Employee engagement is the top workplace buzzword through which organizations gauge the productivity levels and satisfaction of employees. It is an absolute dream of every employer to have employees who engage highly at work. So in this article we will focus more on what is employee engagement.
Employees who are highly connected to their organization tend to work harder and show commitment. If they are not engaged, they may not be able to give their 100% effort. Therefore, employee engagement is one of the concepts which is highly essential for organizational success and growth.
Definition of employee engagement
Following are the various definitions of employee engagement.
- According to Willis Towers Watson, the employee’s ability, and willingness to contribute to an organization’s success is called employee engagement.
- Gallup considers engaged employees as those who are enthusiastic and contribute to an organization’s success.
- The famous Aon Hewitt who introduced their Employee Engagement Model considers employee engagement as the psychological investment in their company.
- Quantum Workplace describes engagement as the mental and emotional connection that an employee feels toward their workplace.
- As per David Leod, employee engagement is a set of created conditions where employees offer more of their potential and capability.
Types of Employee Engagement
The objective of what is employee engagement will not be achieved without a precise understanding of engaged and disengaged employees.
Gallup conducted an employee engagement tracking survey to monitor changes in the workforce. With the help of this survey, they analyzed some essential characteristics and then separated employees into three categories based on their level of engagement.
1. Actively engaged employees
Organizations need to identify this category of employees as they are true assets. Companies’ success and growth are highly dependent upon them. Efforts must be made by human resource management in recruiting actively engaged employees.
These employees are highly passionate about their work and show full comittment to the mission and vision of the organization. They have a positive outlook on themselves and where the company is headed in the future. These employees feel pride in moving with the company.
Such employees have maintained a consistently high level of performance and are highly committed to the organization. They are also optimistic, productive, proactive, loyal, time-oriented, solution-oriented, have a passion for learning, and go above and beyond.
2. Not Engaged Employees
Organizations must make constant attempts to identify not engaged employees. After the successful identification, the organization must create ways for them to become engaged employees.
This category falls into the middle ground for the level of engagement. They will put their effort into fulfilling their assigned roles and responsibilities, but they will be neutral about the company.
These employees wait for their paychecks and do work that is only mentioned in their job description. They will not be involving in putting in the extra effort that goes beyond their job role. These employees were previously actively engaging employees but now changed due to a lack of career growth, salary inequity, or promotion.
3. Actively Disengaged Employees
Actively disengaged employees can be a threat to the organization, and they are resentful and negative about the company. These employees are highly damaging in the workplace. Such employees feel unhappy, and their poor energy can impact the morale of other teams.
Social withdrawal from the team members and lack of participation can be an early indication of active disengagement. These employees do not like to invest time in team building or development opportunities that will help in achieving career growth.
They are most likely to be searching for jobs at other organizations and are highly vocal about their complaints. These employees are pessimists, self-centered, egocentric, and frustrated. They are less interested in making progress or solving problems and don’t like extra challenges.
Why is Employee Engagement Important?
The following research and statistics show us the importance of employee engagement.
- The percentage of overall engaged workers in 2020 is 36% (Gallup).
- Actively engaged employees contribute to 41% and 59% reduction in absenteeism and attrition respectively (Gallup).
- High workplace engagement leads to a 20% increase in sales and a 10% increase in customer rating (Gallup).
- Actively engaged employees are more likely to achieve the company’s goals and objectives (SHRM).
- About 63.3% of the companies find it difficult to retain employees than hire them (Zenefits).
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, organizations should first identify the above-mentioned categories with the help of surveys and then transform the behavior of disengaged employees into engaged employees. The company can achieve this by helping them connect with the mission, and vision of the company, and use various engagement strategies and training.
The more organizations will invest in their employees the more they will feel engaged and committed. Now you know what is employee engagement.
Check out our other articles on employees such as Definition of Employee Onboarding and Does onboarding mean I got the job.
