Do you ever get tired of buzzwords being thrown callously around by people who probably are using them way too often? Can’t think of an example? Let me help you…try employee engagement…a term used by every HR blogger and their mothers to describe employees who’ve had the company kool-aid and are so enthusiastic about their work…they become more “engaged.” In other words…they’re really good employees.
Sometimes I hate to have to jump on the employee engagement bandwagon, I think the term is really overused, but I’ll admit it’s still a good identifier of the type of employee that you want within your organization. The big challenge facing HR pro’s and management in different organizations across all industries is how do you get employees to become engaged?!
I’ll keep my advice brief (there’s plenty on the subject already out there…Google it!). I think the best opportunity to create engaged employees is through a collaborative work environment. Collaborative work environments empower employees which; in turn, creates leaders that further organizational goals. I do believe that employees who are engaged (like what they do and who they work for) will lead to the sustainment of a high-performance culture in your organization over the long run.
Organizations should invest the resources needed to develop their workforces and create the “engaged employees.” The editors of Human Resources in the 21st Century claimed, “People are now considered an organization’s most valuable asset and the only source of lasting competitive advantage for businesses today. Everything else can be replicated—products, services, infrastructures—but not people” (2003, p. 1). Do right by your people and they will do right by you.
Anyhow, I really wanted to keep this post short, my main goal was to share the video below. I saw it last week and thought it was a great example of how to build an engaged workforce. Enjoy!
