Article: Here’s how you should identify an engaged employee

A Brand Reachout InitiativeEmployee Engagement

Here’s how you should identify an engaged employee

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Having a sense of purpose of how individual work contributes to a larger mission other than revenueis essential to job satisfaction and greater individual success.
Here’s how you should identify an engaged employee

Employee engagement and culture are no longer “topics for HR to debate” but they are “business issues” that organizations cannot hide from, declares Bersin by Deloitte’s new report titled “Culture and engagement: The naked organization”. According to the study, while 87 percent of organizations cite culture and engagement as one of their top challenges, about 50 percent call the problem “very important”. Unlike other business problems, employee engagement is not a “one-time solution” problem. So companies will have to constantly innovate themselves and identify areas of improvement.

While taking into account the prevailing economic environment’s drivers that include positive hiring outlook and a growing market, TINYPulse’s report on ‘employee engagement’ states that the major attrition risk is from “the middle of the pack” employees – who are neither strongly engaged nor terribly disengaged from work. The level of commitment displayed by them would not have been an issue if alternate job options were scarce but “as more opportunities open up, these workers will drift away”, says Dora Wang, the author of report. Here are some questions you need to ask to identify who your engaged employees are:

Is the employee satisfied and happy?

Happiness leads to higher productivity and employee retention. A study by Oracle in Western Europe revealed that the more an organization works towards getting engagement right, the greater the chance employees will feel productive about their work and the less likely they are to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Nearly three out of four respondents to the annual Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction Report by the Society for Human Resource Management cite “respect for co-workers” or “respectful treatment of employees” as most important while rating their job satisfaction. Job security and compensation ranked lowest. Turns out, pay is still important, but how people feel about peers and management is even more important. Higher pay won’t solve employee-retention problems.

Does the employee relate to the Company’s culture and mission? 

Perspective is everything. Having a sense of purpose of how individual work contributes to a larger mission other than revenue is essential to job satisfaction and greater individual success. In a recent survey by employee-recognition specialists Achievers --  about 57% of employees did not know their company’s own mission-- which can negatively impact their perception about how their jobs contribute to the company’s vision or purpose. Sixty-one percent also reported not knowing their company’s cultural values. Culture, which entails the conditions in which employees experience their day-to-day work routines, is your company’s DNA. Employees are more likely to engage if they feel invested in the company’s culture and its products and services. 

Does the employee participate in Wellness, Recognition, and Motivation Programs?

As clichéd as it may sound, people want to love what they do. An increasing number of employees say engagement stems from feeling recognized or motivated to perform their jobs. However, the absence of recognition and motivation can’t be fixed overnight. Engagement techniques are inherent in the company culture and DNA.

In the Oracle survey mentioned above, 53% of employees said management’s biggest priority should be to recognize employees’ achievements, followed by helping employees understand their contribution to the company (35%) and giving them the opportunity to work on exciting projects (34%). Only 29% of survey respondents think their company is proactive at engaging them.

HR and social collaboration systems help businesses introduce employee recognition, career development, and succession planning programs, but the inspiration to engage with those employees must come from company leaders, managers, and HR professionals. As much as employees want to love what they do, they also want to feel good about what they do. To help reduce burnout and boost employee happiness, companies are fostering a culture of wellness and motivation. 

This article is a part of the People Matters- Oracle Let's Talk Talent series. Click here to visit the Let's talk talent page to read more such articles.

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Topics: Employee Engagement, #Lets Talk Talent

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