Research by TowersWatson has revealed that to generate a climate where your employees contribute a consistently high percentage of their capacity you need more that just “engagement.” You must add into the mix enablement (a better term for what used to be called empowerment), and employee well-being. Here, very briefly, is what constitutes each element of what they call the “3 E’s”:
Engagement – employee commitment, both rational and emotional, to contributing discretionary (i.e. more than mere “satisfactory” performance requires) effort to their job
Enablement – provision of the tools and resources necessary for employees to be able to perform fully in their job. Along with items such as technology and budgets, this includes skill training, appropriate authority to decide and act, and access to necessary information, etc.
Employee Well-Being – a state of emotional and physical wellness, along with the belief that senior management genuinely cares about them. Some forces that reduce well-being include too high of stress and burnout, psychologically toxic work groups or supervision, and personal habits around exercise, nutrition, and getting enough sleep.
This makes more sense to me than just stopping at engagement. An employee who has the will to perform close to his potential still needs to be properly equipped and be in a positive state to do so. A shortfall in either of these areas will reduce his emotional commitment to the job. As a result, his engagement will drop.
His boss can have an impact on these two additional “E’s.” She can be a gatekeeper for corporate resources support and she can check in periodically on the employee’s state of well being. It’s about monitoring and responding in a timely fashion.
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