Bridging the gap: an evidence-based approach to employee engagement

IES Perspectives on HR 2018

Employee engagement is a concept that has captured the attention of HR and management professionals ever since it shot onto the scene in the early noughties. In this paper, Megan Edwards, IES research fellow, draws on IES' wealth of employee engagement research to consider a different aspect of engagement; distinguishing between organisational and job engagement.

The paper argues that engagement is not a one-dimensional concept, and in order to improve levels of employee engagement, employers and HR must consider how engagement can occur at different levels within an organisation, be that engagement with one's role, or with the organisation as a whole, or with both.

Part of our Perspectives on HR 2018 series, the paper begins with an exploration of the theoretical underpinnings of engagement to establish a robust concept for organisations to adopt. It then considers the multifaceted nature of engagement and, based on this evidence base, considers how the drivers of employee engagement can be used to address job/role engagement, organisational engagement, or both.

The paper concludes with five practical steps for employers and HR to take in order to improve employee engagement levels based on this research evidence.