You’ve probably heard quite a bit about employee engagement lately, and you know that you want engaged employees. However, what can you do to increase levels of employee engagement? This article discusses ways in which performance management practices can be used to drive employee engagement and provides suggestions for future research.

THE RESEARCH STUDY

Many different definitions of engagement exist. In this article, engaged employees are defined as those who feel committed, involved, passionate, and empowered, and they must demonstrate those feelings in their behavior. The authors use prior research and theory to support their argument for why each of five different performance management practices can lead to increased engagement. The performance management practices described are: (1) setting performance and development goals, (2) providing ongoing feedback and recognition, (3) managing employee development, (4) conducting mid-year and end-year appraisals, and (5) building a climate of trust and empowerment.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Following any of the above performance management practices should lead to increased levels of employee engagement, but the authors note that the relevant impact of the different practices remains to be studied.

Mone, E., Eisinger, C., Guggenheim, K., Price, B., & Stine, C. (2011). Performance management at the wheel: Driving employee engagement in organizations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, 205-212.

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