It's Not Rocket Science: 4 Simple Strategies for Mastering the Art of Execution

Chapter 39Six Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

The Challenge

The past few years have brought a stronger awareness of the importance of having engaged employees in the workplace, while definitions as to what it actually means to be engaged are mostly misguided. Popular opinion asserts that happy and satisfied employees should be a priority, and many assume that if employees are happy with their work, and satisfied with their workplace, that their engagement is a given. This assertion is both wrong and reckless.

Two Truths about Engagement

• Some employees are happy to hang out by the water cooler daily for much of the day gossiping, snacking, and working hard at looking busy. Could you honestly call these happy folks engaged?
• Some team members are satisfied to do just enough to get by each day, just enough to get paid, and just enough not to get fired. These are not the behaviors any rational person would deem as engaged.

The reality is that employee engagement doesn't come from an employee being happy or satisfied; rather, that happiness and satisfaction result from an employee being engaged with his or her work, and at his or her workplace.

To dig deeper into the engagement topic, let's get past the buzzword aspect of engagement and examine insights into what it looks like in practice as well as how to create it.

How to Increase Engagement Effectively

1. Employee engagement happens when an employee is emotionally invested in the company's goals. His or her work is not ...