Have you ever been in a conversation in which you had to ask someone to repeat information or a question, not because you did not hear the person, but because you simply were not paying attention? Have you ever finished reading a page in a book only to realize that you have no idea what you had just read because your mind had wandered off? In both of these instances we are trying to divide our attention between two tasks and it is just not effective - we are not fully engaged in either task. Such cases remind me of the CEO who was asked how many people work in his company. His reply...”About half of them.”

In today’s difficult economic climate, many corporate executives are looking to cut unnecessary expenses and to avoid wasting resources. Our employees are a very valuable, but also costly, resource. Unfortunately, employees vary widely in their level of engagement in our companies.

Q: What exactly is meant by employee engagement?

A: An employee who is engaged is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, the work that he or she is doing.

Tim Rutledge, author of Getting Engaged: The New Workplace Loyalty, describes an engaged employee as one who is committed to, fascinated by, and attracted to the work. When employees are engaged they care about the company’s future and are willing to go beyond the call of duty in order to help their organization exceed. Both practitioners and academics agree that engaged employees are cognitively vigilant and connected to the organization. That all sounds well and good but...