Employee Engagement

Abstract

This paper is an examination of Employee Engagement. I will discuss some of the strategies and techniques that can be used to engage employees, and then provide a summary of benefits to organizations that successfully engage their employees.

In this paper, I would like to take a look at what I feel is one of the most important strategic techniques an organization can implement, and that is: Employee Engagement. First I would like to explore what employee engagement means. Second I would like to discuss some engagement techniques that have been successful, and finally I will look at some of the benefits companies have realized as a result of employee engagement.

Employee engagement is the extent to which an employee feels linked to organizational success and how the organization performs positively. (Jackson, 2011). Employee engagement is a two-way process, in which employees and their organizations trust one another and work towards achieving shared goals and visions. Companies and organizations endeavor to give their employees meaning and purpose when they come to work and employees reciprocate by bringing the whole of themselves to their work, embracing it with enthusiasm and passion. (Ph.D, 2007) If an organization takes care of its employees by making them feel valued and important to the organization's success, the employees will take care of the organization.

In the past I thought that the best way to engage an individual was through compensation, that if you paid someone well, they were less likely to leave. Although compensation is important to many individuals, it is not what engages an employee, and makes them want to come to work every day and remain loyal to the organization. If compensation is the only reason an individual is working for an organization, then the organization should have a replacement waiting in the wings, because a compensation driven employee will be gone with the first offer of a higher salary. Although you don't want to under pay your employees, you don't have to be the highest payer either. You want to make sure that you conduct a market analysis of compensation for your fields to make sure you are in the ballpark with what your competitors are paying. Our society has no problem paying more for a pleasurable brand experience and by the same token we are happy to earn less if the tradeoff is a better work experience. I would like to look at some other strategies that have proven to be successful in getting and keeping employees engaged.

In this day and age, flexibility is a key factor when it comes to engaging employees. Helping employees obtain work life balance is important. This can be achieved in many different ways. Depending on the career field and job requirements, allowing employees to telecommute, work from home on tasks that don't require them to physically be in the office is a popular option. The concept of telecommuting has the power to increase overall productivity, strengthen business relationships and enrich employee benefits. For workers who are active parents, have a long daily commute, or participate in job-related training, it makes sense for them to telecommute. Not only does it improve company efficiency, but this benefit enables the telecommuter to save money on transportation costs. (Walls, 2011) When telecommuting is not an option, adjusting work schedules to accommodate family or personal commitments within reason, and as long