While the term “Employee Engagement” has a formal definition, it can be broken down into three (3) fundamental areas.
No. 1 – Engaged with work
Engagement is defined as an employee who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work, and will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests relative to their own productivity. Employees who are happy with the work they’re doing and understand how their work ties in with the organization will usually give it their all and stick around. Happy employees + retention = 🙂 .
No. 2 – Engaged with each other
The work day is always more fulfilling when we like our coworkers and appreciate working alongside of them. Folks who take pleasure in their work and are treated as valued contributors will make teamwork and collaboration effortless for one another.
One relationship that trumps the above is when employees and their managers complement each other by sharing mutual respect and open and honest communication. I’d go so far to say that the employee-manager relationship is the most critical area of engagement, because we all know that employees don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers.
No. 3 – Engaged with customers
What about employees being engaged with customers? After all, the customers are paying the bills and all organizations want their customers to be happy.
I was thinking back to one of the umpteen exit interviews I had with a gal who was resigning due to her manager’s controlling style (and that’s a story for another day). She spoke about how she would miss the interaction she had with her customers as well as the connection they developed over the years.
I remember thinking to myself, “Well that’s a bummer. Here’s someone who loves her work and takes pride in her accomplishments yet feels she has no choice but to leave because of her manager’s leadership style.”
What if someone loves the work they do but isn’t crazy about their co-workers? What if an employee and manager have a great relationship but the work isn’t challenging?
There are no flawless work environments. There is no nirvana — that’s why it’s called work. So I’d like to ask:
“Is it a realistic possibility for employees to be satisfied and content in all three areas of engagement? Or am I just living in the clouds?”
This was originally published on Kimberly Roden’s Unconventional HR blog.