The engagement trend has got to be a huge cash cow for big consulting firms like Towers Perrin, who help companies measure their own levels of engagement and then recommend changes to practices and policies aimed at improving it.
And so today, in that shamelessly selve-serving way we've come to know and love, TP released highlights of a big engagement study. And, guess what? Engagement levels are crappy all over the world, with only 21% of employees engaged in their work, and 38% partly or fully disengaged. The study also found that companies with higher levels of engagement deliver much better financial performance.
Here's an interesting excerpt:
The Towers Perrin study ... debunks a widely held view that engagement is an innate trait. Rather, it is the organization itself - and most particularly, its senior leadership - that has the biggest impact on engagement levels.
"One of the study's key findings is that the organization itself is the most powerful influencer of employee engagement," said [Julie] Gebauer, Towers Perrin HR Services. "Personal values and work experience factors have less of an impact on engagement than what the company does -- particularly the extent to which employees believe senior management is sincerely interested in their well-being. This was the number one element driving engagement on a global basis and also in the U.S.
"People's views about the company are also shaped more by what senior leaders say and do than by what the individuals' direct bosses say or do. This too contradicts conventional wisdom and suggests that companies have a real opportunity to dramatically improve both engagement levels -- starting with listening to what their own employees have to say."
Part of our job as employee communicators is to report on the things our leaders are doing to support employee well-being. But we also have an opportunity to coach our leaders to be better listeners. Easier said than done, but perhaps a little easier thanks to studies like this.
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