Perspectives
Employee Engagement - Why Bother?
by Al Lucia
I am not referring to an
organization or to its leaders when I say, “why bother?”
Instead I am talking about the average employee, the one who hears a
lot about internal and external customers but wonders what engagement does for
him or her.
The best way to explain the personal
value is to remind people of the things that make them feel good in their
lives. Sometimes we have to take
them back many years to a time when they loved whatever they were doing, and
to have them re-live the memory of a job or situation that brought them so
much satisfaction that even hard work was not really a problem.
The task involved may not have been
what engaged the person but instead it could have been the effect on others, a
cause of particular importance, or maybe just friends sharing time toward a
mutual goal. Whatever the
circumstances this memory will remind a person that they are capable of being
engaged, and, more importantly, the feeling they had while in this state of
mind. And it is a state of mind
you know…not the circumstances.
The hotel maid who sings while she
works versus the one who finds misery in every action are both doing the same
thing. They are just in a
different state of mind.
Engagement goes hand-in-hand with
caring so if a person doesn’t care so much about what they are doing, maybe
at least they can care about themselves.
Organizations are always seeking engaged employees so that they can get
the best organizational results. Individuals
should seek their own engagement for a better life - there’s something to
bother about!
About the Author: Al Lucia is the Founder and President of ADL Associates - a nationwide network of HR consultants, trainers and authors. Al is a speaker, consultant, author, coach and America's Lifeline to the PEOPLE Side of Business.