12 Ways to Be an Engaged Employee

Employee engagement is a trendy term being thrown around right now by companies. But what exactly is it?

Employee engagement is "about connecting with the company," writes Sharlyn Lauby, president of ITM Group Inc., in her blog HR Bartender. "When employees are connected, they understand what it takes for the company to be successful, want to see the organization succeed and are willing to do what it takes to help the business get there."

Experts and studies claim there is a direct correlation between employee engagement and organizational outcomes (profitability and performance). This explains why companies of all sizes are paying more attention to the softer side of business -- how employees feel on the job. Gallup's most recent State of the Global Workplace report found that only 30 percent of U.S. employees were engaged at work.

What makes a connected employee? According to Dale Carnegie Training, the top three drivers of employee engagement are the employee's relationship with his or her immediate supervisor, belief in senior leadership and pride in working for the company.

From an employee's perspective, why is engagement important if you don't have direct control over it? Part of the answer is that you want to feel good about the work you do. The other part is about avoiding pain. If you don't like your job, you would have to search for a new one. And you don't want to look for a new job -- that's painful.  Read more on Yahoo Finance

6 Reasons Small Companies Have More Engaged Employees

It's official--people who work for small companies like their jobs better than those who work for large ones. That's the finding in a Dale Carnegie study released last year. Thirty-six percent of small-company employees reported being "fully engaged" with their jobs, compared with 29 percent of those who worked at larger companies. And while 26 percent of large company employees reported feeling "fully disengaged" from their jobs, only 18 percent of those who worked for small companies described themselves this way.

 

Engagement matters. Research shows that fully engaged companies generate two-and-a-half times as much revenue as disengaged ones. And then there's the obvious connection between engagement and retention--disengaged employees are roughly three times as likely to jump ship for a job at a competitor than engaged ones are. In a tightening labor market, having engaged employees gives you a significant advantage. Read more on Inc.com

4 rules for conducting successful performance reviews

Workforce development is a high priority for global companies for many reasons — it generates business outcomes, profitability and, perhaps most importantly, employee engagement.

In fact, according to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit study, 82 percent of executives surveyed believe workforce development has contributed to the success of their businesses.

It’s also a difficult area to navigate, since development stems from performance reviews, and performance reviews are often met with varied emotions, and often uncertainty. The key to executing successful performance reviews is ensuring that managers are properly trained and armed with the resources they need.   Read more on Bizjournals.com

5 Signs It's Time for a New Job

Regardless of your age, background, or accomplishments, you have probably fantasized about the possibility of a new career at some point in your life – those who haven’t are the exception.

LinkedIn reports that of its 313 million members, 25% are active job seekers, while 60% can be considered passive job seekers – people who are not proactively searching for a new job, but seriously willing to consider opportunities. In addition, there has been a steady increase of self-employed and temporary workers over the past two decades. This is true even in rich economies with low unemployment rates, like the U.S. and the U.K., partly because of the glamorization of entrepreneurship, the rise of the sharing economy, and the ubiquity of incompetent management, which makes the prospect of not having a boss rather alluring.

Yet at the same time, humans are naturally prewired to fear and avoid change, even when we are decidedly unhappy with our current situation. Indeed, meta-analyses show that people often stay on the job despite having negative job attitudes, low engagement, and failing to identify with the organization’s culture. And, since career changes are often driven by emotional rather than rational factors, they often end up disappointing. So at the end of the day, there is something comforting about the predictability of life: it makes us feel safe. As the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard observed: “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” More on HBR.org