Team Engagement

In class today, we discussed the topic of Team Engagement, which is defined as, “the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization and its goals.” Team Engagement is a crucial part to the identity an organization has and can separate a good team from a mediocre team. In the presentation we discussed the difference of a team vs a high performing team. High performing teams use team engagement to get classified as a high performing group of individuals focused on common goals. Five tips to improve team engagement are;

~ Frequently discuss engagement

~ Put everyone in the right roles

~ Give them the training needed

~ Task meaningful work

~ Check in often

These tips help to hold everyone accountable and to work to common goals. Often times teams that have good engagement have higher employee retention and satisfaction. One idea that was brought up in class was why Google is always one of the most productive companies. We discussed the incentives the company offers such as the work space and personal free time but there are others. I found an article from Business Insider that gave more reasons for the ranking Google receives yearly.

High percentage of workers feel satisfied with their job, the environment and the team work provide reinforcement to this point. Google allows for their employees to adopt mentors and coaches to help keep them on track and build on their careers. Teams collaborate on projects and work in an open environment that helps develop new ideas.

Most workers think their work makes the world a better place, work is meaningful and helps to stay motivated. Often times if we find ourselves doing “busy work” or meaningless tasks we are often less motived and lose interest in our work. Google strives on giving employees tasks that help progress the company and often have workers present their work in front of respective company officials.

Compensation is the best, with one of the highest median salaries in the job market it helps attract motivated individuals. Employees feel a sense of recognition being paid higher than others in similar roles at different companies. One point that is brought up is that there is pay differences between two employees at the same role but this is due to the investment Google makes in their employees to not let them walk out the door.

More than one-quarter of workers telecommute, being able to work from home provides a sense of flexibility and allows workers to complete tasks even if they can’t be in the office. Working from home or remote work is a beneficial idea a lot of companies are using to help with office costs but also allow freedom to the workers.

Employees say their job is low-stress, incentives offered at the “Googleplex” help to relieve this stress. It has been showed a direct correlation to stress levels and job productivity. High stress is not good for ones help and can often take away from their productivity. By having a stress-free environment, it can boast productivity.

It will be interesting to see in the future how other companies adopt some of Google’s practices and how it impacts their productivity. It will be even more interesting to see if these practices can be used in healthcare settings where there is often high stress.

Work Cited 

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-the-best-company-to-work-for-in-america-2016-4#some-employees-say-their-job-is-low-stress-5

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2017/10/15/5-powerful-steps-to-improve-employee-engagement/#7c1fb0d0341d