5 factors underpinning employee engagement

I recently had lunch with Gary Miles from the Roffey Park Institute (www.roffeypark.com) discussing their work around employee engagemant.  Much of this was carried out with very large organisations but I am convinced that it is just as relevant to much smaller companies.  Just because a company is small it doesnt mean it's HR issues are any less complex.

Roffey Park carried out a research project last year to explore how key drivers affect employees in their day to day work and what the ultimate outcome is for organisations.  The drivers being considered were leadership, management, communications and culture (drivers of engagement) and the more tangible outputs of employee engagement such as discretionary effort, energy, well-being and productivity.

The findings highlight that at the heart of employee engagement is a two-way relationship between the employee and the organisation. Key factors identified were:

• The sense employees have that their relationships with their employers are fair and equitable, including the extent to which employees feel supported in their work.
• How employees relate to their job roles, including the pride they take in their work, their sense of delivering a valuable service and how stimulating their work is.
• Whether employees feel that they are respected and trusted and that their contribution is valued.
• Whether they believe they are communicated to well and trust their leaders.
• The quality of interpersonal relationships between colleagues, in how enjoyable and productive they are.  

If thsi is a subject close to your heart then I recommend that you take a look at their study - The Human Voice of Employee Engagement