There are drivers of employee Massachusetts engagement, these involve the basic needs, social needs and esteem needs. The basic needs stem from what makes one employed in the first place, that is to earn money, fend for oneself and family and earn a decent living. It is imperative that this is addressed for an employee to feel that his worth is given attention; it is valued and aptly rewarded. Social needs can be viewed in terms of the value of the relationships that the employee fosters in the working environment, how it creates camaraderie, teamwork, and ensure productivity through a seamless work environment and relationship. Esteem needs is how the workplace boosts the worth of an employee in terms of his capability to perform, exceed his potentials and determine his self-worth in the process. It is essential to provide timely recognition. The company that empowers and addresses the needs of the employees from these three bring out a sense of fulfillment in the employee. Job satisfaction though it is tricky is addressed if the employee is well equipped and independent in making sound decisions for problem solving even in the minute proportions. If one feels empowered to create a positive change, then one feels that he is engaged in the functions and growth of the company.
Four dimensions of employee engagement can be addressed: these are on the perspective of the employee. First is “What do I get”, next is “What do I give?” followed by “Do I belong?” and lastly “How can we grow?”. Answering these four questions paves the way for a better understanding of what and how the employee is phased in for his role in be an engaging member of the team. How involved will one be to carry out tasks for the company and how it will eventually translate to better working conditions, job satisfaction and good employee relations. A good example would be a shoe manufacturer that employs roughly 50 employees. In what do I get, employees can be given better working conditions, salary increases, flexible time-offs, that is a segue to “what do I give?” – the employee ensures that he diligently does his work, lessens errors, minimize costs by maximizing on materials needed, doing the work right the first time, producing quality products for effective merchandising, next is “do I belong?” – in here, the employer attributes the success of his shoe business not just to himself as the financer, but to the little people, the “elves” that slave it out to churn shoes for the company, by being recognized in terms of a simple pat on the back for a job well done, or a recognition of sorts as a viable employee of the week/month, one’s entitlement to the job and how it translates to productivity is heightened. In “how can we grow?” participative management seeks out ways to deliver the goods and at the same time aspire for the future and growth of the company. How one strives to improve, innovate and implement change is crucial in ensuring the fresh approach that the company will always have in the eyes of its employees and the general public.
In as much as we have discussed the four dimensions, it is worth mentioning that employee engagement divides the type of employees into three, an organization that promotes this cause can relatively consider the three as: Engaged, Not Engaged, and Actively Engaged. Take the case of a simple web-based start up company – the members can be divided into the three. The core members, the programmers, web developers and software engineers can be engaged but how do we say they are actively engaged if they define their roles as just merely doing the job. If one goes the extra mile for the sake of the company, then it can be termed as being actively engaged. The receptionist who carries out calls and transmits information can be engaged by actively seeking ways to make things happen for the company in her role, as a catalyst for engaging inquiries for the company, utilizing the phone system and generating interest among clients and potential investors by satisfying their requests for information. Not engaged can be in terms of not caring enough for what happens to the company, like the delivery kid that is always late, missing parcels and is out of tune with the rest of the workers, he doesn’t care and this commitment is not indicative of full employee engagement.
