Employee Engagement

Employee engagement means giving people the ability to directly participate in, influence and improve their work. Engagement leads to commitment. People are happier and have a greater sense of ownership. This is not easy for traditionally run companies where top-down control is prevalent.

Employee engagement requires a process that incorporates *basic human needs into the way work is done. These include:

  • The power to make decisions
  • The ability to control outcomes, and
  • A sense of being part of something bigger.

In an operational excellence context, engagement is accomplished with a framework of engagement structures like the Executive Steering Committee and the Lean Daily Management System®.

Employee Engagement Framework

Employee engagement is not…

Once per quarter big group meetings, coffee talks, taking people to lunch, etc. While communication is good, group dynamics mean that often communication is one-way: top down. For real engagement to happen, people must be able to directly participate in the outcomes of their own work.


*For more on basic human needs, read about Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs

Employee Participation: 5 Ways to Boost Engagement

Why Leaders Don’t Pursue Employee Engagement

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