Employee Engagement: A Story and a Few Resources
Tanmay Vora
People deliver their best work when they are fully engaged with the purpose of their work. In an organizational setting, people only deliver their best when they are engaged with the purpose, vision and values of the organization they work with. Businesses can conduct an employee survey to determine engagement levels. They look at their work as a part of a larger whole – and not just a discrete component.
How do we engage our people? That’s the question many HR leaders, project managers and organizational leaders have been asking. To help them, Ben Eubanks at upstartHR compiled a fantastic and fr.ee eBook on Employee Engagement that features best ideas, specific tips and stories about engagement. The book also features my classic post titled “Engagement, Leadership and Power of Storytelling”. (Download PDF)
Here is the story from the book introduction that I really liked:
A CEO was walking down the hallway of the hospital he managed one day and came across the janitor working. He stopped to talk with him for a few moments and eventually he asked the janitor what he did.
The janitor stopped, turned to the CEO with a completely serious look and replied, “I save lives.” The CEO was taken aback. What was this guy talking about? He’s the janitor, not a heart surgeon.
He continued, “See, when I do my job well and clean the operating rooms and other work areas, the doctors have a sanitary, safe place to do their jobs. I clean things, yes, but in the bigger scheme of things, I’m helping to save lives.” The CEO instantly realized his own “small thinking” and saw that the janitor had a view of the mission of the hospital from an entirely different, yet valuable, perspective.
In my view, great quality of work is a direct result of an engaged team. Employee engagement is a way to ensure that people do a good job, not because they are forced to, but because they want to.
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A few more resources for HR Leaders:
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Ben Eubanks also compiled an eBook “Onboarding and New Hire Orientation“.
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David Zinger is a thought leader in employee engagement whom I have admired since long. Check out the “resources” page on his website for some amazing free resources/eBooks/ideas on the all important topic of employee engagement.
Thanks for appreciating my work and all the best in your work as we engage together to create more engagement for all.
@David – Thanks to you as well, for all great things you share via your blog and those wonderful ebooks.
Best,
Tanmay
I love the janitor’s response. Job pride at its best.
@Thabo – Thanks for the comment. Yes, the story nicely reiterates how we should look at our job from a larger perspective.
Glad you liked the story!
Best,
Tanmay
As you mentioned in story, how employee should look at their job and that what I mean for job satisfaction. A janitor is also playing important role for saving lives for patients so in his way saying [i]”I save lives”[i] gives him job satisfaction.
I agree on the point that emolpyees should not be forced to to their job. Thanks for sharing the link to PDF.
@Pravesh – Thanks for your affirmation to the ideas in the post. I am glad you found those resources useful (they indeed are).
Best,
Tanmay
Thank u Tanmay giving such a nice story that every body should c his or her job in a broader prospective.
Thanks
Sudhansu
You’re welcome Sudhansu – I am glad you liked the story.
Just got here and its obvious I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Thank you David and Tanmay. Enjoyed reading and seeing the connected videos.
Thanks for the affirmation, Ajay! I am glad you enjoyed the insights!
Best,
Tanmay
Great article!
From my experience I can testify that when you learn how to proper delegate you go a long way with people at work. People should be responsible for the work they do and the results they provide, right? Delegating right is a way to show people that you trust them right?
Best,
Luis