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The research on engagement supports what most of us already know intuitively: employees are more engaged when employers value their contributions and communicate that value in specific, visible ways. Engagement matters because engaged employees are more productive workers. Companies with successful engagement strategies enjoy 33% higher profits and 51% lower turnover rates.

Technology enables employees to connect with anyone, anywhere from almost any device. This is facilitating new levels of collaboration, responsiveness and productivity. Meanwhile, the average time it takes employees to commute to work is rising, from an average of 20 minutes each way in the 1990s to 26 minutes today, with commute times in major metropolitan areas significantly higher.

In order to attract the best qualified talent, many employers have relaxed their policies about remote work. Teleworking has, in fact, grown 115% in the past decade, according to the Society for Human Resources Management.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – unless you work in HR. Holiday anticipation and upcoming vacations often leave employees feeling distracted and disengaged during one of the most chaotic months of the year. Without a solid engagement strategy, ramped up customer demand and preoccupied employees create a perfect recipe for seasonal stress.

December is one of the trickiest months for engagement. On the one hand, you have employees taking more time off than usual and looking forward to vacation and holiday parties. On the other hand, some employees will be working more hours than normal, especially in sectors like retail and healthcare where workloads double or triple during the holidays.

Employee engagement: the buzzword is everywhere, but can anyone really agree on what it means? How do you measure it? And how can you build an effective strategy that works in your unique company culture?

Employee engagement is tricky to define because it represents different things to different people. Some companies describe engagement as an emotional commitment to the company that includes both loyalty and dedication to achieving goals. Others define engagement in terms of productivity.

The truth is that both viewpoints are right. Engagement expert and Chief Scientific officer at Engage2Excel Jack Wiley, Ph.D. defines it this way: “Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are motivated to contribute to organizational success and are willing to apply discretionary effort to accomplishing tasks important to the achievement of organizational goals.”