Employee engagement is defined as the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals. It is derived from morale studies which began in the 1920s to measure a group’s willingness to accomplish organizational objectives.

Today, employee engagement is measured to assist companies with developing action plans to reduce turnover and improving enhance hiring and training programs, among other workplace improvements.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in 2011 the cost of replacing only one $8 per hour employee exceeded $3,500, which gives companies a strong financial incentive to maintain an employee-centric workplace to ensure their employees possess a high level of engagement.

One way to measure employee engagement is through the use employee surveys. There are a range of variables, known as drivers that affect overall engagement. By managing the drivers, an organization can effectively manage engagement level of its employees.

Drivers such as leadership and planning, corporate culture and communications, training and development, pay and benefits, relationships with managers and peers, work environment and an understanding of the organization’s goals and vision are some of the variables that influence employee engagement.

Last year, Best Companies Group evaluated over 500,000 employees from more than 3,000 companies. Our research has revealed the top five key drivers impacting employee engagement, in order of importance:

1. The leaders of this organization care about their employees’ well being.
2. I feel I am valued in this organization.
3. I have confidence in the leadership of this organization.
4. My pay is fair for the work I perform.
5. I can trust what this organization tells me.