What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is how committed employees are to their work. This is an umbrella term that encompasses the amount of passion they feel for what they do, the level of effort they put into their work, and the loyalty they feel towards the company. Employee engagement is affected by the intrinsic value employees feel their work has, ease of workflow, and the team culture.
Why is employee engagement needed?
High employee engagement prolongs employee retention and reduces the turnover rate, saving a company hiring and onboarding costs.
Examples of employee engagement levels
Scenario 1: Max has been working at Coco Manufacturing for 8 years. He takes home a steady paycheck, and he has a good relationship with his teammates. He completed an employee satisfaction survey and shared that he is happy with his company’s benefits. However, he has been doing the same tasks for almost a decade. He does not feel that he is learning and he does not take initiative with bringing new ideas to the table. He appreciates HR’s efforts at team socials and getting free breakfast at work. While he has no complaints, he always looks forward to the weekend and the end of a workday. Max’s responsibilities to his family and his closeness with his teammates will keep him from quitting.
Engagement level: Mixed, with high team satisfaction but low job engagement. Max has a strong sense of cohesion with his team members, but he is not a top performer. He is satisfied enough not to look for new work opportunities, but he is the type to clock-in and clock-out.
Potential solutions: Max’s manager can consider having a conversation about professional development. While Max is content with his position, perhaps there are certain projects that are more engaging for him that he will take more initiative on.
Scenario 2: Gwen loves working as a summer camp counsellor for Camp Greycreek. She has only been there 6 months, but she is great with kids and she invents fun new games for all the counsellors to try out. Her new games even get featured in a local newspaper. Even though she is working minimum wage, she is just a student and does not mind. Besides, she gets plenty of recognition from her manager. However, when a rival Camp hears about the great work Gwen is doing at Camp Greycreek, they offer her a counsellor position at a much higher rate. Gwen’s parents tell her to take it, and even though she’ll miss her co-workers, she considers it.
Engagement level: Mixed, with high job engagement but low commitment. Gwen loves her role, but she does not feel a strong sense of loyalty to her company. At the chance of better benefits and learning opportunities, Gwen is tempted to leave.
Potential solutions: Gwen’s manager can offer Gwen a promotion to increase her responsibility and her salary. It would also help to have a stronger mentorship program to increase Gwen’s level of commitment to fellow counselors who are learning from her.
Scenario 3: Neo is a caricature artist at Fantasyland who has been working there for 2 years. He is grateful for all that he’s learned through company training, but now he feels it’s time to expand his career. On his two year work anniversary, his manager gives him a 50 cent raise and a gift basket full of Fantasyland goodies. Neo appreciates the gesture a lot, but he is still looking for a new position. In truth, he feels as though he should have sought other opportunities earlier for his career, but he is so comfortable working at Fantasyland. He gets free tickets to special performances, and he can even spend the night in Fantasyland hotel for free if he doesn’t want to travel home.
Engagement level: Mixed, with low career development opportunities but high employee appreciation and benefits. Neo appreciates the perks of working at Fantasyland even though he knows it would be better for his career to start seeking other opportunities.
Potential solutions: Fantasyland has already done a great job of showing appreciation for employees and showering them with perks. They can also consider including an education or career development program so that employees don’t feel as though they are in a dead-end job.
