I had the chance to participate in a nice debate about employee engagement last week on Businessweek.com - check it out http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2009/05/employee_engage.html - thanks to Paul Hebert for the lively debate.

I think you'll find Paul and I actually agree more than we disagree about employee engagement. What's interesting about the comments on the debate is the assumption made that employee engagement is about special programs, employee benefits, game rooms, recognition programs, team building exercises, etc. Let me set the record straight - when I am talking about employee engagement, I am not actually thinking about any programs, perks, or benefits - these are not what employee engagement is about.

Employee engagement is a state I believe companies are constantly striving to get to. Simply put, it is the result of employees understanding the company's strategy , how to bring it to life behaviorally in their day-to-day job, being held accountable for helping achieve the company goals/objectives and therefore willing to give that extra bit of discretionary effort everyday.

Why care? Because engaged employees will consistently deliver world-class employee and customer experiences that will dramatically increase the value of your business and your ability to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. Just ask Ritz-Carlton, Southwest Airlines, Wegmans Food Markets, and Disney whether employee engagement matters!