Evolving Employee Engagement

In the battle to secure and retain the best talent, forward-thinking organisations are always looking to increase their understanding of employee engagement - a concept which can be hard to pin down.

The best companies for employee engagement have realised that ‘engagement’ includes all aspects of the employee experience.

A 2017 YouEarnedIt survey identified four key strands of the employee experience - connection, meaning, impact and appreciation.   The same survey found that only 1 in 10 HR professionals believe that their organisation is providing an employee experience which encompasses all those things.

Organisations which are getting employee engagement right are often doing the following…

1. Connections – between the individual’s role and company’s goals
Employees are more engaged if they understand how their role contributes to the company vision and mission.  In 2015 a US financial services firm with low employee engagement scores launched several initiatives to improve its people’s knowledge of the company’s values, vision and mission – including changing office computer screensavers to a list of company values.  In its 2017 engagement survey, employees were asked to rate (by giving a score out of seven) their understanding of how their job contributes to the company’s overall success and how well they understand the company’s values – they gave average scores of 6.2 and 6.3 respectively.

2. Meaning – employees know their organisation has a positive purpose
In 2016 an international marketing firm examined its vision, values and mission.  The resulting ‘discussion document’ was circulated to all employees for their comments, an action which engaged its people in what the company wants to achieve and increased understanding of its goals.

3. Impact – on colleagues and community
An international car rental company found that employee engagement in its US operation was lower than the organisation’s average.  With employees spread across a dozen locations, they found it difficult to have any positive impact on each other.  The company responded by introducing a peer-recognition scheme which allows employees to recognise a colleague who made their life easier.  The platform encouraged a more helpful and appreciative environment and allowed employees to stay connected with events across the company’s US locations.  The 2017 employee engagement survey showed the US business record much higher scores for ‘recognition and appreciation’ than other parts of the organisation.

4. Appreciation – specific and real-time
In 2015, the leadership of a California-based tech business received clear feedback from employees that they wanted more recognition and appreciation.  The company launched a pilot programme which allowed employees to recognise each other’s efforts and also link each recognised act to one of the company’s core values.
 
How can MSB help?

MSB is a CIPD award-winning consultancy with a 30 year track record of delivering insightful and actionable employee engagement research for public and private sector organisations.  To find out more, visit the employee engagement page on our website.