The Four G’s of Employee Engagement - Inspiring Your Team to Get Things Done that Matter
One of the most common questions I get about Employee Engagement is, “what is it?” Here’s what it’s not: It’s not about ensuring employees are happy or satisfied. Rather, it IS about: Fostering both a culture of performance, and a drive to perform among your team members. Here’s why it's essential. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, engagement has the potential to significantly impact productivity, loyalty, and employee retention. It’s also a key link to company reputation, customer satisfaction, and overall stakeholder value, because it establishes and builds competitive advantage. Think of Southwest Airlines. Patagonia. Warby Parker. Read more about how company culture plays a significant role in employee performance – see the short video (1:24) to hear about how this shows up for the airline industry. How is your organization engaging with your most important resource – your people – to establish that competitive advantage and to make a real difference in the world? In the spirit of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, here’s a framework for thinking about what employee engagement means on a day-to-day basis in an organization.
It’s about creating these four levels of interaction on a continual basis. The first two – Give and Get – are basic. But the second two – Glue and Growth – are where leaders need to focus most.
Source: Charles Cotter, Effective Employee Engagement Strategies, Slide 18. People are happier, stay longer with an organization, and are more productive, when all four G’s are at play. Here are a few questions to bear in mind as you think about employee engagement with your team:
Are you doing well, okay, or not so well on your team's performance metrics?
How effectively are you able to identify and bridge the gaps between your business objectives and actual team performance?
Do you know what's working -- and what's not working -- and how to ramp up team productivity and performance to remain competitive in your profession, industry, or market?
What are you doing to create a positive performance culture?
How are you fostering a drive to perform among your team members?
Most of all, what aspects of the 4Gs do you have in place? What to you need to add, or enhance? Do you see gaps in team performance that you’d like to address? Contact Beth Offenbacker to discuss if an Employee Engagement Assessment is the right next step for your firm.