The Basics of Employee Engagement

Essentially, employee engagement is the measure used to determine just how committed an employee is to his job and his company, as well as to its goals and plans. This means that employees are engaged with their work beyond simply thinking of their next paycheck or promotion. Their job, their workplace, and the progress of their work matter to them.

Discretion

So how do you know if your employees are engaged? If they practice proper discretion, for one. When you see that your employees are doing their job not out of compulsion, coercion or reward, but out of the innate responsibility to get things done as efficiently as they could, you know you have engaged people in your employ. An engaged employee, for example, will work overtime without being told to do so, because he knows the work at hand needs to be completed without delay.

Engagement does not Equate to Happiness

Always keep in mind that the engaged employee is not always the happiest one, nor is he the most satisfied with job security or employment status. Rather, he is the one who is most productive, even when all of these are lacking.

Bottom Line

So what can an engaged employee do for you? With such an employee base, you can optimize productivity (without having to sacrifice too much of your resources), in turn leading to more efficient returns in terms of quality of employees and positive profit margins.