By Mike Cass
President, BC HRMA

Like engagement, gusto is a tough word to define, but you know it when you see it – and you know that it counts.

This edition is focused on “The Economy of Engagement”.  We have certainly all read about the benefits of employee engagement, but what does it truly mean to us and to our companies? For many of us, even articulating employee engagement proves difficult. How can we hope to refine the ROI on something we all by necessity define differently?

Perhaps a better approach is to consider ‘engagement’ a process, not a finite end to something we start and finish. Regardless of how we quantify the return on employee engagement, there is no doubt that there is a significant opportunity for those that embrace the notion.
What we do know is that having an energized and mobile workforce is a competitive advantage.

Gallup, Inc. reports that in a typical world-class company approximately two-thirds of its workforce are ‘engaged’, while about a quarter are not engaged : even amongst the best.  Average companies are not so similarly buoyed by the Golden Ratio of employee engagement. Only a third of their employees are engaged; about half are simply showing up – or not.

What then can we do to fully recognize the benefit of true employee engagement?

Tellingly, Gallup also reports those companies with two-thirds of employees engaged enjoyed 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth compared to similarly grouped companies. These types of figures, and others, speak volumes about what can neither fully define nor any longer deny.

Definitions aside, there is a very positive upside. What exists is an opportunity to provide that much needed ROI to shareholders on multiple levels.

The real question for HR is: “How do we tap into this opportunity?”
You will have to determine what engagement means for your company and how can you optimize.  Engagement will mean something a little different for each of us, but there are some consistent themes that resonate clearly.

There has to be cognitive commitment throughout and employees have to be emotionally invested. Focussing greater attention on these two areas will define behaviours that will produce quantifiable outcomes.

Engagement. Easy to define? No. Essential? Yes.

Make an educated guess at your own employee engagement ratio.  How much of an opportunity exists within your company?

(PeopleTalk: Fall 2012)