The Top 8 Employee Engagement Books

Employee engagement is likely something that you have been hearing a lot about, but why is it important? And why should you invest the time to read employee engagement books?

KFC and Chick-Fil-A.   Two companies that sell essentially the same thing, chicken.  However, these two companies have drastically different success.  Chick-Fil-A outearns KFC by almost 4x the amount of revenue with only a fraction of the stores.  And to top it off, they are only open 6 days a week.

Why is there such a notable difference in the performance of these two chicken companies?  Chick-Fil-A has a culture that focuses on people.   They work hard to make sure that their employees are happy in order to make their customers happy.

Just think about any successful business- their success is likely enabled by engaged and empowered employees.  Apple?  They have enabled and empowered developers to bring revolutionary products to market.   Starbucks? They have engaged and empowered employees to deliver an exceptional experience to their customers.   Tesla? They have engaged and empowered engineers committed to revolutionizing the automobile industry.   Engaged employees make the difference.

Great leaders understand this secret to success and work hard every day to engage and empower their teams.

So how can you develop the skills necessary to achieve this type of success? Check out these employee engagement books that can help you build your leadership skills and grow your business.

 

The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery

This is a wonderful story about how engaged employees can make or break a business.  It also provides very practical advice on how to engage and empower your employees.  It’s a an easy read that any leader can benefit from reading!

 

Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT

There is a lot of misconception about how to engage employees. For example, many companies focus on getting ping ball tables in their breakrooms or hosting weekly Zoom cocktail hours.  These things will not make an empowered and engaged workforce.   This book does a great job of breaking down what employees truly need in order to be engaged and is a must-read employee engagement boook.

The Non-Obvious Guide To Employee Engagement (For Millennials, Boomers And Everyone Else)

There are significant generational differences in what employees want and need in the workplace.  Great leaders understand these differences and work hard to respect these differences.     This book will walk you through these generational differences and provide practical ways to enable them.   This book also does a great job of dispelling engagement misconceptions that will help you take your leadership to the next level.

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People

The 5 Love Languages is a bit of a cult classic.   It has helped people in marriages and relationships for years understand what their partners value. This book does the same for leaders to understand what their employees need in the workplace. It’s an easy read that sheds light on what employees really appreciate to help empower and engage them.

The Seventh Level: Transform Your Business Through Meaningful Engagement with Your Customers and Employees

Employees experience a lot of noise. This book looks to cut out the noise in order to genuinely connect with your employees. This book is a quick read and provides easy strategies to help form connections and deepen employee engagement. As an added bonus, it also covers customer engagement so you can tackle both holistically.

 

Fish!: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

This was one of the first “business books” I read out of college and it has paid dividends.  At the end of the day, people spend more time with their coworkers than they spend with their family.   Employees that are able to have fun and enjoy their time together are far more likely to be engaged and have better overall well-being. This easy read reinforces the need for fun in the workplace and provides some great strategies and tactics to make your workplace more enjoyable and engaging.

 

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

‘Start with Why’ is a must read for any leader.   One sure-fire way to inhibit your employee’s engagement and performance is to not tie their work back to a purpose.   Working towards a greater good can help inspire the most curmudgeon of employees.  Once you are able to enroll employees in “the why”, you will unlock a new level of success. This book helps you do just that.

It’s the Manager: Moving From Boss to Coach

I’m a big fan of all of Gallup’s employee engagement work. They have unprecedented research of what contributes to employee engagement and drive success of organizations.  This particular book is great because it helps manager move beyond the archaic style of management to the style that resonates best with today’s workforce. This is a great read for new and tenured managers looking to deepen employee engagement.

 

These employee engagement books will certainly help you improve your leadership skills, better connect with employees, and enroll them in the greater purpose of the organization.

Do you have a favorite employee engagement book?   Leave a comment below and share!

 

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