Employee Engagement & Retention is one BASK functional area with a four-part definition, and the part candidates forget is the one the exam asks about.
The definition
Employee Engagement & Retention covers activities aimed at retaining talent, solidifying and improving the relationship between employees and the organization, creating a thriving and energized workforce, and developing effective strategies to address appropriate performance expectations from employees at all levels.
Four elements: retention, the employee-organization relationship, an energized workforce, and performance expectations at all levels.
- Performance expectations sit inside this area. That closing clause is the overlooked element, and items are written specifically on it.
- Not in the definition: instructional design closing competency gaps (Learning & Development), incentive pay tied to survey results (Total Rewards variable pay), employer branding for recruitment advertising (a topic the BOCK placed with talent acquisition).
Distinguishing the neighbours
- Learning & Development: enhancing the KSAOs and competencies of the workforce to meet current and future business needs.
- HR Strategy: developing, implementing, managing and evaluating the strategic direction required to achieve organizational success.
- Total Rewards: the design and implementation of compensation systems and benefit packages.
So when someone argues engagement is really L&D work because it builds capability, the correction is definitional: L&D is defined around KSAOs and competencies; Engagement & Retention is defined around retention, the relationship, and performance expectations. The similarity of "addressing workforce needs" is too general to matter. The two areas are not merged, and engagement is a named functional area, not merely a behavioral competency.
BOCK versus BASK
The 2014 BOCK's four People areas were Talent Acquisition & Retention, Employee Engagement, Learning & Development, Total Rewards. So in the BOCK, retention was bundled with acquisition and engagement stood alone. The current BASK regroups them into a single Employee Engagement & Retention area. Engagement was not absent from the BOCK and was never inside Total Rewards.