Print edition: 
Hiring and retaining talented people isn't enough these days. If your skilled resources aren't focused on the right things and motivated to give 100 percent, you might end up like a sports team with a big payroll, a bench of sidelined stars and a losing season.
Engagement has been hailed as the secret ingredient to a competitive advantage and organizational success. We know it's important, but what is it, exactly? And how can employers increase engagement to affect the bottom line?
Blessing White, an international HR research and consulting firm, defines engagement in a 2008 report as the alignment of maximum job satisfaction ("I like my work and do it well.") with maximum job contribution ("I help achieve the goals of my organization."). Engaged employees go beyond being committed, beyond being passionate, beyond being proud. They have a line of sight on their own future and on the organization's mission and goals. They are enthused and in gear, using their talents and discretionary effort to make a difference in their employer's quest for sustainable business success.
Blessing White found that fewer than 1 in 3 employees in North American are fully engaged, and 19 percent are actually disengaged. Among top executive leadership, less than half are engaged, creating a negative effect on productivity across the organization. Disengaged employees are either actively looking for other employment or are entrenched in a negative routine and can do considerable damage to morale and productivity.
Engagement makes business sense. Towers Perrin found that high-engagement firms experienced an earnings-per-share growth rate of 28 percent compared with an 11.2 percent decline for low-engagement firms. Best Buy reports that stores increasing their employee engagement by a tenth of a point (on a five-point scale) will see a $100,000 increase in sales for the year. A Fortune 500 firm in the Blessing White study showed that increasing employee engagement drove up their J.D. Power and Associates rankings.
What are employees looking for, and how can employers respond? The two top drivers for engagement listed by Blessing White are more opportunities to "do what I do best" (28 percent of responders) and career development opportunities and training to improve performance (25 percent). Taken together, the clear message is that employees want to use their unique capabilities each day or move their career and growth forward.
The report outlines five recommendations to increase engagement:
Maximize managers: Engagement is a personal equation and managers must play a role in helping each employee solve it on a personal level. Managers are not there to be liked, but to inspire, coach and challenge employees. Managers must also be engaged and held accountable for results.
Align, align, align: Alignment is the missing link for employees who want to do work that matters, belong to something of consequence and achieve greatness with their talents. Start at the top with senior leaders, because unless leaders are crystal clear and supporting each other, or miscommunication will spread like a crack in a foundation, growing larger and larger as it works its way through the organization.
Redefine career: Traditional career definitions are a thing of the past. Career is a personal thing, defined by individual values, personality and life situation. Help employees determine what they are good at, what they want and how to get what they need in your organization. Then, make development and training a priority.
Pay attention to culture: Culture can be seen as the spoken and unspoken rules of engagement within an organization. Help senior leaders set the tone, align systems and processes with cultural drivers, and never stop investing in your managers.
Survey less; act more: While metrics have their place, unless they provide actionable insights the result is analysis paralysis. Equip and hold leaders accountable for action.
With diligent effort and a multifaceted approach, you can increase the amount of discretionary effort your employees give, and positively affect the bottom line.
