Employee engagement.

Often times organizations focus efforts on making new employees feel welcome and comfortable in their new job and the 'newness' quickly wears off. More and more organizations are beginning to take a look at how employees are feeling about their job after being on the job for a year, two years and beyond. This analysis measures 'employee engagement' or how satisfied employees are with their job. Organizations and managers that have satisfactory employee engagement report improved productivity and increased retention.

"Paying attention to employee engagement allows companies to keep their top players more easily and reduces the need for continuous recruiting efforts," said Eric Spell, Pres of AgCareers.com. "The benefits of looking at engagement strategies can make a significant and positive impact to the bottom line of any organization, no matter how big or small."

MOTIVATION

There are a number of things that affect engagement, but one of the key factors is motivation. Fredrick Herzberg, did some interesting workplace research that measured motivation in the office setting (Graph 1). This also identified things that can actually demotivate people as well. Herzberg points out a number of things that we can easily use to our advantage when it comes to engagement.

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Notice where salary ranks on the list of satisfaction factors. In research done by Development Dimensions International (DDI), salary was ranked 5th as to why people left their jobs. Higher ranking answers were: promotion opportunities, challenging work, exciting place to work, and varied work.

TIPS

Here are a few tips to improve employee engagement:

* Conduct exit interviews that ask the right questions--such as a ranking system that asks if the candidate feels if they were treated fairly or my immediate supervisor let me know when I was doing a good job, for example. There are number of online resources to help develop an effective survey.

* Create a positive, fun work environment--people most often leave managers, not jobs.

* Conduct employee surveys that ask why people stay at the organization and do more of those things.

* Frequently review current organizational policies and practices and remove any that hinder the corporate culture you are trying to portray.

* Be flexible and pay special attention to work-life balance issues--remember that these will not be the same for each individual.

* Enhance your employer brand and be viewed in the community as a good place to work.

* Have a process where people who do good work get recognized.

* Invest in your people and give them opportunities to learn and grow both inside and outside of the organization.

For more information on employee engagement, contact AgCareers.com, the leading online job board and human resource service provider for agriculture, food, biotechnology and natural resources, at [e-mail].