Engaged: Unleashing Your Organization's Potential Through Employee Engagement

CHAPTER 4

DO YOU KNOW HOW ENGAGED YOUR PEOPLE ARE RIGHT NOW?

Near-empty offices late in the afternoon, a brisk trade in cynical jokes in the corridor and a general air of nonchalance – some of the all-too-frequent signs of a workplace that’s ‘switched off’ and suffering from low engagement. But in another organization across town, the opposite can be seen: smiling faces, a buzz of energy everywhere and a ‘can do’ attitude whenever that little bit extra is asked of anyone. At its basic level, then, one can sense how far organizations are switched on. It’s almost something you can smell in the air. But if that’s so, why the need to survey employees to measure how engaged they are?

The importance of measurement

The reality is that – despite practices ...