This review by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development describes employee engagement as a key element in the performance of organizations.

The review found clear evidence that engagement levels are low and recommends that the government should use its unique position to bring together interested parties to jointly develop solutions designed to meet their specific needs.

The research revealed that only about a third of UK employees are engaged at work. Employee engagement, also called Work engagement, is a combination of commitment, job satisfaction, pride, job commitment and discretionary effort. It is also related to retention of talent, individual performance, team performance and productivity.

The review found that employee engagement is linked to improved performance, lower levels of sick leave and increased staff loyalty. Among the biggest obstacles to improved employee engagement are low levels of trust in senior management, poor performance management and line management.

Employers are keenly aware that it is vitally important to retain the loyalty and commitment of their workforce, but they don’t always know how to do this.

The Institute has called for a national debate on the contribution of employee engagement to performance.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT is available from CIPD.www.cipd.co.uk