Page 89 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

60 Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work

The valid assessment of a psychological construct is based
on identifying the symptoms, not the causes.
Now, imagine creating a survey for employee engagement.
Ask yourself, “What are the symptoms of engagement?” (I real-
ize that “symptoms” may sound odd in this context, but please
stay with me.) To answer this, think about a time when you were
highly engaged in your work and recall your associated thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors. Just like the study participants, think
about engaged employees you’ve known and what they looked
like. What was it in their actions or words that made you consider
them engaged? Just as important, consider what disengagement
looks and feels like. The answers to these questions will help you
to identify appropriate items for an engagement survey.
Personally, when I’m engaged in my work, the day passes by
very quickly. When I’m disengaged, I’m typically quite bored
and watch the clock. When I’m engaged, I tend to go the extra
mile and do more than the job requires; when I’m disengaged I
do only what is necessary to get the job done. When I feel highly
engaged with a project, I find myself thinking about it all the
time—inside and outside of work; when I’m not engaged, I think
about the project only when I’m on the clock. For me, these are
some of the “symptoms” that let me know when I am engaged
or disengaged. I encourage you to take a moment to write down
your own thoughts.
In creating items for your instrument, be careful to include
only items that directly measure engagement and not simi-
lar constructs or the underlying causes of engagement. As
we discussed earlier, many factors impact a person’s level of
engagement, such as having a supportive supervisor, receiv-
ing appropriate recognition, doing meaningful work, and being
shown respect, but these are not symptoms of employee engage-
ment and thus shouldn’t be included in the assessment.