This is Matt Diggity’s guest post.
It would be wonderful if project team members were more engaged in their work, jumped at the chance to meet their milestones, and proactively moved their tasks without you having them chase them.
You may have a problem with employee engagement if you feel like you need to push your team to get things done.
This article will discuss the 3 types engagement that you should focus on in order to create an environment where everyone is excited to work and the entire team is committed to the project’s success.
What is employee engagement?
Why is employee engagement so important?
1. Cognitive engagement
2. Physical engagement
3. Emotional engagement
Looking after your most valuable asset
What is employee engagement?
Business executives are very interested in employee engagement. It is defined as the employee’s emotional connection with their employer.
Employees who are fully engaged with their employer are motivated to do more than what is expected of them. This is exactly what we need for project teams.
Employee engagement is a key factor in improving the workplace morale. It encourages employees to support the leadership’s overall goals and priorities. The more employees are invested in the success of an organization, the more they interact with it.
Why is employee engagement so important?
Employee motivation is key to improving productivity. Engaged employees have a holistic view of their organization and understand where they fit in and how their actions contribute towards its success.
They are able make better decisions and take more responsibility for their actions.
Companies with a motivated workforce perform better than those with less engaged workers. They are more resilient to financial setbacks or recessions, and can develop new products and services faster.
Gallup reports that only 39% of Americans are engaged with their careers, while 14% say they are “actively disengaged”. However, there is still a lot to be done to improve employee engagement.
Employee engagement can be achieved in many other ways than just through activities, sports, or festivals. Different reasons people come to work have different meanings, so an effective employee engagement program will address different aspects of employees’ needs.
A lot of research has been done on engagement and the factors that go into it. If you are interested in reading more, Dr Robert Talbert’s literature review is a good place. While a lot of the analysis was focused on engagement in education, we can also adapt the same ideas to the workplace. Let’s get started.
Based on the desired end results, employee engagement strategies can be divided into three categories:
Cognitive engagement: Employees are committed and focused on their jobs.
Physical engagement: Their actions and attitudes show that they are invested into the work
Emotional engagement: They channel emotions and feelings into their work.
Let’s talk more about the three types.
1. Cognitive engagement
Cognitive engagement is when employees are fully aware of the company’s plans and are actively involved in them. They also know what they need to get the best return on their work efforts.
To be fully engaged at this stage, employees must understand their employer’s visions and strategies. They must also understand what they can do to make a difference in the organization.
People who are passionate about their work and have more experience are more creative, and can make better decisions.
Let’s say you are a digital marketing agency that helps other companies stand apart from their competition and achieve the best results. You are skilled and have extensive experience.