What Is Employee Engagement and How Do You Improve It?

Helping employees understand what their organization, leaders and manager expect from them requires more than someone telling them what to do. The most effective managers define and discuss the explicit and implicit expectations for each employee. They paint a picture of outstanding performance and help employees recognize how their work leads to the success of their coworkers, their business area and the entire organization.

"Materials and equipment" is not just a checklist of tools. It includes both tangible and intangible resources -- office supplies, software, knowledge sharing and permissions, to name a few -- that employees need to do their job. The most effective managers don't assume what their team needs. They ask for and listen to their employees' needs and advocate for those needs when necessary. They also find ways to make the most of their team's ingenuity and talents when they cannot fully fund requests.

When people get to do what they do best every day at work, the organizations they work for get a boost in employee attraction, engagement and retention. Successful managers get to know their employees as individuals and give them opportunities to apply the best of their natural selves -- their talents. They talk to each employee about their unique value and make adjustments to align work, when possible, with team members' talents. The best managers know where their employees excel and position them so they are engaged and provide maximum value to the organization.

Recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment and makes employees feel valued for the work they do. It also sends a message to other employees about what success looks like. The most effective leaders create a recognition-rich environment with praise coming from multiple sources at multiple times. The best managers learn how individuals like to be recognized, and they recognize them timely and often for achieving their goals and demonstrating high performance. They also explain why their performance matters.

Few managers take defined action to meet this employee need because caring about someone else cannot be manufactured. But the most successful managers know employees as individuals, acknowledge achievements, have performance conversations, conduct formal reviews and, above all, respect their employees. These behaviors build a work environment where employees feel safe experimenting with new ideas, sharing information, exploring opportunities for development, and supporting each other in their work and personal lives.

"Development" doesn't mean "promotion." A promotion is a one-time event. Development is a process of understanding each person's unique talents and strengths and finding roles, positions and projects that allow employees to apply them. Great managers coach employees by identifying wins and misses, motivating them to go beyond what they think they can do, connecting them with potential mentors, and holding them accountable for their performance.

Asking for and considering individuals' input leads to more informed decision-making and encourages new ideas that positively influence business results. The best managers promote open dialogue and provide honest feedback on employees' opinions and ideas -- supporting good ideas and addressing unfeasible ones. Great managers create feedback loops, so people feel like they are involved in the decision-making process.

Employees cannot energize themselves to do all they could do without knowing how their job fits into the grander scheme of things. People want to contribute to a higher purpose, beyond the practical needs of earning a living. Leaders must ensure that the organization's mission and purpose are clear and aligned with the employee experience. Managers play a significant role in helping employees understand how their role and daily tasks contribute to the organization's mission. Great managers create opportunities for employees to share mission moments and stories about the organization achieving its purpose.

As work becomes more interconnected, interdependent and project-based, employees' shared commitment to quality is vital to an organization. High performers can become resentful when a coworker is not contributing or being held accountable. Great managers do not stand by and watch their team erode. They establish clear standards of performance, hold employees accountable and foster an environment of excellence by recognizing and sharing examples of exceptional work.

This is the most controversial of the 12 elements, but the truth remains: It predicts performance. When employees have a deep sense of affiliation with their team members, they take positive actions that benefit the business -- actions they may not otherwise even consider. Obviously, managers cannot manufacture friendships, but they can create situations for people to get to know each other and socialize without disrupting performance outcomes.

Employees need to know how they are doing, how their work is being perceived and what the future holds. "In the last six months" suggests that employees benefit from more than an annual performance review. When a manager regularly checks in on their employees' progress, team members are more likely to believe they get paid fairly, more likely to stay with the company and more than twice as likely to recommend the company to others as a great place to work. Great managers have frequent conversations -- formal and informal -- with employees about how they are doing. In short, they are coaches, providing immediate, constructive and motivating feedback to help employees achieve increasingly better results.

When employees do the same things every day without a chance to learn something new, they rarely stay enthusiastic about their jobs. In contrast, when people feel like they are learning and growing, they work harder and more efficiently. Successful managers challenge employees, create learning opportunities and frequently ask employees what they are learning. Beyond providing training, they encourage employees to learn new skills or find better ways to do a job. They talk with employees about short-term and long-term growth goals, and they are open to allowing their employees to take on new responsibilities and roles.