The secret to building employee engagement is creating emotional connections between an organization and its people.

A study by Philadelphia-based consultants PeopleMetrics (covered here by Management-Issues) reveals just how dramatically passion boosts both productivity and business outcomes.

Their findings?

• Employees who are passionate about their companies are the best performers, regardless of industry, tenure or gender
• Companies in the lowest quartile in company profitability had 50 percent fewer engaged employees compared to those in the top quartile
• In terms of individual performance, the study found high performing employees were twice as engaged as their low performing counterparts

BOTTOMLINE: “While pay, benefits and resources to do one’s job are necessary for a certain level of employee engagement, they are not sufficient to drive the highest levels of employee engagement and performance. Creating emotional connections to employees is what truly matters because this is where organizations can dramatically boost employee productivity and business outcomes.”

Building an emotional bond with employees requires organizations to create a “sense of meaning and purpose” among employees by connecting them to the “higher vision and purpose” of the organization.