Employee Engagement-elusive search for the Holy Grail

摘要

The significance of this definition is twofold.The first is that we are not talking about employees who just do their jobs,however efficiently.We are talking about employees who go beyond the call of duty.Secondly,they do this out of loyalty to,and appreciation of,the quality of work life that their organisation provides. So,let's get two things straight! Number 1-it's a misnomer to call it Employee Engagement as if it's the employee's responsibility to engage with his or her employer.It should be called EmployER Engagement because the onus of responsibility lies with the employer not the employee. Number 2-EE(if I call it EE you can make up your own mind whether it's”EE”or”ER”)is the most dependent factor in any organisation.It's the culmination and the hoped-for result of everything that precedes it from a well-crafted strategic plan to leadership at all levels of management and three-way communication that flourishes throughout the organisation. I love the story of the Harvard Business Professor who asked his students what hospitals did.”They cure the sick”was the response.”No,doctors and nurses do that-the role of the hospital is to provide the environment in which the best doctors and nurses want to work”.This anecdote places responsibility for EE firmly on the employer and if we substitute the adjective”best”with”most engaged”,then the observation of the Harvard Professor can be applied to any organisation,including your own. Graham Haines is the Principal of Plans to Reality,a consulting practice that focuses on the implementation of organisational plans and strategies.He is the author of two books on the topic-“Execution to die for-the Manager's Guide to Making It Happen”and the abbreviated”Achieving Execution to die for-A Simple Guide to Making It Happen”.Both are available from the author at ghaines@planstoreality.com.au.