Understanding Employee Engagement vs. Involvement: Can You Help Clarify the Difference?

Hi, my dear respectable ones!!!!

I need to know the difference between employee engagement and employee involvement.. can anyone help me?

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Hi, my dear respectable ones!!!!

I need to know the difference between employee engagement and employee involvement. Can anyone help me?

Firstly, both job engagement and job involvement are not the same thing. In job engagement, one is simply performing or completing the assigned task/job. Job involvement, on the other hand, comes after job engagement. Job involvement can be determined by the degree of satisfaction an employee feels towards their job. This can be referred to as "self-actualization," where one is working to their fullest potential. Thus, it is crucial to have involvement beyond engagement for the success of both the individual employee and the company.

Cheers!
Akash Saxena

Hi,

Many times, people use these terms interchangeably. You can access a free e-book on employee engagement at http://www.davidzinger.com/wp-content/uploads/abcs-employee-engagement-keys.pdf. Also, articles can be found at http://humanresources.about.com/od/success/a/helpthrive.htm titled "Help People Thrive at Work: Encourage Employee Involvement and Employee Engagement," both sourced from Google at http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=employee+engage ment+and+involvement&btnG=Google+Search&am p;amp;rlz=1R2SKPB_enGB332&aq=f&aqi =&aql=&oq=employee+engagement+and+ involvement&gs_rfai=&fp=bcf338963f 226e4a.

Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Dear Sanjay,

It is not difficult to understand the difference.

You assign an employee for a job - he is assigned but not engaged. If he is seen all the time attending to the assigned job, he is engaged all the while irrespective of the result. It is fine if he does the job just as instructed and you see him engaged. He may be cursing, finding lame excuses not to complete the task, giving you all the headache yet physically present all the time; he is still engaged.

You assign a job to an employee. He puts his soul into the job; seeks pleasure in doing it, takes pride in his performance, and derives satisfaction in doing it - he is involved.

Example: A group leader was asked this question in an interview for his promotion to assistant supervisor.

Question: How much time will it take for an employee to remove one of the aircraft tires and refit it?

The answer was "If he wants to do it; it may just take less than two hours but if he doesn't want to do it; it will not be done even in two days, sir." He was promoted.

In the first case, the employee will be involved, whereas in the second case, the employee will be engaged. The success of a supervisor is in getting the employees involved, not just keeping them engaged.

If you are still not clear, I will make it easy for you this way:

On seeing a rabbit, a hunter shouted at his dog to catch it. The dog chased the rabbit but failed. While returning to the master with its head hanging low, another dog who witnessed this show asked our dog, "Could you not even catch a rabbit?"

It replied, "that rabbit was running for its life whereas I was running just to please my master."

It is involvement in the case of the rabbit and engagement in the case of the dog.

Still have doubt? Then only read this and I cannot go any further.

A few girls were chatting in a park – of course not in India but in the USA. One had a question for all – "what is the difference between like and love?"

The answer given by the knotty girl was "If I like him I permit him, if I love him I help him."

In the case of like, it is engagement, and in the case of love, it is involvement.

This is true in the case of your question "difference between employee engagement and employee involvement."

Please bear with me for I found it easy this way.

I am sure you will never have another doubt in this matter.

Kesava Pillai

Dear Mr. Pillai,

The way you have expressed it is just superb. No fragments of doubt remain. I like that expression, "If I like him I permit him, and if I love him I help him." To understand the difference between engaging and involving, I am sure there is no other example. Can I expect more, please?

Nuways

Dear Kesava,

An excellent explanation with examples that does not seem to have been plagiarized. I really appreciate the exposition of knowledge and the effort.

Have a nice weekend.

Simhan

Hello everybody,

I would like to know what employee engagement is and what employee involvement entails. What is the difference between personnel management and human resource management? How can I recruit candidates for a job?

I am looking forward to your reply.

Thank you.

Dear Mr. Simhan,

Thank you for reading my posting and for your kind response. We should be able to convince the one who raised the question. I am waiting for the response from Sanjay, who raised the question. What we need is for the questioner to receive a satisfactory answer. Did he?

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear piyalichakraborthy,

I am writing here specifically about the first part of the question "difference between employee engagement and employee involvement."

Recently, Sanjayp7280 raised the same question just a few days back. I am certain you are asking it now because you have not reviewed it even once. Nonetheless, I will explain it again for your benefit.

Understanding the difference is not difficult. When you assign a job to an employee, if he merely carries out the task without enthusiasm, he is assigned but not engaged. However, if he is consistently seen actively working on the assigned job, he is engaged regardless of the outcome. Even if he is complaining, making excuses, causing headaches, but physically present all the time, he is still considered engaged.

On the other hand, when an employee puts his heart into the job, finds joy in doing it, takes pride in his work, and feels satisfied with his performance, he is involved.

For instance, in an interview for a promotion to assistant supervisor, a group leader was asked, "How much time will it take for an employee to remove and refit an aircraft tire?" His response was, "If he is willing, it may take less than two hours. However, if he is not motivated, it may not be done even in two days, sir." He was promoted.

In the first scenario, the employee is involved, whereas in the second case, the employee is engaged. A supervisor's success lies in getting employees involved, not just keeping them engaged.

If this is still unclear, let me simplify it further with an analogy:

A hunter saw a rabbit and commanded his dog to catch it. The dog chased the rabbit but failed. Another dog, witnessing this, asked, "Couldn't you catch a rabbit?" The dog replied, "That rabbit was running for its life, while I was running just to please my master." In this scenario, it is involvement in the case of the rabbit and engagement in the case of the dog.

To elaborate further, let's consider a scenario where a few girls were conversing in a park, not in India but in the USA. One of them posed a question to the group, "What is the difference between like and love?" The witty girl's response was, "If I like him, I permit him; if I love him, I help him." In this case, liking represents engagement, and loving represents involvement.

This analogy holds true when discussing the difference between employee engagement and employee involvement. I hope this explanation clarifies the distinction for you.

Thank you for your patience.

Regards,

Kesava Pillai

Read more at https://www.citehr.com/251226-differ...#ixzz0nOTzYmJE

Dear Kesava,

Many times, the person who has raised the question does not seem to visit the site or respond. That should not worry us, as others may also benefit (as seen from responses for this thread).

Have a nice day.

Simhan