What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a term that has become a buzzword in modern business. You will find many differing views and much research written about the subject as employers and organisations strive to find the 'holy grail'.  

SMP Solutions are passionate about employee engagement and for businesses to understand and deliver the most effective strategies for engaging with their employees. We have written many articles about the subject and delivered training seminars (see downloads) to HR and Senior Management teams.  

Employee Engagement - A simple definition: 'A result that is achieved by stimulating and directing employees' enthusiasm for their work and directing it toward organisational success'

What is the impact of having engaged employees?

In return employees make far greater discretionary effort and deliver superior performance - Estimates vary from +19-40%. In other words they willingly 'go the extra mile'!

Source - The Work Foundation

What influences Employee Engagement?

Hertzberg's theory of motivation with the 'hygiene' (or maintenance) factors underpinning the motivators has stood the test of time. As long as the foundations are strong then the key motivators will kick in to make a difference. If the foundations are rocky then it will be difficult to get the same impact from these key motivators.
 

A typical example:

Research always highlights that the single biggest reason why people leave their jobs is down to how they view their boss.

Effective leadership and management will cascade down an organisation and create a 'feel good factor', which helps staff feel in tune with the values and ethos of the organisation. If the leadership and management are poor, then this is likely to cloud most other aspects of the organisation and disengage the workforce.

How do Reward & Benefits impact on Employee Engagement? 

Prior to the recession, relating back to Hertzberg's theory, the view is that reward is usually only short term. Therefore, unless the reward is exceptional or the benefits scheme has great perks or flexibility and is particularly well communicated to the workforce, then the 'extrinsic' value to the employee will diminish quickly.

Conversely, if the reward is so poor that it does not cover the basic necessities in life then this is a key hygiene or maintenance factor that people will not tolerate. This has been especially true in the current recession.

As long as the reward is 'sufficient' then the most important aspect of reward is 'fair pay' (i.e. relative to the market or fellow employees). If this is not right then the foundations collapse and previously engaged employees can become disillusioned and quickly disengage.

What are the key drivers to create the 'engagement factor'? 

Apart from 'fair pay', the biggest impact to employee behaviour is non financial - 'intrinsic'. Employees want to feel valued - not just a number and have recognition for a job well done.

For more information, click on the link to our presentation 'Productivity is a 2 way street - how to give a little to get a lot back'

Do you conduct regular engagement health checks?

As an employer your organisation should conduct regular 'reality / health checks' on engagement levels in your workforce, as taking this for granted could be at your peril!

Importance of Executive and Management Leadership

Getting the leadership, management and 'human' aspects right are fundemental to employee engagement. Also, by having an engaged workforce your organisation will be so much more productive. Therefore is your organisation investing in developing your executive and management teams and their ability to positively influence the workforce? If not, this is clearly an excellent investment in time and money.

SMP Solutions will be delighted to work with you to develop your employee engagement strategies and add value to your business. Contact us to discuss your requirements.