Dale Carnegie and MSW recently did a study on over 1,500 employees to dig further into what creates engaged employees, and what key attributes are present within these engaged employees.

And the results are in. The importance of employee engagement, which can be defined as the emotional and functional commitment an employee has to his or her organization, cannot be overstated!

Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. While the benefits are clear, employee engagement is a struggle for most companies as over 71% of employees report that they are not fully engaged

Three Key Drivers of Employee Engagement:

It’s said that employees don’t leave companies, they leave people. And it’s true, many of the main reasons employees aren’t engaged have to do with people. Key drivers of employee engagement include:

  1. Employees’ relationships with their direct managers: 80% of employees who were dissatisfied with their direct managed were disengaged.
  2. Employees’ belief in senior leadership: 70% of employees who lack confidence in the abilities of senior leadership are not fully engaged.
  3. Employees’ pride in working for the company: 54% of employees who were proud of their company’s contributions to society are engaged.

Number three stands out in particular as a largely untapped source of potential.  Corporations don’t always realize that a renewed focus on charitable contributions and gift matching programs can enhance employee engagement.

Traits Engaged Employees Exhibit:

  1. Enthusiasm – Engaged employees are enthusiastic about work
  2. Inspired – Engaged employees are motivated by their leaders
  3. Empowered – Engaged employees are  allowed to do the work their way
  4. Confident – Employees are sure they can achieve excellence

How can a Company Improve Employee Engagement?

While Dale Carnegie highlights five great tips for employee engagement, we added a few ideas which our research has shown enhances employee engagement. They are:

  1. Senior leadership must articulate a clear vision to all employees.
  2. Employees should be encouraged to communicate openly and influence the company’s vision through their input.
  3. Direct managers should foster healthy relationships with their employees.
  4. Senior leadership should continuously demonstrate that employees have an impact on their work environment.
  5. Managers should show employees that they are valued as true contributors, giving them a sense of empowerment.
  6. Managers should organize and encourage team volunteerism within communities as a way of giving back.
  7. Companies should give back to local nonprofits. Matching grants for employees are a great way corporations can support organizations employees care about.

Check out this infographic created by Dale Carnegie Training

Why Matching Gifts and Volunteer Grants are a Win-Win for Everyone:

One way a corporation can improve engagement is through offering employee giving programs. These can take the form of matching gifts, volunteer grants, grants for fundraising efforts, or a multitude of other programs.

Benefits for employees, corporations, and nonprofits include:

  • The group of employees has an enjoyable and rewarding team-building event.
  • The corporation gets to give back to the community.
  • The corporation’s reputation in the community is enhanced.
  • The nonprofits receive volunteer support or additional funding.

Here are a few examples of companies with top matching gift programs.  How might implementing a similar program impact your employees’ engagement?