September 28, 2009

Employee Engagement- A myth or reality????

I wonder if there is something known as 'active employee engagement'???

Well!!! the several surveys lead to the conclusion that it exists. Even Professor Google has numerous definitions for it.

But when I ask the meaning of 'active employee engagement' to a few senior professionals. They say that it's all about keeping the employees happy enough through recreational activities/fun activities'.

I do not endorse that at all. I will explain /justify that through an example. If an 'actively disengaged employee' gets to participate in your company's so called 'Disco Dandiya event'. Will it help the HR team to stop him from bad mouthing about the company or raise his work performance standards????

No!!!! most likely!!!!

He will get a good excuse to get away from his work and also have a social gathering which he can entertain through his bad mouthing about the company.

Let's apply common sense and change our approach towards employee engagement.

The purpose is to get the associates excited about their job and perform better through greater involvement and ownership.

Include the following in your employee engagement tool kit:

1. Superior Learning and Development.
2. Competitive Compensation.
3. Most importantly, foster a culture of 'goodness'. A place where the right virtues and values are recognized and appreciated genuinely.
4. Have some real 'fun' after getting the above three points right in place.

;-)


3 comments:

Anand said...

Saikat, point made, though am sure EE starts and ends well beyond the contours you lay dwon atleast in established companies.
That said, the plethora of realtime activities would also continue inspite of addressing the factors ypou rightly list

Derek Irvine said...

Ah, that's a common misconception of engagement -- employers keeping employees happy.

Rather employee engagement is about creating a company culture in which employees WANT to engage, that is, willingly give additional effort that is targeted specifically on the tasks identified to help achieve the company's strategic priorities.

Who is responsible for employee engagement? I believe the company (management, leadership, HR, everyone) is responsible for creating an environment in which employees want to engage – one in which employees know what is expected of them, understand how those expectations help the company succeed, and are encouraged to recognize and appreciate achievement of their peers and subordinates in delivering those expectations.

More on this last concept here: http://globoforce.blogspot.com/2009/08/whos-responsible-for-your-engagement.html

Saikat Saha said...

Thanks Anand & Derek!!!!

I agree with both of you...i even had a look at your blogs...will regularly visit them....