Companies and leaders know that employee engagement is important. Take the Conference Board CEO Challenge 2014 report “based on a survey of CEOs, presidents, and chairmen from more than 1,000 companies around the world. As in previous years, executives were asked to identify and rank the most pressing challenges they face and their strategies for addressing each. Worldwide, Human Capital — how best to develop, engage, manage, and retain talent — was named the leading challenge among ten choices, followed by Customer Relationships, Innovation, Operational Excellence, and Corporate Brand and Reputation.”1
“Though particular strategies vary from region to region, business leaders worldwide are working to optimize their greatest resource — their employees and those who will lead them,” said Rebecca Ray, Senior Vice President, Human Capital at The Conference Board, and a co-author of the report. “This emphasis on people-related issues makes perfect sense in a still-uncertain economy. Building a culture that supports engagement, employee training, leadership development, and high performance is something companies can control, and can mean the difference between growing market share and simply surviving in 2014. Moreover, if the focus of individual companies is sustained, Human Capital may well be the engine that revives economic growth.”2
Employee engagement may be a concern, but little actually changes. Companies go about their work as usual. “Why do so many businesses think of employee engagement as a “nice-to-have” versus necessity? And why is the management of such programs often treated as an afterthought or added responsibility undeserving of a dedicated role or department?”3
There is an opportunity cost to not focusing on employee engagement. An opportunity cost is “the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.”4 By failing to fully focus on employee engagement, companies forgo a competitive advantage.
Since senior leadership is failing to fully focus on employee engagement, I am calling on all mangers to take up the cause. Employee engagement is firmly in your purview. My challenge to you is to begin to take action on your own to address the four drivers5 of engagement that are most frequently cited in employee engagement survey results:
- Relationship with your manager
- Recognition and rewards
- Development opportunities
- Advancement opportunities
Start small and build on your progress. Get other managers involved. Start a grass roots venture in order to demonstrate the importance of employee engagement to your senior leadership.
What suggestions do you have to address each of the four drivers? Let’s share best practices and together, begin to better engage our employees.
1 “Engaged Employees and Satisfied Customers Dominate Thinking of CEOs in 2014.” The Conference Board. 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <https://www.conference-board.org/press/pressdetail.cfm?pressid=5055>.
2 Ibid.
3 Humlen, Anneliza. “Why Employee Engagement Needs to Be Infectious.” Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series. 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://ecoopportunity.net/2014/09/why-employee-engagement-needs-to-be-infectious/>.
4 “Opportunity Cost.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/opportunity-cost>.
5 “The Organizational Intelligence Institute (OII) Launches Research To Uncover The Causes and Impact of Disengaged Leaders.” The Organizational Intelligence Institute (OII). 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-organizational-intelligence-institute-oii-launches-research-to-uncover-the-causes-and-impact-of-disengaged-leaders-275275851.html>.
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of September 15 – 19, 2014
- Now / Later / Soon: The Semblance of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Employee Engagement
- Dear Managers, Here’s Some Feedback
- When is Your Personal Fiscal Year?
- The Importance of Networking in the Workplace
- Give Employees Their “DOSE” of Chemical Injections to Influence Engagement!
- Employee Engagement and Social Media
Let’s Engage!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
I’m excited about this opportunity to connect with fellow “Agents.” Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest updates and/or register to comment on posts.
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Learn more about me at www.gregoryfsimpson.com.
