Welcome to the Employee Engagement Economy

By Jessica Miller-Merrell on September 12, 2011 in How To...

Even though the stock market remains volatile and job creation lags, organizations must work to recruit and establish meaningful connections with their employees. These connections go beyond the standard CEO weekly email and involve interactions with peers, managers, and other organizational leaders. Employee engagement is not just an annual review process. It’s a monthly, daily or as needed process. Like any relationship, for employees to remain happy, productive, and motivated, corporate leaders must foster and grow individuals personally as well as professionally.

The Cost of Disengagement

Lost productivity leads to more than missed opportunities. Disengaged workers cost the US economy $370 Billion annually. And the U.S. is leading other industrialized countries with a higher engaged workforce, according to a recent analysis by Fast Company. The U.S. workforce engages 29% of employees, for example, compared to just 3% for Japan. This means that all countries have a long way to go.

The concept of the Employee Engagement Economy is much like Gary Vaynerchuk’s concept in his book “Thank You Economy.” Relationships matter, conversations matter and business happens through the development of these social relationships.

Key Do’s and Don’ts to Keep Your Employees Engaged

DON’T take the relationship for granted. While employee payroll is often a company’s largest expense, good employees are also an organization’s biggest asset. Employees deserve to be rewarded and recognized for good work, but it’s also the relationship built with a manager that will make or break their engagement.

DO require commitment from both employees and bosses. There is no silver bullet to creating a highly engaged culture. Every employee as well as manager plays a role and like any relationship both sides must contribute just as they would in a marriage, in order for it to be enjoyable, productive, and effective. I like to call it Re-Recruiting.

DON’T try to ‘game’ engagement. Performance reviews can be gamed, faked, and BSed. Employees know this. Real conversations, mentorship programs, and connections can’t. Authentic conversations can’t be automated but good habits can be developed. Like any new exercise or healthy eating program, repetition, practice, and awareness allows for a rhythm to be developed where things fall into place. Employee engagement works the same way.

DON’T confuse employee development with employee engagement. Giving your employees opportunities to learn and grow in their careers and roles in your company is part of engagement. But it’s not the only part. Growth has to be accompanied by meaning and fulfilment. Indeed, even in these turbulent times, good employees are leaving organizations to seek out more meaningful work. Through a solid employee engagement relationship, you can understand your employee’s career goals and dreams and help them achieve them.

In the Employee Engagement Economy, what really matters is a collaborative relationship where employees feel fulfilled and work productively and passionately for their managers as well as their organization. To do otherwise undermines the whole system.

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Jessica Miller-Merrell

Jessica Miller-Merrell is a leadership blogger at Blogging4Jobs. She is a digital strategist with a passion for recruiting, human resources, training and social media and is the author of “Tweet This! Twitter for Business,” a how-to business guide for Twitter.

This entry was posted in How To... and tagged economy, Employee Engagement, Jessica Miller-Merrell, Productivity. Bookmark the permalink.

http://twitter.com/staceyharmon Stacey Harmon

Good article – It’s always been important, and just like everything else in business, the tactics for doing so continue to evolve as technology infuses itself into how we communicate!

http://www.blogging4jobs.com Jessica Miller-Merrell

Thanks Stacey,

Appreciate your comment. Technology is absolutely changing the way we live life as well as work.

JMM

Lisa Skapinker

Jessica and Stacey,

Absolutely! Technology gives us the ability to communicate quicker and more effectively than we did before. Rather than disengage, this gives us the opportunity to work smarter and communicate more openly and efficiently.

http://twitter.com/cindyronzoni Cindy Ronzoni

I love this post!!! Yes great employee relations are a must. As a boss, you need to make sure you are not burning out your staff and should treat them to lunch. Morale is key.

http://www.blogging4jobs.com Jessica Miller-Merrell

Thank you Cindy. As a boss understanding and building your relationships with your team is the most important job you have.

JMM

Anonymous

As a filmmaker, I won’t be able to use most of these tips, as I change crews on almost every shoot. I do get to use some more than once, however, that goes more to their ability to work well with me….
http://twitter.com/AmyBrownT Amy Brown T.

ah this is good info. I wish my last employer had read this. I will keep this in mind if I ever get a job!

http://www.blogging4jobs.com Jessica Miller-Merrell

Amy,

I write this from someone who has been a hiring manager and has also experienced what it’s like to work in a toxic workplace where I was the HR person and in a tight spot. Thanks for your comment. Share the post with an old boss or friend.

JMM

http://www.ruinedmyweek.com Max M

Great advice. Very accurate.
http://socialhospitality.com Debbie Miller

Great post! I loved the headline “the cost of disengagement” — really place emphasis on the essentialness of engagement, which is vital in any arena.

Anonymous

Excellent point, Debbie! Engagement is the key to success in communications and in business.

http://twitter.com/staceysoleil Stacey Soleil ☀

GREAT info! Thx for sharing =)
http://xeeme.com/SallyKWitt/ Sally K Witt

Excellent points!
http://www.jeffhester.net Jeff Hester

I don’t think employee engagement is a new paradigm. Engaged employees have always performed better and reported higher morale. And good leaders have known this.

The challenge today is that electronic communication has made to many leaders lazy. They rely on emails and instant messages. While those are good and they have their place, there is no substitute for personal conversation — be it face to face or over phone or video chat. Even better, connecting offsite where the atmosphere is more relaxed.

http://www.blogging4jobs.com Jessica Miller-Merrell

Jeff,

Electronic communication has made some leaders lazy but it has also forced some leaders to relinquish the old guards of control which I think is the hardest part for most. Personal conversations are important and people think that having a job is enough of an incentive to motivate staff. It no longer is. Where personal meets professional is where managers are often feel uncomfortable because their staff becomes more than a floating head but an individual who has a family, life, and interests outside of work.

Thanks for the comment.

JMM

http://about.me/sukhrajbeasla Sukhraj Beasla

I loved Gary’s book and his talking points. Wish more employers were open minded about stuff. Thanks for the great tips.

http://www.blogging4jobs.com Jessica Miller-Merrell

Take this post and quietly place it in your boss’s mail box. He or she might just get the hint. . . Thanks for the comment.

JMM

http://twitter.com/des_journal Diethylstilbestrol

Love the Do’s and Don’ts! Your blog should be read by all managers / employers. Thanks for a great post!
http://oscarstech.com/ Oscar Gonzalez

This is critical I think in order for engagement to be successful:
“DO require commitment from both employees and bosses. There is no silver bullet to creating a highly engaged culture.”
Buyin. EVERYONE needs to buy in and stand behind the initiatives and programs so that people feel a genuine vested interest in the company. I think most companies fail at this and many “leaders” think that “someone else can do it” and they just need to sign it off.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Thea-Bredie/100000157882858 Thea Bredie

Thank you for this excellent advice. I could do better!!
http://twitter.com/autismfamily Bonnie Sayers

I liked learning the difference between employee development and employee engagement. Great tips for all.
Ann Bamesberger

Jessica, I read ur article with great interest. Who coined the term “employee engagement economy”, and do u or others actually use a tool, such as Rypple’s to measure or manage? I am very interested in “self-managed teams”, allowing management to lead, while the team self-manges.
Ann Bamesberger

Jessica, I read ur article with great interest. Who coined the term “employee engagement economy”, and do u or others actually use a tool, such as Rypple’s to measure or manage? I am very interested in “self-managed teams”, allowing management to lead, while the team self-manges.

Welcome to the Employee Engagement Economy

The Cost of Disengagement

Key Do’s and Don’ts to Keep Your Employees Engaged

Jessica Miller-Merrell

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