What are the drivers of employee engagement

Reflecting psychological or physical state of being experienced by employees towards their jobs, employee engagement can be considered as the tool to manage people’s happiness at a workplace. The higher levels of engagement, the happier your personnel is. Those leaders, who understand what drives the employee engagement, can influence the levels of happiness, and therefore improve work relationships, build morale and increase productivity and retention in their teams.

According to the CIPD research, there are five groups of factors that predict employee engagement, the so-called engagement drivers: individual differences, job design, relationships, organisational interventions, and people management approach.

1. Individual differences

individuals’ permanent psychological traits and right capabilities for the job. People’s psychological makeup is related to employee engagement and covers areas related to confidence, resilience, and the belief that a person has enough “personal resources” to stand out at work. These factors can be assessed in the hiring process, however it’s not necessarily true that engagement is only about hiring the right people. Employers and managers play a central role in creating the right work environment.

2. Job design

balance between job demands and resources - such as supervisor support, feedback and autonomy. There is a relationship between work engagement and job design, especially when it comes to the balance between job demands and resources. It is important to make sure employees do not feel overwhelmed by job demands, though providing them with the resources they need to succeed. This is especially important for line managers, who are responsible for providing support and feedback to employees and determining their level of autonomy.

3. Relationships

organisations’ ability to make their staff feel cared for and valued. Organisational and team factors influence work engagement greatly. In particular, organisational support is associated with a higher level of engagement. Therefore, organisations need to ensure leaders and colleagues that their employees feel supported and appreciated.

4. Organisational interventions

training and development programmes, mindfulness techniques and flexible working. Some of the research findings also confirmed a positive relationship between organisational interventions, like training and development programmes, as well as individuals’ experiences of various interventions, like mindfulness techniques and flexible work, and engagement.

5. People management approach

leading in a transformational way – inspiring the team to work towards a goal or vision. While the research evidenced a relation between people management approach and employee engagement, manager support was highlighted as a key driver of employee engagement. However, it is not just a leadership issue. People managers must also feel supported and empowered to truly adopt such a leadership style.

Manager support was highlighted as a key driver of employee engagement

To sum up, work engagement is about the experience employees get while performing their jobs. Team managers play a central role into creating that experience. Respecting people’s differences, balancing job demands and resources, building and sustaining relationships, prioritising wellbeing and development, demonstrating a transformational leadership style - this is a recipe for a successful and happy team.