What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is the level of commitment and energy employees bring to their work. It can be measured in terms of attitudes, behavior, loyalty, and overall performance. Engaged employees are motivated to reach a certain goal or outcome for the company they work for. They are emotionally invested in their organization’s success and contribute beyond what is expected from them as an employee.

Employee engagement is a key component of successful businesses, as it promotes creativity and collaboration within teams. An engaged workforce leads to increased customer satisfaction, higher retention rates, better collaboration between teams and departments, improved safety in the workplace, and fewer missed deadlines.

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How Is Employee Engagement Measured?

Employee engagement can be gauged through surveys that ask questions about job satisfaction levels, involvement with company goals and initiatives, attitude toward workplace policies, and commitment to the company’s mission. Surveys can be completed online, over the phone, or in person. Managers can also gauge employee experience levels through informal conversations and observing employee behavior.

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The Three Levels of Employee Engagement

Implementing positive changes in employee engagement starts with understanding that it is not a black-and-white issue – more of a spectrum, of sorts.

To that end, HR professionals typically assess and classify their staff into one of three main categories: actively engaged, not engaged, or actively disengaged.

Engaged employees are committed to their jobs, have positive attitudes toward their roles and the organization as a whole, and display motivation for continuous improvement. They

share common characteristics such as the ability to think creatively, generate innovative ideas, and actively contribute to the team. In an ideal world, they’re more than engaged – rather actively involved in the day-to-day affairs of their workplace.

Conversely, not engaged employees are typically neutral towards their work and the organization. They may show up on time and complete tasks as assigned; however, they don’t contribute any additional effort or enthusiasm to their roles beyond what is expected.

Meanwhile, actively disengaged employees are the opposite of engaged staff – they’re dissatisfied with their roles and display a negative attitude about the organization. They may be apathetic or even hostile in their approach to work and often lack enthusiasm or initiative.

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Six of the Most Effective Models for Employee Engagement

Employee engagement can be approached in a multitude of ways. Experts have come up with all sorts of strategies over the years, from ones that focus on interpersonal connection to others that promote engagement through benchmarking. Read below for a brief introduction to six of the most effective and well-known employee engagement models used today.

1. The ‘X’ Model of Employee Engagement

Conceived by Buck Blessing and Tod White, The ‘X’ Model of Employee Engagement is a unique approach to nurturing employee engagement in the workplace. It uses a formula to express and direct the various aspects of engagement, thereby helping employers understand how best to motivate and retain their employees.

Written out, the ‘X’ model states that:

Engagement = Contribution + Satisfaction

2. Kahn’s Model of Employee Engagement

Revered psychologist William Kahn is a leader in organizational behavior analysis. He is most well-known for his theory of employee engagement, which stipulates that an employee’s performance is directly and most effectively tied to the three factors of meaningfulness, safety, and ability. Businesses need to satisfy all three of these conditions in order to make their staff feel motivated and involved in the work they do.

3. Gallup Model

The Gallup Employee Engagement Model is a pyramid-based framework designed to help organizations understand the different stages of engagement employees experience in their workplace.

The foundation of the model is a base level that constitutes basic needs like adequate pay and access to resources. Then, engagement is thought to require individual support in order to grow, such as meaningful recognition, development opportunities, and career advancement.

The next level of the model relies on teamwork – essentially any trust-based relationships with colleagues, managers, and other stakeholders. Following that is the pinnacle of the pyramid, growth, which is made up of the innovative and creative aspects of work that allow employees to further their career goals.

4. Aon Hewitt Model

Aon Hewitt’s Employee Engagement Model is a strategic approach designed to measure and improve employee engagement within an organization. The model consists of six drivers – brand, leadership, performance, work, basics, and company practices. Those six elements are further divided into indicators to accurately measure employee engagement on various levels. The model is based upon the three key behaviors of Say, Stay and Strive; speaking positively about the organization and colleagues (Say), a sense of belonging to the organization (Stay), and motivation to exert extra effort in order to achieve organizational objectives (Strive).

5. Robinson Model

The Robinson Model of Employee Engagement was conceived by its namesake, employee engagement specialist Dilys Robinson, in partnership with the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) in the mid-2000s. The model is made up of six ‘building blocks’ that provide a framework for creating and sustaining an environment of high employee engagement; good quality line management, two-way communication, effective internal cooperation, a developmental focus, commitment to employee wellbeing, and a commitment from all managers to follow HR policies and practices.

6. Zinger Model

The Zinger Model of Employee Engagement is a popular system used by organizations to increase employee engagement and satisfaction within the workplace. The framework gives managers a set of 14 strategies to be implemented in order for employees to remain motivated and productive.

Spelled out, these strategies include:

• Achieving Results
• Crafting Strategies
• Connecting with Employees and Colleagues
• Being Authentic to the Organization’s Values and Mission
• Recognizing Achievements
• Engaging Employees in Decision-Making
• Enlivening Work Roles
• Excelling at Performance
• Esteeming the Organization’s Reputation and Successes
• Fostering a Sense of Community
• Serving Customers as a Team
• Developing Career Paths and Opportunities for Employees
• Leveraging the Energies of All Employees to Reach Goals
• Experiencing Wellbeing in Life Inside & Outside Work