Research shows that committed employees perform better. If we accept that engagement, as many believe, is ‘one step up’ from commitment, it is clearly in the organisation’s interests to understand the drivers of engagement. Analysis of the NHS case study data indicates that opinions about, and experiences of, many aspects of working life are strongly correlated with engagement levels. However, the strongest driver of all is a sense of feeling valued and involved. This has several key components:
involvement in decision making
the extent to which employees feel able to voice their ideas, and managers listen to these views, and value employees’ contributions
the opportunities employees have to develop their jobs
the extent to which the organisation is concerned for employees’ health and wellbeing.
The line manager clearly has a very important role in fostering employees’ sense of involvement and value – an observation that is completely consistent with IES’s research in many different areas of HR practice and employment, all of which point to the critical importance of the employee-manager relationship.