Are your employees engaged? Nine characteristics you should look out for

Employee engagement is the commitment shown by your employees to your organisation’s goals and values. They are fully involved and enthusiastic about their work. And increasing engagement is one of the quickest ways to reduce turnover and improve performance.

Happy employees are more productive and creative and make better team players and leaders. This in turn results in reduced levels of employee absenteeism, burnout and stress. But, most importantly they’ll be driven to deliver a better service which ultimately can result in a more successful and profitable business.

Engaged employees won’t have a stamp on their forehead, shout about it and wear t-shirts emblazoned with the logo confessing their love for your company (although some might do!). So how can you tell the engaged from the disengaged staff? Here are a few characteristics to watch out for:

1. Engaged employees genuinely care about the long term success of your organisation. They understand your mission and goals, your business context and the wider picture. They are fully committed to your company.
2. They work hard – you will see engaged employees working industriously and totally absorbed with the task in hand. Putting this effort into their work highlights their desire to make things better.
3. They are willing to go the extra mile or make a ‘discretionary effort’. Proactively seeking opportunities to grow the business and help their teams succeed. Going above and beyond the call of duty to actively contribute to the success of your organisation
4. Engagement is infectious – highly engaged employees not only project their optimism onto their colleagues, they engage customers with their enthusiasm.
5. They enjoy the company of their colleagues. They’ll be respectful and helpful towards their fellow employees. They enjoy spending time building relationships outside work with their colleagues too, showing long-term commitment to the cause.
6. They truly believe in your organisation – if your colleagues use ‘we’ when talking about the company rather than ‘they’ then they feel they belong in the company and care about the business outcomes
7. They recommend your company to others – whether it is a potential customer, future employee or just anyone who will listen. If they love working for you, they’ll be excited to share it with others.
8. They have a life – engaged employees aren’t workaholics, they know there is a world outside their work.
9. But they also like to stay up to date with industry news and company updates outside of working hours.

Does this sound like your workforce? If not, it’s time to take action and get your employees to fall back in love with your company all over again.