b'Have you ever been inside a store,mile. Its a mutual commitment be- engagement is important, but too needing assistance, but unable totween the employee and their com- often, they dont understand the find it? pany, and it drives business results. differencebetweenengagement and happiness.IwasrecentlyinthissituationHighlyengagedorganizations andfinallyspottedtwoteenageachievea20%increaseinprof- So, in an effort to do good, they employeeswhowerewrappeditability,20%increaseinsales!add picnics, parties, and ping pong up in a conversation and not fo- Thats why employee engagementtablesnone of which elevate en-cused on helping customers. Theyis so important and so powerful. gagementand that can become sureseemedhappy.Theywerefrustrating.huddled around a cell phone andSadly,about65%ofemployeesUnderstandingyourlevelofem-laughingatwhatevertheywereare disengaged, and conservativeployeeengagementandwhatis lookingat.Theywerehappytoestimatesshowthatoneactive- drivingdisengagementiscrucial. earn a paycheck while hanging outly disengaged employee can costWith that understanding, you can with a friend in a store that playedyourorganization$3,400forev- put actionable strategies in place great music! ery$10,000oftheirsalary.Evenand move the needle in a mean-But that did not mean they wereworse,40%ofthosedisengagedingful way.working to drive sales or performemployees dont plan to leave their jobs because they are satisfied. Engagedemployeessellhard-with excellence. I assure you theyer,providebetterservice,reach were not engaged in their jobs orhigher levels of productivity, cre-positively impacting the business. Understanding Yourate happier customers, and earn Employee happiness is an intrinsicLevel of Employeemore referrals!state of being; only you can makeEngagement So, employee engagement is not yourselfhappy.AsAbrahamLin- C-level executives must be tightlyfluff.Itleadstomeasurablesuc-coln stated, Youre only as happyfocusedonprofitability,invest- cess and offers a strong ROI. This as you allow yourself to be. is a great time to think about the ment return, and stock price. specific strategies you can use to What Is EmployeeGood ones care about their peo- elevateyouremployeeengage-Engagement? ple and recognize that employeement.So,ifengagementisntsatisfac-tion or happiness, what is it?EmployeeEngagementisthe emotionalcommitmentandwill-ingness to give your best at work. Whenyouremployeesareen-gaged,theyfeelasthoughthey haveastakeinthegameanda sense of purpose. They know what theyre playing for and what theyll win, and theyre willing to give ev-erythingtheyvegottoachieve that success!When were engaged, we give dis-cretionary effort. We go the extraEmployee Engagement Is Not About Job Satisfaction or Happiness151'