91 tion. To do this, managers need to explain where the company is going and its vision for the future; the strategy for how the company intends to get there; and how the employee's work is a part of that. "Line of sight is critically important to engage- ment. Employees should not be working in a vac- uum," he explains. What Organizations Can Do Managers are not the only ones who influence employee engagement. Organizations as a whole, through both their policies and executive leader- ship, can also have a significant effect, experts say. For example, a company may want to consider reworking its performance review process so that engagement is discussed during reviews. These should be two-way, safe-space conversations, in which employees are comfortable talking about when they feel disengaged, for what reasons, and what could be done differently. "Frame performance conversations as a way to look forward and help employees grow, not as a backward-looking, punitive means," Looi says. Some organizations may even want to consider replacing annual performance reviews with ro- bust monthly check-in conversations that focus on the development of the employee. "Get rid of the intimidating phrase 'perfor- mance appraisals' and replace it with a new for- ward-looking phrase—'the employee develop- ment planning process,'" Kelleher says. The organization's executive leadership, not just middle managers and human resources staff, should also be focused on engagement. Success- ful companies, experts say, are often proactive on engagement; their leaders are focused on making their firm more attractive in the eyes of the employees, so that more workers will be committed to their jobs. Some of these successful companies conduct in- formal stay interviews with staff. Instead of an exit interview, in which managers try to find out why employees are leaving, managers conduct- ing stay interviews try to find out what it would take for an employee to stay. The Future Is Now While Gallup's U.S. engagement rate has been at or below 33 percent for most of the last 15 years, some experts do see signs that employment en- gagement may improve. Looi points to research advances in behavior eco- nomics and nudge theory, which can be used to bolster workplace cultures so that greater en- gagement is inherently encouraged. "When applied appropriately and ethically, you can use nudges to increase employee learning, performance and engagement," she says. Zing- er explains that Fitbit-like devices that measure engagement, by way of physical indicators that signal when employees are holding their phones or sitting in a chair, may become more common- place. And Harter, who describes himself as "hopeful," sees new workers continuing to transform the U.S. workplace. The millennial generation, which has been driving an increased focus on engage- ment, will make up three-quarters of the nation's workforce in just over a decade, according to de- mographic projections. This generation is keen on being engaged with work that has a purpose, and that is a positive reflection on their values. Studies show, for example, that recent MBAs with high earning power will work for a significantly lower salary if they truly believe in their jobs. "There's not as much separation between work and life. People want their work to be represen- tations of who they are," Harter says. © 2017 ASIS International, 1625 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Reprinted with permission from the April 2017 issue of Se- curity Management magazine.