Now more than ever we hear that employee engagement is a thing of the past. We are not sure if this is true, but we are certain that people do not become engaged in the same way as they did before. We believe that people do become engaged, but what has changed is to whom do we become engaged and how do we handle that engagement.
The question is: How do employees become engaged?
In years past, engagement was more directed at “names” and “brands.” However, as employees and management have developed closer relationships, those relationships have gained value and importance. As a manager or business owner, you are fundamental for the growth, maintenance, maturity, and sustainability of engagement in your company as well as with your employees.
Consider these possible scenarios:
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You are a manager, were a manager, or will be a manager.
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You want to know and understand more about employee engagement.
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You are aware of the importance of employee engagement for your business and for your employees.
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You are ready to challenge your own assumptions and take a good look at yourself and your own level of engagement.
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You are looking for a workbook that will sometimes validate your thinking and other times challenge it, and which is based on the experiences of other practitioners like you.
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You were asked to “do something about those engagement results before the next employee survey.”
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You are looking for ideas about how you can contribute to increase employee engagement either through management practices or through learning and development.
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You believe that you can make a difference in your employees’ lives.
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You want to support your business to increase employee engagement.
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You are ready for an interactive experience.
If any of these scenarios seem familiar or if you are (or intend to be) a manager, a leader, or both, and you are looking for practice-driven suggestions to increase employee engagement, this book is for you.
We acknowledge the importance of different types of books about employee engagement that are currently available for you. Therefore, before we explain further what this book is, it is important for us to clarify what this book is not.
This book is not a review of statistics and research on employee engagement. It is not a presentation of case studies about employee engagement. It is not a lengthy exposition about theories of employee engagement.
Consider this book a guide and a workbook for you to apply what you learn to your particular circumstances in your organization, company, or workplace. Although we cite examples of the work of others who have studied employee engagement, this book is primarily based on our experiences working with managers from different organizations in various roles. Thus, it is directed to meet your needs of information and reflection as you go through each one of the chapters.
As firm advocates of the importance of “using what we learn as soon as we learn it so that we do not forget it,” each chapter contains questions and exercises for you to interact with the content as if we were sitting somewhere with you, perhaps having a cup of coffee or tea, talking about employee engagement. Every chapter contains sections named “Now it’s your turn” for you to answer questions or to complete a table, checklist, or develop a plan to help you think. Every chapter also includes “Listen Up!” notes, which are tidbits of information that you should remember as you continue your journey. At the end of each chapter, you will find a summary of the main points that we have discussed.
We are also advocates of the power of stories as learning tools. Therefore, we have included examples to illustrate various points throughout the book. These examples are entirely hypothetical and do not portray any particular organization or individual. They are composites of different individuals and organizations that we built based on our experiences.
Although we would like you to read this book in its entirety, we understand that you may be particularly interested in some topics that stand out for you. If that is the case, we invite you to return to the beginning of the book later.
This is your book. Use it in the way that makes more sense to you.
Let’s begin our journey.
Norma Dávila and Wanda Piña-Ramírez