A recent study  on employee engagement helps to answer a question many businesses ask today: how to engage employees? The study found that emotions are some of the main drivers of engagement. In any organization’s employee engagement strategy, emotions are important indicators of the current level of engagement. Emotions such as enthusiasm, inspiration, empowerment and confidence can engage employees, and the presence of at least three can indicate an engaged employee. Organizations can work to foster these emotions as part of their employee engagement strategy by improving the relationships employees have with managers and senior leaders. The basic emotion that leads an employee to be engaged is being valued,which is the sum of other feelings that are necessary to generate engagement. Lets take a look at some of these drivers..

ENTHUSIASM

The buzz currently in organizational circles is about engaged employees or employee engagement. The truth is that engaged employees are enthusiastic ones. Nothing is more contagious than enthusiasm, especially in the workplace. Enthusiastic employees are interested and engaged in their work and with the people with whom they work. They have a strong passion. Passion is something that can’t be taught. It can be caught, but not taught. One way to spread the enthusiasm virus is to assign an enthusiastic employee to someone who needs to be. This attitude will positively affect both of them. When employers look at prospective candidates, beyond skills, experience, and training, they look for those who demonstrate enthusiasm – those they believe will complete assigned tasks in an upbeat and cooperative manner. All other things being equal, a candidate who can demonstrate a positive attitude and eagerness to tackle the job will have an advantage over one who displays an attitude viewed by the employer as negative or disinterested. In fact, many employers would rather provide job skills training to an enthusiastic but inexperienced worker than hire someone with perfect qualifications but a lessthan-positive attitude. Managers sometimes worry that this type of person will not get along with supervisors and co-workers, treat customers disrespectfully, and not put much effort into his or her work. On the other hand, employees who are viewed as enthusiastic are known to provide good customer service, resolve interpersonal conflict effectively, and work productively with others.

EMPOWERED

Employee empowerment is a strategy and philosophy that enables employees to make decisions about their jobs. Employee empowerment helps employees own their work and take responsibility for their results. Employee empowerment helps employees serve customers at the level of the organization where the customer interface exists. When employees feel under-compensated, under-titled for the responsibilities they take on, under-noticed, under-praised, and under-appreciated, don’t expect results from employee empowerment. The basic needs of employees must feel met for employees to give you their discretionary energy, that extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. For successful employee empowerment, recognition plays a significant role.

INSPIRED

An inspired employee gives his or her all to their employer, and is constantly striving to be and do their best; to use their skills and talents to their full potential. Take a look around at the people who work with you. Are they listless or full of energy? Are they somewhat disinterested in their work or are they passionately striving to achieve company goals and working to their full potential?  If you are like most employers, your workers could probably use a little added jolt of energy and enthusiasm on the job, something that will make them love coming to work every day.

How is this accomplished? Quite simply, you need to inspire your employees. An inspired employee gives his or her all to their employer, and is constantly striving to be and do their best; to use their skills and talents to their full potential.

Eighteen hundred years ago, Patanjali – the author of Yoga Sutra – had this to say about inspiration: “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

CONFIDENCE

What is the number one personality trait of individuals who deal effectively with change? It’s confidence. Confident people are self-motivated, have high self-esteem and are willing to take risks. But even the most confident employee may suffer a crisis of self-doubt in times of radical change. That’s when leadership becomes a critical factor.

A confident employee makes for an employee who is more likely to succeed. Employees who lack self-confidence often find themselves unsure of their work, causing their performance to suffer. As a manager or owner, you have the task of ensuring that employees feel good about themselves. Instilling confidence in an employee requires you to take a personable approach to managing and make the employee feel that he’s needed by the company and that he’s successful at his job.  Managers need to design “small wins” to encourage people along the way to achieving goals of exceptional performance. One manager put it this way: “A stretch goal can scare people to death. I always begin with a mini-goal that I know my staff can achieve, and then I use that victory as a confidence-builder for reaching the larger objective.”

As a manager, the employees you hire play a significant role in determining your success within the organization.  You need strong, confident employees that help motivate others, increase productivity, and drive results.  Confident employees don’t wait for opportunities to come knocking at their door; they go after them.  Look for candidates that have demonstrated their willingness to help out on projects other than those assigned to them.  These professionals are always looking for ways to gain experience and continue growing professionally.  When their skills are relevant to a situation, they aren’t afraid to speak up and offer their expertise.  These are the employees you can trust to handle projects successfully and be leaders on your team.