I recently participated in a lively discussion on employee engagement with a highly talented group of HR professionals. This discussion provided me with much "food for thought" on the subject.

Employee Engagement is often described as an employee's desire and willingness to go the extra mile for their employer, their level of participation and interactivity. According to Scarlett Surveys, "Employee Engagement is a measurable degree of an employee's positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization that profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform is at work". Usually, this behaviour comes as a result of "quid quo pro" - give and get back. The staggering number of only 31% of employees are engaged in their jobs (BlessingWhite 2010). That leaves a large percentage of employees that are not emotionally invested in your business and have no desire to help the business achieve more.

So, that "food for thought" led to the creation of a new recipe - the recipe for Employee Engagement! As with any type of recipe, sometimes the end result is amazing and other times not so great - it all depends on what quality "ingredients" you put into it. Here is your ingredient list:

Nature of Work - Is the nature of the work mentally stimulating day-to-day?

Support - Does the employee feel supported by his line manager and colleagues?

Recognition - Does the employee feel that his efforts are recognized and valued?

Advocacy - Is the employee willing to recommend your company to family and friends?

Loyalty - Does the employee want to stay with the company and develop their career?

Values - Does the employee feel that managers and colleagues “walk the talk” in terms of the company’s values?

By evaluating your current level of quality engagement "ingredients", you can tweak the recipe to give you the end result you desire. Here are some advantages of creating an engaged workforce, simply by evaluating your engagement ingredients:

-Employees will perform better and are more motivated

-There is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability

-Engaged employees will stay with the company, be an advocate of the company and its products and services, and contribute to bottom line business success.

-Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment.

-Provides a high energy working environment.

-Engaged employees serve as a brand ambassador of the organisation.

Doesn't all of that sound like something you would like to add to your business?