Call it committed, call it loyal or call it reliable; these terms all hint at an employee’s level of dedication to their employer. Commonly, Human Resources professionals refer to this as employee engagement. Emotional intelligence and employee engagement walk hand-in-hand to help sustain many of the world’s most successful companies. Case in point, in her Ted Talk, Princeton Professor, Anne-Marie Slaughter, points out a 2008 study that showed employees working at flexible work places are more engaged. She also explains that the majority of Fortune 500 companies are flexible with their employees, hence their bottom-line success. These companies are boosting employ emotional intelligence levels through engagement, which also works in the opposite mode of boosting engagement through EI. In the end, it all leads to higher productivity.
Below is a survey to help organizations, leaders and HR professionals assess employee engagement. Keep in mind, employee engagement is not the same as satisfaction or happiness. However, morale and satisfaction are a part of engagement evaluation.
Employee Engagement Test:
If the answer to any of these questions is no, there may be an employee engagement problem. Or there may be opportunities to improve engagement by implementing additional methods.
1) Are employees showing up on time?
2) Are employee and company goals aligned?
3) Are employee complaints about policy and operations rare?
4) Are company leaders setting a positive example for work life balance?
5) Are management and employees performing at high levels?
6) Do employees seem to have a very clear understanding of company mission?
7) Do employees seem to have enthusiasm about projects?
8) Do employees work well with team members?
9) Does the company track compensation packages against competition?
10) Does the organization have low turnover?
How To Boost Emotional Intelligence Through Engagement:
Workforce engagement can always be improved through human resources efforts or hiring consultants. Check out the video below to see how employee engagement can improve emotional intelligence.
In his Influencer post on the hallmarks of a good leader, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co said “I believe social intelligence and ‘emotional quotient,’ or EQ, matter in management. EQ can include empathy, clarity of thought, compassion and strength of character” (BBC). He is absolutely correct. Engagement and emotional intelligence trickle down from leadership to employees and help maintain positive customer relationships.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Labor
This Blog has been featured by the West Orange Chamber of Commerce. Sources such as HLN have also been home to publications by Dr. Farnaz Namin-Hedayati and she has been cited by the Orlando Business Journal.
Center for Work Life of Orlando, Florida is an award-winning executive development firm providing leadership and management training to executives and organizations. Our main services include executive coaching, leadership development, executive succession planning, emotional intelligence training, career planning, staff development, and communication in the workplace.
