What Is Employee Engagement – And Why Should That Matter To Me As I Look For My Next Job?

When you’re looking for a new job, or are open to new opportunities, a company’s employee engagement scores are probably not on your radar. Yet, employee engagement it is one of the defining elements of companies that have high employee satisfaction and retention – today, a company’s work environment is one of the main, if not primary, reasons to stay loyal to a job.

Not long ago, companies were measured by their employees’ collective productivity. There was an unconfirmed understanding that productive employees were happy employees, but nobody ever stopped to ask employees if they were happy or not! The agreed-upon formula was High Productivity = Happy Employees = Great Place to Work. 

First, it’s common knowledge that productivity can be the result of venal soul-destroying machinations that spawn unhappiness and despair. Second, companies are not in business to make their employees happy. Companies are in business to make money and your happiness is not on a line item on the balance sheet. Yet, like people, companies seek greatness, and the great firms need to attract and retain top talent (and get on a Best-Place-to-Work list).

Enter employee engagement. Highly engaged employees who produce genuine enterprise-wide productivity are satisfied employees, which is provided by a workplace with challenging, meaningful work with meaningful leadership. It is an environment where employees feel aligned with the company’s mission, are motivated to achieve it, and feel they have a stake in its success. Everything else – money, benefits, bonuses, pathways to promotion, and perks follow.

For example, in “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t” (Jim Collins, 2001) talent acquisition takes a “Who, Then What” recruitment approach. If you find a “Who” – a person most likely to be a highly engaged employee – hire them whether or not you have a job for them. Find something for them to do while you create a job for them. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But it works.

You will be a more satisfied employee if you are part of a collaborative team of highly engaged co-workers than a team of disengaged sloths who spend most of their workday watching YouTube. Satisfied employees produce work that exceeds expectations and motivates others to do the same.

FAQs:

Are companies losing employees because of a lack of engagement?

 Possibly. Think about the Great Resignation. People are not leaving their jobs because they are satisfied. The hardest-hit sectors are unforgiving, underpaid, and unappreciated jobs with marginal work/life balance. It’s hard to be engaged when you’re miserable. People want more, and the right people are prepared to earn it.

Do I need to work for a company driven by employee engagement?

 That depends on your personal priorities. People approach work in different ways. You may be the type who sees your job as a means to an end – a lot of money, a certain lifestyle, or both. The reason you work is for external gratification, that is, what you experience outside of work. Others are gratified by the work itself. Only you know who you truly are. If you’re focused on the external factors, then employee engagement will not be important to you. If you’re focused on the internal, you will thrive in a highly engaged workplace.

How do I find a company that values employee engagement?

Do your due diligence. Do a deep dive when you research a company. You can start with the best-of lists. Go beyond Glass Door, LinkedIn, and Forbes. Ask people in your network about the company’s reputation.

During interviews, when you’re asked, “Do you have any questions?” inquire about workplace culture, review processes, employee interaction, direct reports, or structural professional development. If the reaction you receive resembles that of a deer caught in headlights, the company is probably not driven by employee engagement.

Is all employee engagement the same?

No. Consider what you need to be an engaged employee, one size does not fit all. Every company is different and offers different things. Take a look at Tesla; recently, their CEO Elon Musk announced that employees who do not return to the office will be assumed to have resigned. If you’re committed to the idea of working from home, that may be your deal breaker; perhaps the pandemic made you value remote work and you believe you will be a less engaged employee if you are forced to return to the office full time. On the other hand, perhaps the primary reason you work for Tesla is to literally be in the room with great minds working on cutting-edge technology and design. If that’s your requirement, you’d rather work in that office, not on Zoom. And gutting it out for a while may provide a platform for you to get that next job. Only you can decide your requirements and deal breakers, and what will make you feel engaged.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.