Employee Engagement Chronicle (extra)

There has been a lot of press and information lately about the Towers Perrin Worldwide Employee Engagement Study encompassing 90,000 workers in 19 countries.

Here are some of the findings as summarized in The State:

• Engagement is not satisfaction or happiness but the degree to which workers connect to the company emotionally, are aware of what they need to do to add value and are willing to take that action.
• Only 21 percent of workers worldwide are “engaged” while 38 percent are either disenchanted or disengaged, according to a new survey.
• The survey found 21 percent of workers worldwide are engaged, and another 41 percent are “enrolled,” which means they’re on the road to engagement
• More than 80 percent of the engaged employees say they contribute to the quality of the company’s products, services and customer satisfaction, while only 40 percent of disengaged workers agree.
• Engagement helps retention, too: About 50 percent of engaged employees say they have no plans to leave their company, versus 15 percent of the disengaged.
• Companies with highly motivated workers enjoyed a 3.7 percent increase in operating margins and a 2 percent rise in net profits, while companies with a lower level of worker commitment saw both measures decrease slightly.
• What employees are looking for is open communication, communication that reflects the fact that senior management really understands how the work gets done and recognizes and appreciates that.

Employee Engagement Drivers

The top 10 drivers of employee engagement across 19 countries were:

1. Senior management sincerely interested in employee well-being  
2. Improved my skills and capabilities over the last year
3. Organization’s reputation for social responsibility
4. Input into decision-making in my department
5. Organization quickly resolves customer concerns
6. Set high personal standards
7. Have excellent career advancement opportunities
8. Enjoy challenging work assignments that broaden skills
9. Good relationship with supervisor
10. Organization encourages innovative thinking