The Zinger model of employee engagement focuses on 10 essential actions that leaders and managers must take in order to engage employees.

Much like Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, each “building block” in Zinger’s Model is a step that must be taken in order to foster engagement in the workplace. Let’s cover each row and their components –

BOTTOM ROW: THE NECESSITIES

The bottom of the pyramid focuses on the essentials that an employee needs in order to do good work:

• Enhance well-being. Employees can’t do their best work if they’re sacrificing their physical and mental well-being for the job. Building a safe environment, respectful managers, etc., helps set the stage for success.

• Enliven energy. The goal here is to seek to create a work environment where employees bring energy to their work and gain energy from their work. Check and monitor energy levels, looking for patterns to identify barriers and energy drains.

• Make meaning. To stay engaged long-term, employees must find purpose in their work. Leaders must help their employees understand the why behind their work to keep them motivated.

• Leverage strengths. Leaders must create an environment where employees can exercise and grow in their strengths. This fosters engagement and makes the organization stronger by enhancing the existing strengths of the workforce.

SECOND ROW: UNITING THE ORGANIZATION

The second row of the pyramid builds upon the essentials to connect individuals with the larger organization:

• Build relationships. Good teamwork is essential to achieving outcomes. People who make friends at work are more than twice as likely to be engaged as those who don’t make friends.

• Foster recognition. This doesn’t mean giving promotions or good performance reviews – it means creating a culture where both employees and managers contribute positive employee recognition ideas to keep employee engagement high.

• Master moments. To be engaged, employees must be mentally and emotionally present in their work. Leaders and managers can facilitate this by using daily interactions to enhance connection, solicit input, and understand challenges.

THIRD ROW: BOOST PERFORMANCE

The third pyramid row turns building blocks of individual and communal engagement into practical ways to reach results.

• Maximize performance. Employees get frustrated when they feel like management blocks their ability to do their best work. To keep employees engaged, provide them with a goal and clear reasoning behind that objective.

• Mark progress. To keep employees engaged, leaders and managers must create a system for tracking and communicating progress. A focus on progress helps employees develop their skills and creates a sense of purpose.

TOP OF THE PYRAMID: ACHIEVING RESULTS

The end goal and hopefully outcome of fulfilling each row and components of the pyramid is engaged employees.

You need a strategy for engagement, but you can’t create that plan if you don’t understand what drives employees to do their best work.  Zinger’s Model of Employee Engagement gives you a framework to understand what your team members need and how you can meet those needs and create engagement.