BUSINESS RESEARCH

Managing Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is often seen as the cornerstone of high-performing organisations. Research shows that positive employee perceptions of management and engagement practices are linked to increased job satisfaction and organisational commitment, and reduced turnover intentions. According to Gallup, highly engaged workforces can boost organisational productivity and profitability by at least 20%.

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April 2015

Despite this, the majority of companies still fail to achieve meaningful returns on their engagement efforts. All too often, companies apply a “cookie cutter” approach because leaders (wrongly) assume that people possess the same universal needs, beliefs and values (the “false-consensus bias”). Dr Wilson Wong at the CIPD argued, “Engagement of an individual depends on what is salient at the time for that person. Individual differences, circumstances… and personal needs vary enormously”.

Use two key principles to overcome these variations and strengthen engagement:

  1. Engage your people in meaningful dialogues to really get to know them: Leaders need to identify the specific values that drive the people who report to them. Start by creating a list of simple values and then use interviews or focus groups to ask employees which of these are most important to them as individuals. This will require conscious effort – but leaders will quickly learn a lot about their people and how best to support and reward them as individuals
  2. Leverage people’s strengths: Use the information you collect to create a couple of development goals for each person in order to bridge the gap between their personal values and the organisational culture. For example, if a person values risk-taking but the organisation values stability, task him or her with exploring and evaluating new technologies that can be used to enhance internal stability, e.g. social networking tools.

Sources: Baumgartner, N. (2014) One Engagement Strategy Does Not Fit All, HBR, Nov 26; Wong, W. (2012) Employee Engagement: Re-stating the Bleeding Obvious, Nov 28, CIPD.

Referenced techniques

Technique

Employee Engagement

The concept explores the significance of employee engagement and the factors that influence the extent to which employees are committed to organisational goals, mission and vision. It also provides an insight as to how organisational employee engagement can increase productivity and decrease staff turnover.

Technique

Employee-centred Leadership Style

The concept describes a key leadership style that underpins contemporary thinking on participatory and consultative management. Using research evidence and case studies, it explains the advantages and disadvantages of employee-centred leadership styles, and provides step-by-step guidance on implementation and success factors.

Technique

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs outlines five levels of human motivation: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. It provides businesses with insights to enhance employee engagement, improve performance, and develop strategies that align with core motivational drivers for impactful results.

Technique

Empowering Employees

Over 70% of organisations now use empowerment initiatives. This concept explores how and why companies apply them. Empowerment is a key driver of motivation, autonomy, and innovation. Edmondson (2018) and Parker (1998) show it thrives in safe cultures and well-designed roles.

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