Blog Post: You Can't Give What You Don't Already Have

  The good news is: Smart companies recognize the important of employee engagement no matter how the economy is doing.  The bad news is: As the economy worsens, engagement will rest heavily on the shoulders of HR. This becomes really bad news if you’ve got the short end of the engagement stick yourself. Are you feeling that same level of engagement you’re expected to provide your people? If companies aren’t assuming responsibility for your needs as an employee, you’re not a catalyst for high-performing, engaged cultures. Instead you become the scapegoat for the failures of your senior management who may want the benefits of engagement but not the hard work that goes into it. If you’re not engaged yourself, you can’t inspire your employees to their full potential and emotional dedication to their work.

 Companies that measure engagement rely on a certain set of characteristics that describe the ideal experience their employees have on the job. Some start with an off-the-shelf product, such as Gallup’s Q12 questionnaire. Others evolve their own custom list, usually with the help of consultants who specialize in engagement and surveys. No matter what the list is or how it’s specifically worded, the items most commonly reflect some or all of the following sentiments: