One our team members (Hjalte, our California-based Engagement Manager) and I have been doing a bit of research on Employee Engagement recently and found some interesting discussion from professionals on various linked in networks (see links below to follow).
It seems to me that employ engagement, although very popular with large businesses is not longer enough.
The downturn has business leaders re-examining every initiative to determine their value to driving achievement of their business goals and these employee surveys are no different.
The discussions center on employee engagement i.e. measuring the level of commitment employees have to the organization. Higher levels of commitment result in capturing discretionary effort therefore driving better productivity.
For me at least this poses the question isn’t it important to know where that discretionary effort is being directed?
Is it being directed at increased customer service? Improving customer experience? Creating better products and services that customers need? How well does the company do these important tasks?
High levels of engagement are important but we see them as a by-product of great alignment with the market. If employees really understand how they are making valuable differences to customers their engagement will increase. I believe people are motivated by using their unique skills to make a difference, obtain goals and making regular progress towards those goals.
If the purpose of business is to create value for customers then anything we do that aligns with this purpose will result in high levels of engagement. The key is gaining alignment between the behaviors in the business and customer needs.
Read more here:
MarketCulture Blog - Using a Customer Culture for Competitive Advantage 