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So what exactly is employee engagement? In the past, the idea that "our people are our most important asset" has been labelled the biggest commercial untruth since "the cheque is in the post". Today, however, there is clear evidence that business leaders are not simply saying this – they are actually beginning to mean it too.

Why the change of heart? Because the body of evidence that employee engagement is a key driver of organisational performance grows almost daily. But with recent research highlighting the fact that employee disengagement is a global epidemic, organisations still clearly have much work to do to ensure that their workforce can be properly inspired and motivated.

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How to motivate the unmotivated

Motivation is fire lit from within. You can't light that fire, but you can create the conditions for that fire to burn brightly. But when you're faced with a workforce whose fire has gone out, what do you do? Here's my advice to someone in just that situation.

A road map for employee engagement

Now that we have identified the key drivers of employee engagement, how can we start to create – and implement - a road map for achieving outstanding organisational performance?

The keys to employee engagement

Keeping your employees engaged really isn't rocket science - it's just a metter of listening, learning and leading by example.

Managers critical to employee engagement

Managers' behaviour has a huge impact on the work climate and is a critical component in employee engagement and motivation. Yet too many reward programmes simply focus on money and ignore this human factor.

Employee engagement: the what, why and how

Employee engagement is the new Holy Grail for organisations worldwide. But what exactly does it mean? Why is it so important? And if you haven't got enough of it, how can you get some more?

Employee engagement: What exactly is it?

The notion of employee engagement is causing a big buzz in management circles at the moment. It's a topic that employers and employees alike think they understand, yet often can't articulate very easily. So what exactly is it?

Engage me or enrage me

More managers and leaders ask me "how to engage" and, "how to innovate" than any other question. As well they might, given that so many of us have to disengage just to survive their endless ill-conceived meetings, badly-laid plans, and the waste, day by day, minute by minute, of our lives.

Employee disengagement a global epidemic

At a time when companies are relying on their workforces to achieve growth, a major new survey has found that only one in seven employees worldwide are fully engaged with their jobs and willing to go the extra mile for their companies.

From the Blog

Latest on Employee Engagement

Five ways to help your sales team

Selling is wrought with failure, rejection, and frustration. That's why your sales team needs to be nurtured, encouraged and supported. It might take a little effort, but remember, if your sales stop, so does your business.

Are your people growing or going?

How can managers get the same commitment and hard work from a contractor or remote worker as they'd expect from someone with their eye on the corner office? The key is to help them grow.

Why your remote team members feel unloved

Building long-term relationships with remote workers is tough, but vitally important. Because when people feel unappreciated they become less engaged. And people who are less engaged quickly become less productive.

Corporate scandals undermine engagement

The majority of British workers don't trust the senior leadership of their organisation and aren't prepared to do anything other than the minimum to get by at work, a new survey has found.

Disengagement: when the flame dies

Disengaged, under-performing employees damage morale and hurt the bottom line. But people don't become disengaged by accident. It's the culture of the organization and the behavior of leaders and managers that determine whether employees are turned on or switched off.

The power of project reviews

There are few better ways to engage staff in business transformation than to institute a project review panel process. Done right the benefits will be seen not just at the project level, but on the overall employee engagement front, too.

High performance employees need to be inspired

To become a High Performance Organization (HPO) it is obviously vital to hire and retain the right employees. But employees like these don't grow on trees. An in particular, you need to inspire them.

Breaking the ties of engagement

Engaged employees can quickly become disengaged if they feel taken advantage of, a new study has found. And formerly engaged employees can do more harm than those who were never engaged to begin with.

The power of influencers

Every organisation has its influencers - individuals towards whom others gravitate, who engender trust and who can engage and motivate others. But few managers try to identify these individuals and nurture them.

The importance of not being ernest

Laughter is a powerful tool which can achieve astounding results for businesses. So let's use it to transform the workplace into a place of positivity, productivity and engagement.

A new variety of carrot?

The metaphor of carrots as motivators is still alive and well. But carrots don't work for all of the people all of the time. So how do we package reward and remuneration to meet the needs of people at all levels of an organisation?

Leadership, morale and employee turnover

In entry-level unskilled jobs, annual employee turnover can reach a staggering 85 percent. Yet the reasons so many employees quit so soon – and what steps they can take to reverse this trend - remains a mystery to most business leaders.

Beyond the pot of gold

Non-existent bonuses, fewer promotions, mass redundancies and stringent budget-cuts. In times of austerity, what really incentivizes employees to get out of bed in the morning?

Seven characteristics of remarkable businesses

Is your business remarkable? But what does that actually mean? What makes a business remarkable? In simple terms, you could say it's anything that gets people talking about it. And that means being dramatically and demonstrably different from your competitors.

Getting into the FLOW

Flow is about achieving a state of focused high-performance and enjoyment where the challenge level is a match for skill level. Athletes call this place 'the zone', but it's something that you can achieve at work, too.

The mistrust crisis

Almost three out of 10 employees actively distrust the senior leaders in their organisation, a new survey has found, with serious consequences for staff retention, employee well-being and organisational performance.

Give employees what they really want

There are seven key elements that contribute to the engagement, commitment, retention and overall satisfaction of employees. There's no mystery to any of them - in fact they can be achieved with little or no expense while delivering real improvements in operational performance.

Values? What values?

Many CEO are quick to trumpet the values of their organization and how these values inspire and motivate their workforce. But according to a new report, in the vast majority of American organizations it isn't values that drive employee behaviour, it's fear.

Does austerity breed negativity?

A hiring freeze is one thing. But cost-saving can quickly become counter-productive. And austerity measures like removing pot plants and rationing paper are only undermining morale and boosting negativity.

Rudeness is infectious

Rudeness is infectious, a new study has found. In fact, the stress created by rudeness at work can be so intense that it is taken home by the worker, impacting the well-being of the their family and partner who in turn "export" the stress to their own workplaces.

How to make work meaningful

It's hardly surprising that levels of employee engagement are at an all-time low when so many of us are essentially modern-day serfs. A large part of the value that we create at work simply feeds the greed of the people at the top. And where's the meaning in that?

The bold employee experience

If you want to deliver a great customer experience you must first create an engaging employee experience. And what what motivates employees is feeling connected to the brand promise.

Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Many generations have said "today's young people only think of themselves," but this time around it may be true. So is "Generation Me" a real phenomenon – and if it is, what are the implications for business and society?

The real test of employee engagement

We hear all the time about employee engagement and how it's measured (or not). But finally, I've found a simple metric that reveals what employers and employees alike really need to know.

The multiple benefits of empowerment

A new study has confirmed that workers who feel empowered by their employers have higher morale and are more productive, regardless of their industry, job role or even their culture.

Learning from the old beans

Every organisation faces the challenge of bringing on board and developing raw talent. So as far as project managers are concerned, what are the keys to a successful induction?

Respect, trust, confidence and Facebook

If you don't want to see your firm being slammed by an unhappy employee on Facebook, ask yourself whether you have a culture of recognition within your company. Because such comments invariably stem from someone's lack of trust in their employer. And that comes down to poor management and leadership.

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Latest on Employee Engagement

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