I read an interesting article the other day in which the author lamented the fact that despite the strength of the business case for employee engagement and the publicity around the Engage for Success movement, many of the senior and middle managers she works with still have little understanding of what engagement is all about. On top of that, she adds that many of the HR people she comes across believe that engagement is something that can be done through specific initiatives led by HR.

I think she hits the nail on the head. Engagement is not about specific initiatives (though some might help); it’s about the way we lead, manage and involve people, and how we align their attitudes and behaviours with business goals. It’s a crucial performance issue which will go nowhere without the full support and advocacy of leaders and managers throughout the business.

Therefore, for those of us that champion the cause of engagement, perhaps we should tailor our efforts to senior operating managers rather than HR practitioners, and base our case on the hard-nosed financial benefits of having engaged people, rather than on abstract concepts and definitions that are often far removed from the language of day-to-day operations.

If engagement adopts the language of business and performance and is embraced by the right people it will make a big difference. If it doesn’t it runs the risk of withering and dying as just another fad.

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