Human Resources: Executive Summary:Engagement

Engagement is that elusive combination of an employee's belief and investment in a job and in an employer that is strong enough to inspire commitment and loyalty and drive performance above and beyond a job description. Engagement is characterized by the employee's contributions toward business success. Experts describe engaged workers as passionate innovators who feel a deep connection to their employers.

In the U.S., a wide-ranging 2005 study by the professional services firm Towers Perrin found that only one in five workers at midsized and large organizations was engaged. A smaller study by The Conference Board, a nonprofit research organization, placed the percentage at only 14%. Demonstrating further variation in measuring engagement, the global research firm ISR credited the U.S. with a workforce that was 75% engaged in 2004. That figure placed the nation in a tie with Brazil for leadership in employee engagement among the world's top economies, besting such countries as the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.

While disparities exist in assessing engagement levels, there does seem to be some agreement about the factors that generate engagement. Change consultant Daphne Woolf offers the least-complicated insight, saying that employees need three things to support engagement: the resources to execute their jobs, appropriate compensation for their labor and the authority requisite for the scope of their responsibilities. Other commonly cited drivers of engagement include the presence of a strong employer brand, clear business goals that employees can easily grasp, business leaders who inspire confidence, belief in an organization's future, a supportive work environment, and a corporate culture that provides flexibility and opportunities for learning and career growth. Some researchers point to country-to-country cultural-based variation in the effectiveness of drivers.

Experts tend to agree that there is a strong business case for engagement. Woolf calls engagement "the catalyst to resolving business issues at their foundation," which ultimately enables a firm to achieve its objectives. Ian Ryder, brand and communications vice president for the consulting firm Unisys, adds that engagement is a critical support factor for business branding, and Purdue University's James Oakley simply states, "There is a relationship between attitude and profitability." Research from the ISR consultancy looked at income growth and worker satisfaction at 50 international companies, concluding that firms with high levels of employee satisfaction outperformed their colleagues in income growth by as much as 6% over a year's time.

Managers play key roles in developing employee engagement within their organizations. Experts say that those who lead in efforts to increase worker satisfaction and involvement evidence a clear understanding of the various generations now represented in the workforce, take an active interest in their employees' lives, are held accountable by senior leaders for driving engagement, and are, themselves, engaged in their work. HR departments support engagement initiatives by conducting training programs, overseeing the metrics used to assess engagement, and administering employee surveys and other tools used to gather engagement data. Further, HR roles in organizations' hiring processes afford opportunities to drive engagement by identifying candidates who are likely to become engaged workers.

For years, organizational leaders have been called upon to accomplish more with less, to achieve optimal results with lean workforces. Anticipated reductions in the pool of available labor as baby boomers age will likely serve to intensify that mandate. By creating cultures that encourage employees to become invested in their jobs and by genuinely caring about employees and helping them succeed, managers can sow the seeds of sustained engagement and optimal outcomes. Workplaces where employees happily invest themselves in challenging and rewarding jobs are likely to experience the greatest levels of success, even in the most trying of economic times.

To have full access to this report, become a member of i4cp today at www.i4cp.com.

The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp, inc.) improves corporate productivity through a combination of research, community, tools and technology focused on the management of human capital. With more than 100 leading organizations as members, including many of the best-known companies in the world, i4cp draws upon one of the industry’s largest and most-experienced research teams and Executives-in-Residence to produce more than 10,000 pages annually of rapid, reliable and respected research and analysis surrounding all facets of the management of people in organizations. Additionally, i4cp identifies and analyzes the upcoming major issues and future trends that are expected to influence workforce productivity and provides member clients with tools and technology to execute leading-edge strategies and "next" practices on these issues and trends. i4cp is a for-profit company with offices in St. Petersburg, Florida.