Although employee engagement is not solely about increasing productivity, research has shown that companies with a high level of engagement often experience a productivity rise of about 22% (Gallup).

Engagement here is not about some hastily designed human resource policy on salary increment, a revamped gym and cafeteria to cater to staff welfare. It is and should be a way of life for every organization. Employee engagement is an employee’s emotional commitment to the organization and how passionate they feel about their jobs.

An employee who is emotionally invested would give 110 per cent to his job, without overtime payment and his employer asking. This means they are not just looking to what they can get out of the organization but are focused on achieving organizational goals.

This is quite different from employee satisfaction which is just a measure of how happy your employees are. It does not address motivation or emotional commitment to the organization. Indeed one can be happy and not engaged. There are employees who are just happy with putting in the minimum and collecting their paycheck as at when due.

Two major factors drive this process; engagement with the organization and engagement with managers.

Engagement with the organization involves the organization’s culture of engagement;

Does it respect, motivate and empower employees? Or is it demeaning and condescending?
Do your employees understand your goals? Can they see the picture? Do they know how they can help you achieve them? Or are they periodically hammered to simply improve the bottom line?
What is their perception of the senior management? Is it one of a master-servant relationship or a nurturing one grounded in genuine interest and concern for their employees?
Engagement with managers concerns employees’ relationship with their direct supervisor; one based on mutual respect.

Do the managers build cohesive teams while developing strong relationships?
Do they encourage professional development?
Are expectations clearly defined and employees being held accountable?
Are systems of rewards clearly spelt out and measured? Or is it shrouded in some culture of secrecy?
When these two factors are used positively, organizations will experience the following

Low rate of staff turnover: Talented, motivated employees will leave if their employers give them no compelling reason to stay. However when engaged, they are motivated to give their very best and most importantly, the organization is saved the cost of hiring and training new hands which doesn’t come cheap.
Improves the quality of work and health: This includes fewer work-related accidents and quality assurance mishaps, both of which convert to a higher quality of service
Higher profits: With higher quality of service, comes increased customer satisfaction which eventually translates to higher profits.


For more articles on work-life balance, go to http://www.iwfionline.org/are-you-engaged-or-just-satisfied/