Despite intelligent initiatives supported with a good dose of executive stewardship and funded by a big chunk of change, engagement scores remain low. The Gallup results show little improvement in employee engagement across the globe: only 13% of employees are fully engaged.

I fear there is a recurring sense of familiarity that no matter how many times you analyze the engagement conundrum the end result is disheartening. Employee engagement as it stands is not cost effective nor sustainable and hurts the credibility and effectiveness of the HR function.

A new way of approaching engagement is sorely needed. And this begins with a 1. clearer perspective on the goal of employee engagement and 2. how to go after it in a more focused manner. 

Goal: Employee engagement is a means to an end and that end is about business outcomes. When asked in a 2014 CEB Corporate Leadership Council study "if engagement levels in your company increased by 15%, what actions would you take?", 44% of respondents wanted to "celebrate", while only 4% added "leverage for broader business decision making". In short, the HR organization celebrates the score but misses the target – engagement is a means to an end and that end is about business outcomes, not engaged employees.

So don’t just focus on whether staff benefits are increasing engagement levels and improving retention but focus on whether improve benefits are getting translated into higher productivity and better retention of valued employees. The end game is about having high-performing, passionate leadership talents to grow the business and energized and excellent teams to execute major projects.

While the end game is not employee engagement, enlightened companies recognize that employee engagement and company success go hand in hand.

“Treat people as ends in themselves, and not as means to an end” is a sound philosophy. So the question is not whether employee engagement is important but how to manage employee engagement so it directly impacts on business outcomes. Answer- engage fully the people who matter most, and make sure they are set up for success. Specifically

1. People who matter most should be engaged most. Every employee makes a contribution but there is a handful whose success is pivotal to the success of the company. These are your superstars and probably constitute 1% of your employee population. Your top 1% need to be engaged by guardian angels: men and women of mettle and clout, who know how to get the best out of superstars.
2. Managers are the greatest drivers of employee engagement and thus must be empowered to engage.  It is fairly conclusive that the manager has a direct and the greatest impact on the performance, motivation, development, and retention of the employee. So empower your managers so they can engage employees on issues that matter to employees– the content, and meaning of work, their performance, their career and how they are compensated.
3. Engage employees through empowered teams. When I think of demonstrations of engagement at its best, I see groups of people, coming together with team goals, empowered to make decisions and armed with abilities to succeed. Teams of engaged employees can change things around and make a positive difference across the company.
4. Focus engagement on groups that have the most impact on performance and culture. Engagement initiatives that drive customer excellence, operational performance and close culture gaps should be given priority. Companies should also identify specific groups that play an outsized role in helping it achieve specific outcomes and shape culture and engaged them fully.

Final Thought. Thirty years have passed since David McClelland's landmark book Human Motivation was first published. We know now what we learn then - every person has a need to achieve, want to belong and love to win. So give them what they need - challenge them to produce something meaningful and that is of value. Then engagement is deep and real. So less important to ask "are our people engaged? " Better to ask "Are our people winning?" If they are winning and want to hang around to win some more - they are engaged!