What Engagement Means for Companies and Communities

This week I heard a great presentation about engagement by Ike Bennion from Instructure, entitled “Engagement Vs. Disengagement: What It Does to Your Company and How to Get Your Managers to Enhance Engagement.” The talk was part of a webinar series offered by Chief Learning Officer.

Many of you may know that we have a specialty in engaging people, and I appreciated that he focused on what engagement means in the workplace. I could see several similarities to engagement at the community or external level, too.

Ike highlighted how engagement is a top indicator of company health, followed by customer satisfaction and cash flow.

People who are engaged at work are more likely to have happier customers, and those customers are more likely to return to spend money. And, companies with engaged employees are more likely to see better financial performance and stability.

What does personal engagement really mean?

It’s “the simultaneous employment and expression of a person's ‘preferred self’ in task behaviors that promote connections to work and to others, personal presence (physical, cognitive, and emotional), and active, full role performances” (Kahn, 1990).

Ike also defined three ways of thinking about engagement:

Obligation and fear of loss are more associated with engagement, but any combination can be seen at the organizational level, Ike noted.

These factors are the beginning points of engaging, or disengaging people.

The next step is to think about how you can use these “entry points” to more effectively engage with people in your company.

How engaged is your team? Do you know which specific levers can increase engagement in your firm and lead to better performance, including metrics like revenue or customer satisfaction? Our Employee Engagement Assessment is a great way to identify a tailored strategy that works for you. Schedule a 30-minute Consultation with us about your specific needs.