If you aren’t already convinced of the business case and competitive advantage that can be gained by developing employees who are fully engaged in your organization’s work, the 2008 State of Employee Engagement report, published by BlessingWhite, will turn you into a believer. BlessingWhite, a global consultancy that recognizes the important link between employee engagement and leadership development in creating high-performance and sustainable organizations, released it’s annual report on the state of employee engagement in North America just last month. The report highlights global research and shares strategies for implementing employee engagement initiatives. BlessingWhite also presents a framework that illustrates the five levels of engagement and shares best practices gleaned from interviews with managers around the world.
One of the most noteworthy topics the report addresses is the challenge of varying definitions of “engagement.” While some organizations describe engagement as strictly job satisfaction or emotional commitment to the organization, BlessingWhite’s model for employee engagement blends maximum job satisfaction (employees enjoy what they do and do it well) and maximum job contribution (employees recognize the contribution they are making to the organization’s overall goals). The report also differentiates between engaged and disengaged employees in terms of retention, highlighting that engaged employees stay with a company or job for what they give (they like their work), while disengaged employees stay for what they get (favorable job conditions, growth opportunities or job security). BlessingWhite notes the popular correlation between employee engagement and retention, noting that 85% of engaged employees in North America indicated that they plan to stay with their employer through 2008.
One of the key takeaways of the report is that the most successful organizations implement and multi-faceted approach to employee engagement and consider it an ongoing priority, not just a once-a-year event.
Click here to read highlights and key findings of the report: http://www.blessingwhite.com/EEE__report.asp Employee Engagement Report 2008 – North American Overview – Published April 2008
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