How to Increase Employee Engagement within the Government

Posted by: Christopher Smith | Posted on: December 8th, 2011 | 0 Comments

Any successful relationship is based on two primary factors: commitment and satisfaction. The relationship between an employee and her workplace is no different. Employee engagement is a measure of how committed and satisfied a person is in relation to her work. Employers who have engaged employees also have far more successful businesses and experience far higher retention rates. It’s not surprising that a large number of public sector organizations are investing more effort into increasing employee engagement.

According to an in-depth study conducted by Vanguard Canada, the factors that make an employee feel positively towards her workplace are more about social conditions than a sparkling new set of desk furniture. Communication in the form of effective management and clear leadership ranks among the top drivers, followed by an understanding of the organization’s main goals and a great group of motivated co-workers. Although individual benefits and a decent salary play a role, what’s surprising is how the biggest factors are based on an employee’s perception of her role in the organization. In the public sector, the most engaged employees are the ones who feel that they are working towards a “purpose” as opposed to mindlessly pushing paper around on a desk. While an employee may be tasked with a paperwork heavy job, as long as she feels that her efforts are contributing to a greater good, she will be a highly engaged employee.

Public sector organizations that implement some kind of social media or internal collaborative network discover an almost instantaneous increase in employee engagement. Making people feel as if they are an integral part of the larger organization increases productivity and leads to an overall boost in morale. Additionally, having a collaborative technology creates a medium through which truly bright and motivated employees can communicate their ideas in a receptive setting.

As with any strategy, consistency is vitally important. A public sector organization must continue to make its employees feel appreciated by actively engaging with them. However, technology makes it far easier to engage with employees without busting the budget. Consider this ROI: after implementing employee engagement strategies, the Federal Technology Service experienced a 112% increase in business with only a 4% increase in overhead. Simply put, increasing employee engagement pays.

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