[Podcast] What is employee engagement?

“Engagement is 25 things. It’s not one thing.” This understanding of employee engagement is from this week’s Pulse Talks guest – author and consultant Paul Hebert.

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Ask 10 people to define employee engagement. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Done? You got ten different answers, didn’t you?

With companies investing substantial resources in tracking employee engagement, it may be more valuable to first understand exactly what it is your looking for.

“Where we went wrong was we approached a very human problem, which is getting people to want to contribute, find meaning, be engaged, and have passion – that’s a very human thing. And we’ve tried to approach it from a very transactional point of view,” says Hebert.

But how can companies take steps to managing workforces in a more human way? According to Hebert, it’s not so difficult – though it goes against tradition.

“What it really boils down to, I think, is managers having more conversations, understanding more about the humans they work with – what are their goals, their desires, how do I help them do that? And that’s hard to put into a process,” adds Hebert.

Employee engagement is best defined by a more holistic understanding of workforces and their workplace. From organisation leaders to challenging work opportunities, these variables are in a constant state of flux – which after all, is very human.