Develop Intrapreneurs to Achieve Greater Employee Engagement

How are companies boosting employee engagement? Facebook for example, is famous for its attempts to create a relaxing work space for their employees. Yet, they’re also great payers so the ‘engagement’ is obvious. In the real world where business means more than just liking & sharing, not all companies are willing to pay attention to their employees’ feelings. Engagement comes in a myriad of shapes especially since it’s not bound by financial incentives.

Engaged employees are happy employees

Being engaged means working for a company that makes every day spent at the office seem fulfilling. Those who feel that way are also sensing an emotional attachment to their work places. They care about what happens inside and they’re willing to do more to add improvements (even if that often means working extra hours). To some extent, engaged employees feel like they have ownership; their role in the company is vital and they feel that way because their boss or manager appreciates and values their work.

We live in an ever-changing and uber-competitive business world where good work also means fast work. Everything we do is hasty, and they’re nothing more satisfying for CEOs and managers than to see that their people are bringing both personal value and productivity to their companies.

Intrapreneurs are the key to employee engagement

When employees are free to use their entrepreneurial skills, they feel at liberty to take important decisions without having to consult with their bosses every 10 minutes. Ergo, implementing intrapreneurship is the best way to engage your employees and make them feel that they’re an important part of your company. Intrapreneurs are better known as engaged employees in action. These people are not afraid to take on more responsibilities and devote themselves entirely to attaining amazing results.

Simply put, they’re ideal employees every company should want to have on their team. Intrapreneurs are excellent leaders, they’re not scared to accept a challenge, and they’re not afraid to get out of their comfort zone to exceed your expectations.

Upgrading employees from engaged to intrapreneurship

Believe it or not, promoting employees from engaged to intrapreneurship can easily create more value in your company than attempting to engage a disengaged group. There are two main things to have in mind as far as intrapreneurship is concerned:

• Building skills meant to boost intrapreneurship potential
• Making changes in your company and create a more suitable environment for innovation

Not all people have the capacity, drive, and discipline to become intrapreneurs. That’s because such a challenging position involves commitment, devotion, and the willingness to accept defeat. Empowering employees to become intrapreneurs is the ultimate goal to attain engagement. A company owner, CEO or manager should possess the ability to spot workers with great working potential. Of course, things are lot easier said than done, especially in this economy wherein most people are driven by financial compensations.

Let’s not confuse entrepreneurship with intrapreneurship

Entrepreneurs hire advertising, engineering, marketing, and sales services. They’re the ones in charge, they call the shots. Intrapreneurs on the other hand, are employees who are promoted by entrepreneurs to intrapreneurship. They’re given the liberty to make decisions, pitch in ideas, and work independently, but at the end of the day they’re still employees. In definition, intrapreneurs are not as independent as entrepreneurs, yet they’re made to think they are. To some extent, they have autonomy and they’re treated better than the rest of the team.

Companies looking to boost productivity should definitely make use of intrapreneurs. They’re not that easy to find however, and that’s probably because very few employees have intrapreneurship potential. Some people are calling intrapreneurs “the employees of the future” and they’re right. Companies are striving to set themselves apart from their competitors, find new strategies to promote their products, and keep workers as motivated as possible to further productivity.

Employee engagement can only be attained when people are happy with the work they do, and it’s an attribute that must not be confused with motivation. Motivation is usually driven by some sort of financial compensation, engagement comes from pure pleasure, enjoyment and willingness to make a change and help a company achieve greatness. Are you ready to take your company to the next level using intrapreneurs?