The need for understanding an employee’s commitment is high. Academic research shows that people who are committed to their work perform better, which is favorable for a company’s bottom line. More importantly, it makes an employee feel better and results in higher work satisfaction. To understand how companies can influence this commitment, it is important to understand what is employee engagement. This is the construct that is often referred to in academic research and is also being used by many firms active in the field.
Employee engagement in a nutshell
How engaged is an employee? There are multiple ways to measure this. First off, the alignment with the company vision, mission, and principles. If an employee is more engaged, there is a high probability that he or she is aligned with the company’s ideals. This makes it of increased importance for organizations to think about their strategy. Not only for shareholders but also from the perspective of the employee. This is an approach that is being implemented more and more. A good example of this is Unilever. As a fast-moving consumer goods firm, they are working hard on their sustainability and inclusiveness targets. This makes it a great place to work for many people who are ambitious and want to do something for the future of humankind.
Activities at work
The company’s stance is one thing, next is the activities that an employee conducts. Naturally, people who are conducting more repetitive tasks are less engaged with their work. They see it as a repetition that needs to be completed to make a living. Of course, it is more complicated than this, but it does show a line of thinking. For example, people who can be more creative at work and have different types of tasks tend to be happier. They can come up with their ideas, have different types of working days, and more room to grow.
Hot to start measuring how engaged employees are
When it comes to measuring a construct, it is important to look at both qualitative and quantitative methods. For example, managers can already gain insights by talking to the members of their teams to gain insights. What is driving them? What are their current challenges? Are there personal challenges that need to be overcome? Besides that, you can leverage a survey to collect data on a larger scale. These questionnaires often include personal as well as company-related questions, such as the company’s vision and mission.
A broad set of tooling and research at your disposal
Want to learn more about employee engagement and what it can do for your firm? Or do you want to see state-of-the-art research conducted in the field? Visit the website of Effectory, a leading firm in the field of engagement among employees. They are providing different types of tooling and solutions to measure engagement. This ranges from simple survey methods to advanced statistical methods.
–