Ten Cs to Measure and Improve Employee Engagement

We are in the business of helping organizations succeed. And we believe that, after over 25 years of working with organizations, the best road to success is by valuing the people who work for you. This value is achieved through meaningful actions that increase and maintain employee engagement. Our definition of engagement reads: Employee Engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work.

We work with organizations around the world, helping them develop meaningful strategies to increase engagement. The 10 C's of employee engagement are a framework developed by the UK government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help organizations measure and improve employee engagement. They are:

1. Connection: Build a meaningful community, a culture of belonging, with employees where they feel connected to their colleagues, their manager, and their organization.
2. Congratulation: Create strategies where employees receive regular praise and recognition for their contributions.
3. Contribution: Another word for contribution is alignment, when employees know their purpose and “why”. When each employee understands how their job contributes to the organization’s goals and mission, you have achieved alignment.
4. Clarity: One of the biggest grumbles of employees is lack of direction. Everyone must have a shared vision of success. This should be explicit. Employees must have a clear understanding of their role and what is expected of them. Once this is established, and your employees have the resources to do their jobs, get out of the way. Clarity drives accountability, which drives success.
5. Culture: Employees feel that the organization's values align with their own and that there is a positive and inclusive culture. This cultural alignment can translate into employees loving their work and their organization.
6. Communication: Employees feel that they can communicate openly and honestly with their colleagues and managers. Keep in mind that modeling positive communication begins with leaders who model active listening and respectful discourse.
7. Challenge: Investing in your employees, giving them the tools they need to get the job done, opportunities to learn and grow, and to take on challenging assignments, is a key piece of employee engagement.
8. Control: Hire the right people and get out of the way. When managers and senior leaders don’t allow their team to work, they’re in the way. Employees must have the resources to do their jobs, the autonomy to use those resources, and a degree of autonomy to meet their goals.
9. Confidence: Employee confidence comes from training, positive onboarding experiences (don’t just throw them to the sharks), providing the right amount of support, and ongoing challenges to build critical thinking skills, which builds leadership, among other things. Also, employees need to feel confident about the future of the organization. This comes from transparency and open communication – multi-directional.
10. Compensation: Pay your employees fairly for their work, and provide meaningful, competitive benefits packages that support employee wellness and meet your employees’ unique needs. We can’t stress this enough. Bills aren’t paid by love and passion.

These 10 C's can help organizations assess their level of employee engagement and identify areas for improvement. By focusing on improving these areas, organizations can create a more engaged and productive workforce, leading to improved business performance and better outcomes for all stakeholders.