Employee Engagement: A Different Perspective

Abstract

Employee engagement is an issue that has perplexed scholars and practitioners since time immemorial. Organisations keep trying to find the magic pill that would motivate all employees to be engaged at maximum levels. After four decades of being involved with human resources in various roles, I can confirm that the quest to understand and box employee engagement into a convenient category is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and beyond. In my opinion, this is because we are approaching the topic from the wrong angle, trying to find a one-size-fits-all solution to this complicated problem. In this article, I discuss what I have gleaned through my involvement in teaching, training, and consulting, and offer four lessons for organisations. But the most important message of this piece is that engagement is not a goal—only a means to get to the goal, which is optimal individual performance. Below, I discuss four engagement triggers that I have identified (a) reward/recognise individuals for their achievements, (b) identify and separate bad apples, (c) remember routine discourages engagement and (d) share information with employees so they can make better decisions.