Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action

(Rick Simeone) #1

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Employee engagement


strategy


Engaged people at work are positive, interested in and even excited about
their jobs and prepared to go the extra mile to get them done to the best of
their ability. As defined by Towers Perrin (2007), the term employee
engagement refers to ‘the extent to which employees put discretionary effort
into their work, beyond the minimum to get the job done, in the form of extra
time, brainpower or energy’. An engagement strategy will address all the
means that an organization can use to promote this type of effort.
This chapter starts with a discussion of the difference between employee
engagement and organizational commitment, two concepts that are
frequently confused. The chapter continues with sections on the significance
of engagement, engagement and discretionary behaviour, what constitutes
an engaged employee, the factors that influence engagement, strategies for
enhancing engagement, and measuring engagement.


ENGAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT


Engagement and organizational commitment are two important concepts
affecting work performance and the attraction and retention of employees.
However, the two concepts are often confused. For example, the Conference


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