Organizational practices and leadership behaviours create the specific working conditions that influence an employee to be motivated, passionate and emotionally committed to their work and to their company. Since every employee is physically and psychologically unique, each employee will respond differently to the same working conditions.

For example, every employee has a different level of self-motivation. One employee may require verbal recognition once a year for a job “well done” while another employee may require recognition on an on-going base. Each of these employees will score the question regarding “recognition” in an employee surveys differently, even though they work in the same department, share the same supervisor and are treated in the same way. This situation is exacerbated by employee surveys that ask time based questions: “Did youi receive positive feedback from my supervisor in the last two weeks?” Perhaps the employee is working on a lengthy project and there is no reason to provide positive feedback. The question that needs to be asked is “Did you receive positive feedback whenever you do a good job?” This reduces the anomaly in responses between those needing constant feedback, versus those that are highly self motivated and are content to receive positive feedback periodically.

If for example, 36% of employees score in the disengaged category, this means that the organizational practices and leadership behaviours are not meeting the psychological needs of these employees to be motivated and to be fully engaged. It does not mean that this group of employees will always be disengaged and that they are a lost cause. It means they need more from their organization to lift their level of motivation. Disengaged employees can become engaged employees under the right working conditions.

It is important to convey to all employees that the “disengagement” score is not a negative reflection of their own desire to do a good job. One of Entec’s guiding principles is that the majority of people want to do a good job at work. The organization needs to create the working environment that will bring out the best in their employees.

But employees also need to understand that employee engagement is a partnership between themselves and their organization. The responsibility for employee engagement does not rest solely on the shoulders of the organization. It is not one or the other - it is both. For example, employees have a responsibility to shape their own destiny and career path just as much as the employer. The organization, and specifically the local people leader, has a responsibility to communicate the nature of this partnership.

CONCLUSION

Employee engagement is a partnership between the organization and the employees where everyone works together to achieve the business objectives of the corporation and the personal aspirations of the employees. The organization has the responsibility to create the conditions for this to happen.

About Author:
Kelly McCullough is a graduate with a Masters in Organizational Health from the University of Michigan. She has worked for Entec Corporation as research assistance. One of her most significant projects was her work as a research analyst on a major study of older workers that was led by Entec Corporation for the Canadian Federal Government.