Employee engagement: Conceptual model and computation framework

Abstract

In this paper we present a conceptual model of employee engagement (EE). We outline various factors that influence EE. Contrary to the common practice of measuring EE by surveys and measuring EE collectively for large groups (usually corresponding to different lines of business), we propose using direct and sensed data for each individual to compute a personalized measure of EE. We show how the data collected through surveys can be mapped to already existing enterprise data and how this can reduce the size of such surveys or eliminate them altogether. The framework also allows us to capture the differences between employees based on personal factors like the number of years of experience and the business unit with which they are associated in computing EE. Since the computation is based on an employee's data, we can point to exact data dimensions that resulted in a low EE score. This enables the organization to take personalized actions for each employee to improve his/her employee engagement. Additionally, with our approach, EE measurement can be a continuous process, as opposed to an irregular periodic one where we might conduct surveys once or twice a year. Thus, we can help reduce the IT and administrative cost of conducting surveys. © 2012 IEEE.