Employee engagement rates have hit an all-time low in the past decade. Apathy in the workplace has become so widespread that it’s now referred to as “quiet quitting.” Mandates to return to the office are being issued. Frustration is growing on all sides, and many leaders are unsure of how to improve the situation.

Does this sound familiar?

This isn’t about well-being or mental health; it’s about ENGAGEMENT.

Engagement can be defined as a team member’s involvement, commitment, and enthusiasm for work and the workplace. The key difference between engagement and well-being is that engagement directly impacts the bottom line. High levels of engagement can lead a firm to 1) outperform competitors by 202% (Gallup), 2) achieve 23% higher profitability (Gallup), and 3) have team members who are 45% more productive (HBR).

Despite understanding the concept of engagement and its impact, many firm leaders struggle to implement strategies that actually improve engagement.

That’s where Joychiever’s Hierarchy of Engagement comes in.

For years, I’ve been closely following Gallup’s engagement advice, starting with their groundbreaking book, First Break All the Rules, which introduced the Q12 questions that later evolved into their global engagement survey. I also actively keep up with Gartner, Harvard Business Review, and Deloitte research and insights on workforce engagement.

In my quest to find a suitable engagement model for my Joychiever work, I realized that none of the existing models truly captured the unique cultures, challenges, and opportunities found in law, accounting, and consulting firms. That’s when the idea for our archetype emerged.

This innovative framework is specifically designed for client-serving businesses and assists firms in identifying their engagement strengths and challenges. Many of the performance issues that firms encounter daily can be linked to one of the levels in this model.

• Doing the bare minimum but nothing extra? That involves Autonomy, Connection, and Purpose.
• Experiencing a lack of appreciation and recognition, leading to negativity? Check out the Care level.
• Struggling to answer, “How is my work making a difference?” That’s all about Purpose.

I’m confident that this model will help firms identify and address the root causes of issues that ultimately lead to burnout, disengagement, and mental health concerns among employees.

Stay tuned for next week, when we’ll delve into the first level of the hierarchy—Pay, Performance, and Perks.