Taking Action eNewsletter

Going Beyond Employee Satisfaction

Issue Twenty-Seven

Everybody understands the value of measuring employee satisfaction to help identify drivers that contribute to employee retention and workforce stability. Drivers such as pay and benefits, having measurable goals, level of trust in management, and recognition of achievements – though this list is hardly exhaustive. However, you might be missing an opportunity to develop a more productive workforce if you are not using your employee satisfaction measurement tool to also measure employee engagement.

Many studies have shown that engaged employees perform at a higher level and are more loyal to their organization, demonstrated by behaviors that revolve around:

• An effort to be innovative and creative.
• A personal responsibility to make things happen.
• A desire to contribute to the success of the organization.
• An emotional bond to the organization, and to its mission and vision.

Employee engagement is an active state of involvement, contribution, and ownership, unlike job satisfaction, which is more of a passive state. Simply stated, employee engagement is the degree to which individuals are personally committed to helping an organization by doing a better job than required to hold the job. Engaged employees drive the bottom line; an engaged workforce surpasses organizational goals more regularly, and is more productive and innovative.

Unlike job satisfaction surveys, where respondents are asked to state their overall level of satisfaction with their jobs, engagement survey questions revolve around four fundamental pillars of employee engagement. These are discretionary effort, interest in the organization’s success, a belief in and an emotional bond with the organization, and a desire to be innovative/creative. Here are a few examples of employee engagement survey questions (response scale degree of agreement):

• I am willing to put in extra effort beyond what is expected.
• I am motivated to contribute to the success of this organization.
• I would not be willing to work for one of our competitors.
• I have passion for my work.
• I look for more efficient and effective ways of getting the job done.
• I have a positive attitude when performing my duties at work.

Employee satisfaction is obviously a precursor to employee engagement, but let’s not miss the opportunity to go further; by also measuring and improving employee engagement.

Your comments about this issue of Taking Action and your suggestions for future issues of Taking Action are always appreciated. My email address is: doug@thedougwilliamsgroup.com