I once consulted with a company whose senior leadership was genuinely perplexed about the organization’s overwhelming levels of employee disengagement. Their company’s remuneration packages were well above industry standards, and the company offered several perks that simply weren’t offered by competitors.  But, despite all of the material benefits it offered employees, quarter after quarter, year after year, the company’s employee engagement scores were embarrassingly low.  Why? Because the company’s leadership didn’t understand that employee engagement is something that must be earned by the organization—not something that can be bought with salaries, bonuses, or perks. The impact of financial rewards on engagement To understand why employee engagement needs to be earned, not bought, business leaders need to understand what employee engagement actually is.…