There’s an infamous fairytale question that goes, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” If from an organization development perspective you answered “engaged employees,” then you’re right on the mark and primed to understand the importance of why engaged employees are a keystone to helping move organizations forward. Take Johnson and Johnson, an internationally known healthcare pharmaceutical company where one of its teams was developing a speciic drug for a critical patient population. The drug was showing a lot of promise as well as receiving positive nods from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Using an employee engagement framework and strategy, senior management gave this group great support. As a result, team satisfaction increased as did project timelines and soon to follow, FDA approval for the drug (Catteeuw, Flynn, Vonderhosrt, 2007). Was this particular Johnson and Johnson success story a shot in the dark? A business luke? Not likely. Johnson & Johnson, like hundreds of other national and international companies, are launching employee engagement initiatives because they both recognize and experience the beneits of reduced employee turnover, customer loyalty, and increased corporate proits. Employee engagement is the amount of discretionary effort that employees put into their work. “… engaged workers are helping to achieve company goals by aligning their work with the strategic objectives of the irm and they are excited to do so. Full engagement means the employee’s heart and mind is engaged. That is, the organization has also addressed their emotional engagement.” (Buhler, 2006, p. 2). Employee satisfaction is distinct from employee engagement. Employee satisfaction implies the meeting of traditional needs such as competitive beneits and safe working conditions, while engagement implies the active integration of the employee’s attention on the business of the organization. Engagement implies direct action on the part of the employee while satisfaction becomes the responsibility of the organization to meet through the systems and processes it puts into place. Engaged employees are more productive, more proitable and have lower turnover than employees who are not engaged with their organization. However, an engaged workforce is not easy to develop when nearly one in ive employees is actively disconnected from work. To attain these higher levels of productivity and to meet customer needs, launching employee-focused strategies that encourage employee participation and involvement is essential. Making the Case LaBarre (2001) draws from Marcus Buckingham’s Gallup Q12 survey analysis indicating that there is a deinite link between people and performance. Organizations that scored in the top Employee Engagement and OD Strategies “Employee satisfaction is distinct from employee engagement. Employee satisfaction implies the meeting of traditional needs such as competitive beneits and safe working conditions, while engagement implies the active integration of the employee’s attention on the business of the organization.” By Debra Orr and Hona Matthews 18 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 40 No. 2 2008