Engagement: Invitation not imposition

How do you feel when you receive an invitation?

Make employee engagement an invitation to others, don’t allow employee engagement to become an imposition.

Successful employee engagement is based on invitations not impositions. Although both words start with the letter “i” the similarities end there. Full engagement cannot be coerced or forced.

Invitation is defined as a request to participate, to be present, to take part in something, or tempting allurement. When we work with employee engagement do employees feel the urge to take part in something?  Do we invite employees to be fully present at work? Do they feel a part of something meaningful?  

Have you ever thought of engagement as tempting allurement and what this would mean for the workplace?

Imposition means a compulsory order that does not originate from a voluntary agreement.  It is the act of imposing something or an uncalled-for burden. Do employees feel that engagement is a compulsory order — get engaged or else! How successful will engagement be when choice is limited and it feels like a burden to the very person we are trying to foster engagement with?

One of the most common reasons people resist change is because they feel coerced. Don’t be an agent of coercion when you are trying to change the workplace to higher levels of engagement.

Engagement as invitation has parallels with caring and respect for others. Engagement as imposition has parallels with coercion and human resources more as resources than as humans.

Get Engaged:

1. Do you feel invited in your workplace to engage in work that will make a difference?

2. Notice where and when engagement may feel like an imposition or burden to employees and determine steps to transform coercive imposition into caring invitation.

3. Compose an actual invitation to engagement and send it to employees. Put RSVP on the invitation and prepare to host a workplace where everyone is invited to be fully engaged.

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