Engagement is a measurement of the emotional commitment employees feel toward the Town and it’s goals. High employee engagement manifests itself in employees committing high levels of “discretionary effort” or; doing more than the bare minimum at work. We conduct an employee engagement survey regularly, so we can gauge how employees are experiencing their work. It’s not a perfect measure, but it gives us a sense of where we could improve and how we’re trending over time. As a leader, if you want a team of employees who care about Gilbert, they need to know that you care about them too!

It turns out, leaders have an enormous impact on employee engagement. According to Gallup, leaders have the ability to influence 70% of the factors that contribute to a highly-engaged workforce, and sorry to state the obvious, a poorly-engaged workforce. So, no pressure…

Employee engagement doesn’t happen accidentally, it’s the result of a few impactful decisions and actions that are within every leader’s ability to influence. All employees have a few basic needs that you should work to understand and meet:

• They should know what you expect from them and have the tools they need to meet those expectations.
• Know what their strengths are and encourage the maximization of those strengths.
• Create a team of colleagues who can learn from and respect each other. Encourage a fun, collaborative environment where everyone can contribute their best work.
• Provide opportunities for learning and growth.
• Let them know you care about them as people.

The good news is, you aren’t alone in this! You will have a lot of support along the way. Our Performance Development program is designed to help you engage your staff by taking action to connect with them, achieve great results together, and inspire them to find purpose in their service to the community.