When William Kahn coined the term “employee engagement” in 1990, he defined it as “when people bring themselves fully into their work.” The professor of organizational behavior at Boston University helped business leaders understand that people are more satisfied with their jobs if they’re mentally and emotionally connected to them.
Kahn conducted his groundbreaking research on the topic over thirty years ago. While his definition still holds, the things that satisfy workers have shifted, especially during the COVID era.
For example, competitive pay and benefits used to keep most people in long-term commitments to their employers. While these things still factor into job satisfaction, today’s determining factors reside on a more human level.
Employees want and need more than financial stability to feel engaged in their jobs.
The pandemic’s lingering impact prompted people to reevaluate the meaning of work in their lives. As they assessed their priorities, many discovered they weren’t fulfilled in their jobs and began looking for greener pastures. The ensuing turnover trend, labeled the Great Resignation, remained in full force well into 2022 until the economy hit a downturn.
The widespread financial uncertainty made people more inclined to hold onto their current jobs, and attrition slowed. But many workers who stuck with existing employers grew increasingly disengaged. Consequently, “quiet quitting” became the newest trend vexing organizations, as employees began to do little more than putting in their hours.
Experts, including MentorcliQ CMO Gracey Cantalupo, believe we’ve entered an “engagement recession” that should worry employers just as much as the rocky economy. As she points out in Forbes, disengagement is expensive:
“According to Gallup (via LinkedIn), actively disengaged employees cost their employers 34 percent of their annual salary in lost productivity.”
Every organization’s success is directly tied to its employee engagement level. Employers can’t afford to hope engagement improves as people adjust to a post-pandemic work world. Instead. Instead, they must develop strategies to make their organizations places people want to be.
Today’s definition of employee engagement is comprised of three elements.
Engaged workers:
The quality of a company’s workplace culture determines how well it can meet these goals.
Astute business leaders are setting new standards for building stronger connections with their staff. Wellable’s list of companies with high employee engagement in 2022 can inspire all business leaders in 2023. These industry titans have vast resources, but smaller organizations can effectively use many of their ideas to boost and sustain engagement. We take a look at the top three companies on their list.
Google leaders stay in tune with their highly talented staff to assess their needs. Often at the top of the “Best Places to Work” list, the tech giant employs multiple strategies to increase engagement. They include:
This massive financial services company has more than 100,000 employees worldwide. They owe much of their success to tactical employee engagement programs that unify the organization. Their strategy involves:
This top cybersecurity and networking company depends on a high-performing staff. Consequently, they rely on a multi-faceted engagement strategy to satisfy their people, which includes:
In a variation to the Google and Mastercard approach to helping their employees grow, Cisco encourages staff to share product ideas. Their talent development plan encourages employees to envision and try new concepts. This strategy empowers their people and makes them feel more proprietary. It also conveys to employees that their perspectives and contributions are valuable.
It's worth noting that many of these strategies mirror one another, but each company navigates the path that works best for its organization. Three themes prevail:
Businesses of all sizes in any industry can accelerate engagement by enhancing employee experiences in each of these areas. Weaving these improvements into workplace culture is the most effective way to make these efforts ongoing.
Visit the CultureWise website to discover how a strong culture fosters more robust employee engagement. Then book a call to learn how improving your culture will positively impact every aspect of your organization. And sign up for a complimentary subscription to our weekly newsletter for valuable articles, videos, podcasts, and webinar opportunities that cover the spectrum of workplace culture.