Thoughts on Improving Employee Engagement

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In reviewing the article from Gallup, "Five Ways to Improve Employee Engagement Now" there are a couple of key takeaways we should keep in mind when trying to raise employee engagement and satisfaction.

"If employees truly are a company's best asset, then their care and support should be a priority."

This is often given lip service by management but when it is it is seen for just that quickly by the team members. Employee support needs to happen from the top down and be measured from the ground up.

"Each person's potential extends well beyond his or her job description. And tapping that potential means recognizing how an employee's unique set of beliefs, talents, goals, and life experiences drives his or her performance, personal success, and well-being."

Building profiles of team member's skill sets and experiences, even when not applicable to their current work, is an excellent way to help plan for their growth and future success. Understand the people not just how they fit their job descriptions you'll have a much better perspective on what is necessary to keep them engaged.
"Real change occurs at the local workgroup level, but it happens only when company leaders set the tone from the top."

We often forget even though the work occurs "in the trenches" that management and support needs to be done from there as well. We can't expect people to accept guidance from "on high" when they don't feel the people providing that guidance have any real connection or insight into their daily struggles. As the old saying goes, "think globally, act locally."
"Companies should coach managers to take an active role in building engagement plans with their employees, hold managers accountable, track their progress, and ensure that they continuously focus on emotionally engaging their employees."

Companies spend time, effort, and money training their managers how to get the most productivity from their people as well as dealing with non-performers. A fraction of that is spent on keeping people engaged and positively focused on their contributions to their team and the company as a whole. We assume some of this is common sense, but in practicality it fails to be so. Taking time to develop an organization wide strategy around engagement and satisfaction can reap substantial benefits in the long term for both team members and the organization as a whole.
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Six Keys to Employee Engagement