INTRODUCTION

“Employee engagement is the art and science of engaging people in authentic and recognized connection to strategy, roles, performance, organization, community, relationships, customers, development, energy, and happiness to leverage, sustain and transform work into results.”

DAVID ZINGER Author and Employee Engagement Expert

Connecting With Your Employees

I have spent the better part of over three decades working across multiple work sectors, (Military, Corporate, Entrepreneurial, Non-Profit and Federal Civil Service) each of these experiences has taught me valuable lessons when leading people, none more important than that employees will return to you that which you have invested in them! The above quote by David Zinger highlights the many adjectives necessary for both leaders and employees to coexist within the workplace that help sustain and positively transform performanceintoresults. Asleaders,wemustinvestin our people as they are the most valuable assets to any organization. One of the leadership philosophies I learned and adopted early in my career began while serving in operation management for FedEx Express stemmed from its’ founder, Fred Smith where he believes “if you take care of yourpeople, theywilltake care of you” This lesson has never left me in all these years. I immediately understood that the quality of a leaders’ engagement with employees determines the quality of organizational results. My experiences have further taught me that highly engaged leaders provide their employees with open and clear communications that allow staff to understand and most importantly, connecttheworktheydo to the organization’s mission and ultimately its success.

Why A Highly Engaged WorkforceMatters?

As leaders, it is imperative that we understand the importance of why employee engagement plays a critical role in the success of an organization. A highly engaged workforce leads to increased productivity, reduced turnover, and better customer satisfaction. However, engaging employees can be challenging, especially when leading and managing a multigenerational and multiculturally workforce. These emerging segments of today’s workforce population require managers to possess the skills that can help blend talents and experiences in a seamless manner towards achieving organizational success. The dynamics among different generations and cultures can greatly impact the overall employee experience due to the many perspectives and unique collection of characteristics that contribute to the organizational workplace culture.

Multigenerational Identities

For the first time today’s managers areexperiencing five generations in the workforce that span more than 70 years, fromapproximately1945to thepresentday. See the following generational diagram: