Working
Today: Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement
Excerpts from The 2003 Towers Perrin Talent Report, U.S.
The results
of Towers Perrin 2003 talent study (representing the views of more
than 35,000 employees in U.S. companies) found that
just under a fifth of the total respondent group are “highly
engaged” – freely giving extra effort on an ongoing basis.
They found just as many who were “checked out” or disengaged,
leaving roughly two-thirds in the “moderately engaged” category.
Here
are excerpts of thoughts from the study’s Executive Summary.
“So what does this mean to the typical company right now?
In many ways, it’s a classic good news/bad news situation.
On the upside, despite the hard choices employers have made in reducing
staff and cutting back on core reward programs, they still have a
willing workforce with a reasonably strong work ethic. While employees
certainly take issue with a number of aspects of their work experience – and
exhibit some negative feelings about their jobs – those negative
emotions haven’t yet translated into widespread poor performance.
But employees’ willingness to deliver is neither infinite
nor self-renewing…Viewed through this lens, findings present
employers with both opportunity and challenge. The opportunity lies
with the small number of highly engaged individuals, who can become
role models for their peers, helping build the kind of environment
and work experience that does engage greater numbers of people.
The challenge,
by contrast, lies with the large number of moderately engaged – “massive middle.”…Indeed the sheer
size of this group – probably the single largest group in any
organization – means it will have a disproportionate impact
on the mood and morale of the workforce overall. Strengthening this
group’s level of engagement may be the most critical task virtually
every employer faces today.
Building
engagement is a process that never ends. And it rests on the foundation
of a meaningful and emotionally enriching work experience.
It is not about making people happy or even paying them more money…What
is on the engagement list are the things that take time and commitment – such
as strong leadership, accountability, autonomy, a sense of control
over one’s environment, a sense of shared destiny, and opportunities
for development and advancement. In the end, this study reminds us
there are no substitutes for these fundamentals.”
Two areas that stood out in the study findings were:
- Just
under two-thirds of the respondents were mixed to negative
on Managers’ ability
to coach and develop employees’ skills,
and
- Consulting
employees before making decisions that affect them received poor
or very poor ratings by 37% of the survey respondents.
On a
more positive note, the study reported that engagement is “substantially
higher” in the nonprofit sector than in every other section,
concluding that “it isn’t possible to ‘buy’ engagement
in the conventional sense (through better than average monetary rewards).”
The study
points us to a significant focus on applying excellent leadership
skill and ability to the massive middle to increase and
benefit from an engaged workforce. While a non-profit may experience
a smaller “massive middle” than two-thirds of the workforce,
even half remains a significant number.
A final
message: “Many organizations confuse communication
with information, concentrating on disseminating basic facts rather
than providing context, commentary, and two-way dialogue.” Communication
takes time, time reserved on the busy calendars. Taking the time,
at least according to this study, contributes to an “environment
of mutual trust, accountability and responsibility important to engaging
people and winning discretionary effort.” At the same time, “Nothing
destroys trust and engagement more over time than inconsistency – or
worse, outright contradiction – between words and actions.”
No one said it would be easy.
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