Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. The concept is also known as employee participation and participative management.

In a nutshell, it is about the direct participation of staff in activities that help an organization fulfill its mission and meet its objectives by applying their own ideas, expertise and effort.

Providing opportunities for active participation is beneficial for individuals as well as organizations. Applied organizational researchers, for example, have identified a myriad of positive outcomes of employee involvement initiatives such as –

• Increased employee productivity across industries, even for low-skilled employees that do routine tasks (Jones, Kalmi, Kauhanen, 2010)

• Substantially improved employee well-being (Freeman, Kleiner, 2005)

• Reduced costs through elimination of waste and reduced product cycle times (Apostolou, 2000)

In order for an employee involvement process to be effective, three things need to be present – (1) employees need to be given the authority to participate in substantive decisions, (2) employees need to have the appropriate decision-making skills, and (3) incentives to participate (whether implicit or explicit) must be present.

The best model for the progressive transition towards increased employee involvement comes from Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) and Sadler (1970). They provide a continuum of leadership and involvement that reflect an increasing role for employees and a decreasing role for supervisors in the decision process. The continuum includes this progression. The continuum follows this transition –

• TELL. The supervisor makes the decision and announces it to the staff; the supervisor provides complete direction.

• SELL. The supervisor makes the decision and then attempts to gain commitment from staff by "selling" the positive aspects of the decision.

• CONSULT. The supervisor invites input into a decision while retaining authority to make the final decision herself.

• JOIN. The supervisor invites employees to decide with the supervisor; the supervisor considers the employee’s voice equal in the decision process.

• DELEGATE. The supervisor turns the decision over to the employee.

For an organization to flourish, employee involvement is crucial. Success doesn’t depend on streamlined processes, exceptional leadership, or even a world-class culture – these don’t even matter without engaged employees. Involved employees see the bigger picture, and this allows them to understand their roles in the organization more. Engagement empowers them to be more accountable, not only for their own performance but to that of the organization as well.

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