The Five C’s of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is more than simply being “okay” with one’s job and with the company one works for. It is about truly being committed and dedicated with one’s head, heart and hands for the organization one is with and the job one has.

When one wants to measure employee engagement, here are the five C’s that needs to be considered:

1. Career

For employees to feel motivated and engaged, they have to feel like their job is more than just a job – it is a career. The career your employees have should be able to offer opportunities for advancement and growth. When employees are stuck in dead-end jobs, they are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.

A number of companies nowadays also understand that to measure employee engagement, they also need to take work-life balance into consideration. It is not enough for employees to feel like they can potentially advance in their careers. They also need to feel like they won’t lose out on their personal lives with the work they are doing. Some organizations even go as far as offering their employees profit sharing so that they truly reap the benefits when the business they work for finds success.

2. Credibility

Managers and employers should strive to always be credible in front of both their clients and employees. They have to continuously work on maintaining the good reputation of their business and to role model high ethical standards.

When employers and managers appear credible in front of their workforce, staff members feel like they can trust the people who lead them. Employees feel that credible leaders are transparent and that they know what they are doing. They feel that these leaders are capable of leading the company to success, so employees feel more at ease to follow their lead.

3. Collaboration

Previous studies have shown that staff members who are able to effectively work with other team members and trust the people they work for and with outperform others who do not have a good working relationship with their co-workers.

Companies today understand that to measure employee engagement, true collaboration and teamwork must be taken into account. Great managers and employers build strong teams and create work environments that not only hope for collaboration, but actually promote it. These great leaders know that the challenge of collaboration is continuous and that it is not simply brought about by a one-time move to encourage it. For true collaboration and camaraderie to occur, the work goals of each individual, while they should allow for one’s betterment, should coincide with the ultimate core goals of the team and the company.

4. Connection

Employees should feel connected to the company they work for, to the job they have and to the people they work with. True connection occurs when employees feel valued, when they feel secure and they feel like they truly belong to the company they work for.

Organizations know that to measure employee engagement, connection is one of those considerations that should be prioritized. Without the pursuit of true connection, communication programs and efforts won’t do much good.

5. Contribution

Employees feel engaged to the company they work for when they feel like what they have to say matter and that they are contributing to the betterment of the business in a meaningful way. For particular industries such as schools and hospitals, contributions are more apparent and easier to articulate. However, other industries might be a bit trickier, so managers always have to look for avenues in which to take their employees to make them feel like valued contributors. Remember that when employees feel like they are contributing, they will want to do better and contribute even more.