MN7181 - People and Organisations: Principles and Practice in Global Contexts - 7

Employee Engagement & Levels of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement happens when, as per Armstrong, (2017) “people are committed to their work and to the organization”.

“Employee Engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals” Kevin Kruse (nd).

Gallup, (nd) defines engaged employees as those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.

There could be many definitions to Employee Engagement, yet it means the same. If proper, adequate engagement is not involved, lesser the job satisfaction and higher the costs.

 As identified by Gallup (2006), Employee Engagement has three levels:

• Engaged Employees
• Disengaged Employees
• Actively Disengaged

The diagram below helps to give a better understanding on the distribution of employees in the different levels of engagement.

Image 1:

1. Engaged Employees – work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward. Only 30% of the American workforce is classified as engaged.

Engaging Employees need not necessarily only be taking employee feedback, or ideas for implementation. Simply listening to the employees, and transparency, too are considered as means of employee engagement.

Google, and Virgin are classic examples of companies with outstanding employee engagement.

Virgin (Listening) – This multi-industry organization has a habit of listening to its employees, to show that they are valued, to listen to their opinions and take care of their ideas, to have healthy debates and continuously innovate. It’s a win-win for the organization, as the organization keeps learning and the employees feel important and engaged with the organization.

Google (Transparency) – They have been very intentional about creating the culture they want. One aspect of that culture is their focus on transparency. The idea is to break down barriers, encourage creativity and collaboration. And employees, as a result, are feeling empowered by that transparency.

2. Disengaged – employees are essentially “checked out’. They sleepwalk through their workday. They put the time in, but not the energy or passion.

Not engaged Employees (disengagement) have display a number of characteristics of disengagement; Lack of enthusiasm, complaining attitude, easily distracted, no initiative are some of the common characteristics.

3. Actively Disengaged – employees are more than unhappy at work. Thy make their unhappiness known, too. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplished. About 17% of the American workforce is considered actively disengaged.

Have a bad attitude, not be as productive, demotivate other team members, and steal from the company, looking for new jobs, etc. are some of the characteristics actively disengaged employees showcase.

Be it disengaged or actively disengaged, both kinds of employees are a cost to the organization

Sadly, a greater portion of the least engaged are the millennial in the workforce. And millennial also make up the largest proportion of the today workforce.

How to identify Disengaged Employees

Commonly the below are characteristics of the employees who are disengaged:

Lack of Enthusiasm

Complaining Attitude

No Initiative

Not growth

Ways to deal with Actively Disengaged Employees

Gather information with regards to the general engagement levels

If you’re not already conducting employee engagement surveys to see where the entire workforce stands, consider starting

Assess what recognition programs you have in place

Often, disengagement starts when employees feel their hard work is ignored. Perhaps they were passed over for a raise or promotion or didn’t get a coveted assignment. Having programs in place to ensure employees get the recognition they deserve can help keep employees engaged longer.

Talk to employees about their goals, and put development plans in place (and follow through)

Sometimes, employees lose engagement because they are bored or feel that their talents are not being utilized. It can be as simple as having a conversation with employees to understand their career goals – and then taking steps to help them achieve those goals over time.

Pay attention to workload and unrealistic expectations

Sometimes, disengagement stems from feeling overworked – which often within the employer’s control.

Look for signs of bad managers

Employee engagement is often directly affected by how the individuals interact with their managers.

Ensure employees have the right tools

To do the job well, which can reduce unnecessary stress and frustration

If you’ve singled out actively disengaged individuals, talk with them to find out the root of their dissatisfaction

Talk to them and see what can be done at the company or individual level. In some instances, it may be too late, and you may have to consider letting an employee who is actively disengaged leave before he or she creates additional problems to the existing employees.

Reference:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/180404/gallup-daily-employee-engagement.aspx

https://business.dailypay.com/blog/the-three-levels-of-employee-engagement-and-how-they-impact-your-bottom-line

https://www.managers.org.uk/insights/news/2015/december/six-companies-that-get-employee-engagement-and-what-they-do-right

https://www.myhubintranet.com/disengaged-employees/

https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2017/11/22/actively-disengaged-employees-costing-dearly/