After more than 25 years of working with a variety of clients to improve their approach to recognition, employee engagement and performance management, I continue to keep my eyes open to fresh and helpful ideas on ways to define and grow employee engagement. 

Recently I found two articles that each offer a list of Key Drivers of Engagement.  I thought that it would be interesting to review the similarities in both lists, then show how an effective Recognition Strategy impacts the drivers discussed.

The two articles are:

  • 18 Key drivers of employee engagement in 2023 – A complete guide

By Kailash Ganesh – Aug 2023 https://www.culturemonkey.io/employee-engagement/drivers-of-employee-engagement/

  • How to Increase Employee Engagement: 20 Key Drivers

By Energage – May 2023 https://topworkplaces.com/key-drivers-employee-engagement/

I think you will find both of these articles to be both interesting and informative.  What I wanted to determine from the lists, as a recognition and engagement expert, is which of these Drivers do we help impact and improve with a properly implemented and leader-supported Award and Recognition Program.

Kailash’s List of 18 Drivers:

1) Communication

2) Recognition

3) Professional development

4) Empowerment

5) Autonomy

6) Purpose

7) Work-life balance

8) Leadership

9) Inclusivity

10) Collaboration

11) Workplace relations

12) Work environment

13) Innovation

14) Psychological safety

15) Positive Mental Health

16) Feedback loop

17) Flexible work options

18) Community involvement

(BOLD – Impacted by an Integrated Recognition Strategy)

As I considered how Kailash’s list correlated to the initiatives and goals of a properly developed recognition, employee engagement and performance management program, I was able to link 13 of the 18 (72%) drivers to the recognition program.

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Energage’s List of 20 Key Drivers of Employee Engagement

1. Company values

2. Meaningfulness

3. Direction

4. Employee appreciation

5. Concerns

6. Inclusion

7. Innovation

8. Open-mindedness

9. Training

10. Potential

11. Development

12. Clued-in employees

13. Clued-in leaders

14. Execution

15. Cooperation

16. Meetings

17. Benefits

18. Expectations

19. Pay

20. Work-life flexibility

(BOLD – Impacted by an Integrated Recognition Strategy)

As I reviewed Energage’s list and correlated it to the initiatives and goals of a properly developed recognition, employee engagement and performance management program, I was able to link 13 of the 20 (65%) drivers to the program.

While Recognition and Employee Appreciation show up as a single item on each list, the fact that a comprehensive, integrated strategy using current engagement and communications technology impact 72% and 65% of the Drivers respectively, shows how beneficial a well-structured recognition program that is supported by top leadership and embraced by managers and employees can be to your organization.

If you’d like to learn more about John Schaefer, Schaefer Recognition Group, Incentive Services and how our team can help you develop a recognition strategy to support the majority of Key Engagement Drivers, email me personally at john@SchaeferRecognitionGroup.com  or call (800)378-5821. 

I’d be happy to discuss your company goals and growth objections to see if we can help you and your leadership team optimize your most important resource – people!