How to Foster Employee Engagement
I vividly remember the nervousness I felt as I entered the Apple campus on the first day of my internship. I was suffering from an intense case of imposter syndrome — after all, what could a 19-year-old intern possibly contribute to a company as incredible as Apple? However, by the end of my second week, any trepidation I felt about joining such a large organization had dissipated.
On my first day on the job, I was introduced to three individuals who would be instrumental in shaping my time with Apple:
My manager, who would direct my work
My buddy, a mentor who gave me guidance about general Apple processes and my future career
My “iBuddy,” a mentor on my team who I could reach out to for help regarding my project
I would go on to have weekly 1:1s with all three of these mentors for the duration of my internship. Through these conversations, I felt supported and empowered to produce good work for the company and understand why my efforts were valuable.
By establishing a culture of regular 1:1s and mentorship for team members, Apple has created an environment where employees are engaged. But what does that term mean?
What is employee engagement, and why is it important?
Put simply, employee engagement describes a worker’s enthusiasm about their job. At Apple, this meant that I was excited about seeing my team every morning and completing my project. More engaged/enthusiastic workers are more committed to their organization and exhibit increased dedication to advancing the goals of their organization.
Think about your own experiences: what does this look like for you? For me, whenever I am excited about the work I am doing, I am more likely to finish that task sooner and/or devote additional time to ensure that the job is done well.
This improvement in productivity and quality from employee engagement is apparent at the individual level, but even more so at an organizational level. Increased employee engagement leads to better team engagement, which dramatically improves business outcomes. A study performed by Gallup found that when comparing engagement levels at the top and bottom quartiles, the teams with higher engagement experienced a 23% increase in profitability.
In addition to improving performance, increasing employee engagement also helps a company’s bottom line by decreasing the turnover rate. The same Gallup study from above found that increased employee engagement is associated with a 43% decrease in turnover (for low turnover organizations; 18% decrease for high turnover organizations). People that are enthusiastic about their job typically experience greater job satisfaction and are less likely to quit. Turnover is expensive for companies as it leads to extra wastage of time and resources spent training multiple people. Retaining employees helps avoid those costs and helps improve performance by benefiting from the experience of tenured employees.
Despite the benefits of increased profitability and decreased turnover (listed in the graphic below) associated with employee engagement, still, most organizations in the U.S. fail to establish a culture where employees feel engaged.
Employee engagement has a variety of benefits, both in costs avoided and in benefits realized
In fact, only 35% of U.S. workers are considered engaged. But what can be done to improve that statistic? How can companies increase employee engagement?
What drives employee engagement?
Employee engagement is ultimately driven the following four factors.
Understanding your purpose: Employees want to understand how their work is connected to organizational success. In high school, there were several times when my classmates and I would wonder “when are we ever going to need to apply this concept in the real world?” We were less engaged in the class because we did not understand the importance of what we were learning. Similarly, without understanding the impact of their work, it is hard for employees to remain dedicated and engaged in their jobs. This is the “what” that primarily drives engagement.
Feeling supported by managers: When supervisors support employees, both in terms of growth in the workplace and in personal matters as well, employees are typically more committed to their job. Whenever employees feel “believed in,” they tend to be more committed to their work, and this is especially true for those just entering the workplace. Caring managers are the “who” that primarily drive engagement.
Having ongoing conversations: Regular one-on-one conversations between managers and employees about their performance helps employees understand their value to an organization. Everyone wants to feel like they matter, and offering praise when deserved as well as feedback to help employees become even better leads to increased dedication towards work.
Continuing to learn: Employees who feel they are learning new skills and growing as a person are more likely to stay engaged while working. Consistent personal and professional development help prevent a job from getting boring or monotonous and support an employee’s enthusiasm about their job.
As I reflect on my experience at Apple, I can see that all four of these ideas were emphasized throughout my internship. From the very beginning, I was told about the value that my project would add for Apple’s demand planning process and how much time my solution would save my team. Knowing the potential impact of my project motivated me to do the best possible job so I could maximize my contributions. In addition, my manager, mentors, and other members of my team always were extremely caring; they would meet with me once a week to discuss my project progress and check-in on a personal level as well. Lastly, Apple held a learning series for us to train on valuable tools as well as learn about processes in other departments. Throughout my internship, I felt engaged in my work and loved coming to the office every day. I owe so much to the people at Apple for making my internship experience so amazing.
At the end of the day, of all team members, managers are most responsible for influencing employees’ engagement levels. They must ensure that employees know what they are working on and how it contributes to helping the organization achieve its goals. In addition, through frequent conversations, managers can help employees feel supported in their work by offering recognition as well as guidance when appropriate. This is especially important for those who are early in their careers who may need additional direction and validation when they begin their jobs.
Sometimes, these conversations may come off as micromanaging from the employees’ perspective, so managers should be trained on making these conversations more meaningful. However, if done correctly, these conversations are among the best ways to help increase engagement levels in an organization, as was the case with me at Apple.
How can employee engagement be measured?
Gallup’s Q12 Framework is a highly effective way of assessing employee engagement levels in the workplace. Essentially, it is a series of twelve questions that measure if an employee understands their work and how it relates to an organization’s goal, if the employee feels supported, and if the employee feels they have opportunities for growth.
Employees rate how accurate they believe each statement to be. Each level builds on each other, and without meeting requirements of the lower levels, organizations will not be able to meet employees’ needs at the upper levels.
Gallup’s Q12 Framework: 12 proven questions to measure employee engagement
In addition to using the Gallup framework, when evaluating employee engagement, other metrics to consider include turnover/retention rate, absenteeism rate, employee net promoter score (eNPS – measures employees’ willingness to recommend their organization as a place to work), and Glassdoor ratings. It is important to choose the right set of metrics for your organization based on what it is actionable.
Putting it all together
Many times, when companies recognize they are experiencing low engagement levels, they go about addressing the issue in ineffective ways. Often, companies will consider engagement an “HR thing,” when, in reality, it is largely the responsibility of managers to foster engagement in the workplace. Also, companies often use pulse surveys to receive feedback, but take no action based on the results.
The best way to get better engagement results is to guide managers on how to engage employees through regular, supportive conversations. Furthermore, it is crucial to help employees understand why their work is valuable, as this is key to maintaining employees’ intrinsic motivation to help their organization succeed. Lastly, it is important to take time to analyze survey results when measuring engagement and clearly address the areas of improvement, rather than simply identifying them.
So far in my career, I have been extremely fortunate to work in environments such as Apple and FlexPoint where employee engagement has been a priority for the organization. I am very grateful for my managers and mentors who have helped me understand the value of my work, supported me in all ways, and have been invested in my development.
Sources
We relied on these resources for statistics and frameworks: