Employee Engagement
Engagement has formal definitions. It can be measured, and it can be improved.
Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. Engaged employees are committed to quality work and helping their organization succeed. Employee Engagement is a leading indicator of important lagging indicators, such as: turnover, absenteeism, wellbeing, productivity, profitability, and safety incidents.
Engagement vs. Satisfaction
Often, people use the terms engagement and satisfaction interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings, and produce different outcomes.
Satisfied employees are content with their jobs and are often pleasant and easy to work with. Satisfaction is a leading indicator of showing up.
Engaged employees give discretionary effort. They are passionate, energized, and involved. Engagement is a leading indicator of producing results.
Great organizations want discretionary effort and need people who promote their brand. Measuring engagement sends a very powerful and positive message:
“We want you to want to be here, and for this to be a place of employment at which everyone thrives.”
Toolkit
Click through the links in this toolkit to explore improving your employee engagement, and measuring your success over time.
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Unpacking Employee Engagement: More guidance on employee engagement, exemplars, and ideas for improvement coming soon.
Learn more about engagement concepts with a focus on candidate experience. -
Responding to Employee Engagement Data: Proactive planning on putting employee engagement data to use, tips for responding to the data.
If you plan to measure employee engagement, be proactive in your plans to respond to the data.
Employees need to see a genuine commitment to improvement. The following are tips to support your planning.
Develop Capacity – Share the why for prioritizing employee engagement and build a shared understanding of engagement and how it differs from employee satisfaction or happiness.
Set Expectations and Model the Use of the Data – Employee Engagement data is important, and one of several measures collected for continuous improvement. To support system-wide use of the data, model the analysis of and response to the results at the district level first. Work with the building leaders and department managers to review their own engagement data who then work with their building teams to set a goal and action plan. Set expectations for building leaders and department managers on the use of the data with their teams. Provide time and support tools to these leaders to personally review their team results. Require leaders to work with their teams to review their data together and set a measurable goal and action plan for improvement in an area.
Use Year 1 as a Baseline – Some teams will receive data to celebrate, and some will not. Provide ample time and training to improve performance.
Lead with Your Successes – Most organizations will have units that perform very well. Even in world-class organizations, there are both areas of strength and opportunities for growth. Consider starting with a strong team/unit when implementing the use of engagement data and have them inform the rollout.
Don’t View Engagement in Monolithic Terms – You will likely see wide variance in engagement levels from unit to unit. For example, the high school, middle school, elementary school, and the bus garage will likely yield different levels of engagement results.
Be Kind & Promote Reflection – Some groups will receive results that may be difficult. Provide time for leaders to privately review their team results, reinforce that this is a baseline year, and provide support and training for their follow up with their team.