There is much talk these days of engaging employees. Businesses hire consultants to increase employee engagement. HR departments develop programs to engage employees. What the heck are they talking about?

I say don’t waste your money or your time.

Engaging employees for the sake of engaging employees is ridiculous. Like team building, the approach often involves a lot of funky exercises, many of them dreaded by the employees, the vast majority of them resulting, at best, in temporary enthusiasm. And then everyone returns to their desks, to the daily grind, to their old habits, to existing constraints. And absolutely nothing changes.

Why do you think you need to increase employee engagement? What problem are you trying to solve? What bar are you trying to raise? 

If you are trying to solve a problem, what exactly is the problem? And what is the cause of the problem? You can’t solve a problem unless you eliminate its cause. You must identify the cause.

If you are trying to raise the bar, what business results do you expect? What must change to achieve those results? You won’t get the results you desire unless you actively encourage the behaviors necessary to achieve those results, discourage the behaviors that will impede those results, and remove the obstacles that will prevent those results.  You must be clear about the desired results. You must be clear about the factors critical for success. And you must know how to manage those factors.

Avoid broad, nebulous programs that amount to nothing more than pep rallies, whether individually or in groups. Have you ever seen the cheerleaders win the game?