which employees feel they are valued by, and involved with, their organisation. So-called "sub-drivers", however, vary between and within organisations, which points to the importance of employers having an in-depth understanding of engagement in their own organisations. In short, employers cannot expect employees to "go the extra mile" unless they demonstrate that they are truly valued.
As Dilys Robinson, a senior researcher at IES and one of the authors of the report, explains: "Engagement is not something that just happens, and will not result from an internal PR exercise. It develops in organisations that really care for employees and their well-being, that invest in people, that listen to them, and are well-managed. Measuring and assessing engagement accurately is therefore just as important. However, just scoring from a range of simple off-the-shelf questions is unlikely to be useful as a diagnostic tool, you do need an in-depth understanding of what drives engagement in your own organisation."
| How to engage employees |
| Previous IES research has demonstrated that employee commitment has a direct relationship on bottom line performance. In this new report entitled The Drivers of Employee Engagement, IES researchers identify what employers need to do to get not just committed, but engaged employees. 1. Demonstrate they value their employees, by investing in their training and continuing development, and by taking seriously employee appraisal and personal development plans. 2. Communicate to employees a strong business context and awareness, and enable them to implement their ideas to make the organisation better. 3. Encourage a continuing and open dialogue between employees and the organisation, to maintain positive feelings of involvement. 4. Realise that as length of service increases, it is harder maintain engagement. Factors such as career frustration, boredom, and cynicism can be overcome by offering new development opportunities and career challenges. 5. Understand that professional workers are more likely to engage with their craft rather than with the organisation they work for. These workers are valuable assets, however, so it is worth making the extra effort to engage and therefore retain them. 6. Provide equality of opportunity to all employees, and deal effectively and sympathetically with "shocks to the system" such as accidents and harassment. 7. Monitor levels of employee engagement, overall and for different employee groups within the organisation. Low levels can result in increased staff absence, reduced customer satisfaction, and lower intention to stay with the organisation, all of which will impact on the customer and therefore on the "bottom line". 8. Have clear and accessible HR policies and practices and a commitment to employee health, safety and well-being. |
| Source: Institute for Employment Studies. |
Want to know more?
Title: "The drivers of employee engagement", by Dilys Robinson, Sarah Perryman and Sue Hayday, IES Report 408, Institute for Employment Studies.
Availability: Contact IES in Brighton, tel: 01273 686 751, or click here to order a copy online . . . www.employment-studies.co.uk/pubs/report.php?id=408
The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent centre of research and consultancy in human resource issues. To find out more visit www.employment-studies.co.uk
Posted 16 July 2004