Much has been studied and written about the power of employee engagement in recent years, but there is still uncertainty about how companies can access greater commitment, enthusiasm, and discretionary effort from their employees. This year The Conference Board released a summary of world-wide engagement research and, in this report, described the 8 fundamental drivers of employee engagement (Employee Engagement: A Review of Current Research and Its Implications. Conference Board, 2008). The importance of the research for this article is that 4 of the 8 factors that power employee engagement are directly related to the design of their jobs.
What All Of Us Want
From my perspective, each of the career management factors that underpin engagement directly impact our human need for meaning and purpose. For the vast majority of employees at any level in the organization, the feelings of self-respect that come from clearly knowing what is expected, how their actions help the team, that there could be a future career, and that they can develop new skills, tap a unique source of energy within them. While some employees may have barriers that prevent engagement, most will eagerly respond to an employment opportunity that satisfies these needs. To design and build a culture and organization that creates jobs and job environments that engage the employee on this critical level takes thoughtfulness, effort, and planning. Isn't this a main purpose of leadership?
Please download the .pdf of this Article/White Paper to read in its entirety.
