What Does Employee Engagement Really Mean?

In 2006, The Conference Board published "Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications". According to this report, twelve major studies on employee engagement had been published. The Conference Board considered the responses from top research firms such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, the Corporate Leadership Council and others, and came up with a blended definition.

Accordingly, employee engagement was defined as, a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work.

The Employee Engagement is the Conference Board's synthesis of 8 key drivers of engagement. These offer concrete targets for development:

Trust and integrity – how well managers communicate and 'walk the talk'.
Nature of the job –Is it mentally stimulating day-to-day?
Line of sight between employee performance and company performance – Does the employee understand how their work contributes to the company's performance?
Career Growth opportunities –Are there future opportunities for growth?
Pride about the company – How much self-esteem does the employee feel by being associated with their company?
Coworkers/team members – significantly influence one's level of engagement
Employee development – Is the company making an effort to develop the employee's skills?
Relationship with one's manager – Does the employee value his or her relationship with his or her manager?


Source: www.conference-board.org
Please read: Conference Board study by John Gibbons, Employee Engagement: A Review of Current Research and Its Implications.