Employee Engagement: Does it Really Matter?

Over the past few years, there’s been much written about employee engagement (EE). What it is, what it isn’t, is it important and (assuming it is) how do you get it? In fact, there are literally hundreds of small to mid-size consulting, survey and training firms that have either sprung up or “morphed” from related fields to become EE experts.

The general notion of employee engagement is simple. Individual contribution of employees (including managers and leaders) in the workplace is very much influenced by the strength of their respective emotional connection to their employer. The stronger and more positive that connection, the more likely it is that the employee will give their best effort – in fact, go the proverbial “extra mile” – for the sake of their organization.  While the vast majority of recent research supports this notion, capitalizing on it requires a very disciplined strategy of measurement and response, as well as a long-term commitment of resources and talent. More significantly, it may also require some organizational soul-searching.

At its core, EE is based upon the basic concept of reciprocity. The employer works to create a work environment that is so emotionally satisfying and rewarding for employees, that it literally invites them to become similarly invested (engaged) in its long-term success. Like the game of golf, this conceptually simple to grasp, but not necessarily easy to execute well. One of the challenges is that emotional connections can be difficult to measure and are prone to shift (in some cases quickly) in response to changes in the work environment. More confounding is that these relations are typically forged one employee at a time, yet are influenced by multiple variables (supervisory relationships, organizational mission and values, workload, peer relationships, etc.). Add to this the cost/resource challenges created by the worst recession since the Great Depression, and EE as a business strategy can quickly become a “nice to do” for better times.

These challenges aside, engagement as a strategy is not only important, but vital (especially in a climate of economic uncertainty) to the long-term viability of most business enterprises. According to a proprietary report just completed by the University of Akron’s Center for Organizational Research, engaged employees tend to:

• Be more satisfied with their jobs
• Be more likely to stay with their employer even when other opportunities emerge
• Be more tolerant of (perceived) temporary economic hardships due to the economy
• Bring a consistently higher level of commitment, creativity and energy to their jobs
• Demonstrate higher levels of “good citizenship” behaviors both at and away from work (which fosters goodwill both towards and within the organization)

Here’s where the soul-searching comes in. As a general rule, it’s safe to say that most American workers are not engaged with their employers right now. In fact, the most recent Conference Board survey found that only 45% of employees currently report being satisfied with their jobs (the lowest since the survey was started in 1987) with as high as 60% indicating that they plan to actively seek new employment sometime in 2010. Employee engagement will never work as a “nice to do” strategy reserved for when times are good. Employees are smart and quickly sniff out frauds. In tough times, staying the course with the cultural focus and investment required to make EE sustainable is like servicing the roof before the hurricane hits. Only in this case, the “hurricane” for employers who ignore EE will likely take the form of an exodus of their top talent as the economy begins to improve.