Employee Engagement: You Asked

A substantial number of survey respondents requested definition of employee engagement. I've gathered several definitions and explanations from websites, blogs, and corporate communications. I am happy to share them with you.

 Patricia Soldati's (and George Amber as well) found the following definition in The Conference Board report,“Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications.”

Employee engagement is a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, and that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work.

The key words are emotion and discretionary effort. An engaged employee has has good feelings for the job, the boss, and/or the company and chooses to put forth more effort than is minimally expected.

Chris Gay, a consultant with Bridge Consulting, offers this more explanatory definition:

Whether you choose to call this a high-performing culture, a highly engaged organization, or aligning employees with the business strategy, there are four key issues that describe an end state where employees are truly committed to helping the organization succeed in the marketplace.  

• Understand the business and their role in its success.
• Trust leadership and believe they are making decisions with the best interest of the business and the people in mind.
• Are engaged in making a difference in their jobs every day.
• Feel valued and appreciated.

The above lists emotional involvements (commitment) for the organization: understanding, trusting and feeling. We can assume that they are causes of making a difference.

Bob Hayward and Bengt-Arne run OPC (Optimal Process of Communication), a UK company consulting firm. Their definition interests me (and not only because of the s instead of the z).

Employee Engagement is the means or strategy by which an organisation seeks to build a partnership between the organisation and its employees, such that:

• Employee fully understands and is committed to achieve the organisation's objectives, and
• The organisation respects the personal aspirations and ambitions of its employees.

Interesting that they define EE as a means or strategy more than than a result. It is both.

An effective organizational culture generates and reinforces employee engagement (result). That engagement (means or strategy) produces desired business results such as customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, profitability, and more.

Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzalez-Molina, both associated with the Gallup Organization, co-authored Follow this Path. Their book explores the Gallup Q12 survey: its results, its implications, and ways to stimulate employee engagement.  Although not a true definition, what follows is their substantive list of traits of engaged employees:

• Use their talents everyday.
• Consistent levels of high performance.
• Natural innovation and drive for efficiency.
• Intentional building of supportive relationships.
• Clear about the desired outcomes of their role.
• Emotionally committed to what they do.
• Challenge purpose to achieve goals.
• High energy and enthusiasm.
• Never run out of things to do, create positive things to act on.
• Broaden what they do and build on it.
• Commitment to company, work group, and role.

This list--and characteristics that come to your mind of engaged employees with whom you've worked--may have more value than a definition. (I always understand the word better from the sentence or phrase that comes after the dictionary's definition!)

Could I offer you those preceding definitions and examples and characteristics of employee engagement and not include my definition? Hardly. My definition comes from 5 years' work with clients seeking tools and techniques to improve personnel performance. I've conducted more interviews than I can count. I've done research...and I've researched the researchers. Admittedly, I like it best.

Here's mine:

The individual’s investment of energy, skill, ability, and eagerness in the work performed. Engagement includes “involvement” and “commitment” yet goes beyond to include observable behaviors such as:

• Attention to task detail
• Commitment to assignment completion
• Involvement in special projects
• Communication willingly, effectively with others
• Demonstration of personal/professional improvement
• Initiation of problem-solving and/or conflict resolution
• Innovation regarding processes and procedures

The items listed are neither requisites for engagement nor the sum total of characteristic behaviors. I hope they stimulate your thoughts of other behaviors that say to you an employee--better yet, your body of employees--is engaged.

Next posting: What Employee Engagement Is Not