Page 22 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

Employee Engagement C9

: They give more discretionary effort, defined as the expendi-
ture of effort solely at the discretion of the worker (what we
do because we want to, not because we have to).
: They consistently exceed expectations, doing more than what
is minimally expected.
: They take more responsibility for and “ownership” of the or-
ganization’s interests and objectives.
: They receive better customer service ratings.
: They voice more ideas for ways to improve and innovate.
: They promote and model teamwork.
: They volunteer more for extra assignments and duties.
: They anticipate and adapt better to change, and they facili-
tate change.
: They resist changes they see as harmful to the organization.
: They persist at difficult work over time.
: They tend to tolerate limited periods of lower work satisfaction.
: They speak well of the organization to their friends and family.
: They are more likely to stay employed with the organization.

What Percentage of Employees in Your Work Unit Is Fully Engaged?
The employee who does all these things all the time would be the per-
fect employee, and we all know there is no such person. Take a mo-
ment to reflect on this question—how many employees in your own
place of work consistently demonstrate the behavior described in the
bullets above? Would you say 20 percent, 40 percent, 60 percent—
or more? Do certain employees come immediately to mind? Do you
count yourself among them? Most people, when asked to point out
the engaged people in their work units, are able to do so without hav-
ing to think too hard about it.
In some work teams, almost everyone is engaged. In others, almost
no one is. Either way, the consequences are significant. The higher
the percentage of engaged employees in your organization, the more
likely it is that customers are being served better or that better prod-
ucts are being made.