Managing Employee Engagement
To save you time, we've mined all 214 pages of the 2017 Gallup State of the American Workplace report to provide you with the five most insightful findings. If you want to explore how Cobalt and Gallup are working together to help you engage your employees, visit this page.
According to Gallup, almost 70% of US employees are still not engaged
Gallup’s 2017 State of the Workplace Study revealed that overall US Employee Engagement rates have remained relatively unchanged over the past decade: 33% Engaged, 51% Not Engaged, 16% Actively Disengaged.
Over half of employees (51%) still fit into the “not engaged” group - those most at risk of leaving or becoming actively disengaged.
Organizational leaders on a cerebral level understand the benefits a more engaged workforce have on key performance indicators. But actually measuring and managing engagement has important benefits if employers take the time to measure and follow through on the feedback gleaned from those measures.
Acting on employee surveys such as the Gallup Q12 can be done formally or informally, but regardless of the approach, an action plan is needed. Gallup suggests these 6 steps to help managers/ leaders act on their employee survey results.
The Payoff?
The payoff of higher employee engagement is an improvement in many key performance indicators as illustrated below.
When compared to business units in the bottom quartile of engagement, those in the top quartile realize improvements in the following areas:
How do you retain top talent?
According to the research, 51% of people are looking for jobs or watching for openings, and people are more confident in finding work now than they were five years ago. In 2012, 19% of employees polled said it was a good time to look for work. As of the third quarter of 2016, 42% of employees felt this way.
Money is important to a point, but not as important as you might think. Gallup states that people make decisions based on reason and emotion, but are more likely to be led by emotion. Organizations can improve retention by clearly communicating expectations and making employees feel they are making a difference and contributing to the organization's success.
Outside of a salary, can your employees answer this question? “What do I get for working here?”
About 60% of employees say the ability to do what they do best in a role is “very important” to them. Employees of all generations place the greatest importance on this aspect of a job. Managers should focus on strengths when hiring and find roles for employees so they can do what they do best.
Also, just 12% of employees agree that their organization does a great job of on boarding new employees. Employees form an opinion of your organization from the first day. Developing employees into brand ambassadors has a positive effect on culture, recruiting, retention and engagement. Helpful tip: Partner new hires with your best employees. These employees serve as your brand ambassadors and can help mentor, answer questions, socialize and model the attitude and behaviors you are striving for in the organization.
In addition, employees want to be proud of the organization they work for, so it’s important for organizations to have a great external AND internal brand. The key to this is authenticity. Showcase your values in a way employees can believe, get behind and support. Promoting your customer and employee success stories, charity programs, awards, etc. on your website, social media and Intranet improves your brand image. Consistently communicating what your organization is doing to benefit the community helps build a team of brand ambassadors and improves your ability to recruit, on board and retain top talent, not to mention the positive impact on culture and morale.
About 54% of office workers say they would leave their job for one that offers flexible work time. More companies are offering more work-from-home and flexible working arrangements for their employees, and it’s paying off. In fact, Gallup’s data shows 43% of employees are working away from team members at least some of the time now compared to 39% in 2012. Gallup also discovered that the optimal engagement boost occurs when employees spend three to four days in a five-day workweek working off-site.
Flexibility is a key to increased engagement. Employees want greater flexibility, autonomy and the ability to lead a better and more balanced life. Little things like allowing staff to leave early for an appointment or to watch a child’s game without taking a vacation day help build a more engaged and productive workforce.
Only 3 in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that in the last seven days they received recognition or praise for doing good work. While this statistic paints a gloomy picture, there have been a 5-percent improvement from 2012. These improvements can be attributed to more employers viewing recognition as a business strategy. In addition, HR recognition technology including social tools are enabling managers to give more frequent feedback, along with monetary and non-monetary rewards, creating a stronger culture of recognition. The role of manager has dramatically changed. Great managers need to be more than taskmasters – they need to be coaches who develop and motivate their team. This is not an easy transition. Often managers are promoted into leadership positions because they excelled in their job, not because they have the skills that make a great manager.
An important Gallup finding: Senior leaders need to address their managers’ engagement needs in the same way managers are expected to address their employees’ needs - providing clear expectations, training and education so managers are well-equipped to be coaches.
Improving these areas are a no-cost, high impact way of improving engagement, retention and productivity.
WHY DOES ALL THIS MATTER?
1. Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are two times more likely as those who do feel adequately recognized to quit in the next year. In the current labor market, you will have talent and knowledge walk out the door that takes time and effort to replace, if you can replace it at all.
2. Having more employees receive recognition more regularly is good for your employees and your business. Improving your recognition metrics can result in a 24% improvement in quality and a 27% reduction in absenteeism.
Source: Gallup 2017 State of the Workplace, adapted from article published by CSISTARS, with permission.
Cobalt is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help you thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help you by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].
Gallup’s 2017 State of the Workplace Study revealed that overall US Employee Engagement rates have remained relatively unchanged over the past decade: 33% Engaged, 51% Not Engaged, 16% Actively Disengaged.
Over half of employees (51%) still fit into the “not engaged” group - those most at risk of leaving or becoming actively disengaged.
Organizational leaders on a cerebral level understand the benefits a more engaged workforce have on key performance indicators. But actually measuring and managing engagement has important benefits if employers take the time to measure and follow through on the feedback gleaned from those measures.
Acting on employee surveys such as the Gallup Q12 can be done formally or informally, but regardless of the approach, an action plan is needed. Gallup suggests these 6 steps to help managers/ leaders act on their employee survey results.
- Help employees understand what engagement is - why the survey was conducted, what it measures and how it impacts the organization and their team.
- Share and explain the survey results.
- Select two or three key areas to work on over the year.
- Discuss the results.
- Brainstorm ways to address key areas and plan for improvement.
- Follow up regularly on the plan, and on how employees are feeling about the team’s progress toward meeting goals.
The Payoff?
The payoff of higher employee engagement is an improvement in many key performance indicators as illustrated below.
When compared to business units in the bottom quartile of engagement, those in the top quartile realize improvements in the following areas:
- 41% LOWER Absenteeism
- 24% LOWER Turnover
- 17% HIGHER Productivity
- 70% FEWER Employee Safety Incidents
- 20% HIGHER Sales
- 41% FEWER Quality Incidents
How do you retain top talent?
According to the research, 51% of people are looking for jobs or watching for openings, and people are more confident in finding work now than they were five years ago. In 2012, 19% of employees polled said it was a good time to look for work. As of the third quarter of 2016, 42% of employees felt this way.
Money is important to a point, but not as important as you might think. Gallup states that people make decisions based on reason and emotion, but are more likely to be led by emotion. Organizations can improve retention by clearly communicating expectations and making employees feel they are making a difference and contributing to the organization's success.
Outside of a salary, can your employees answer this question? “What do I get for working here?”
About 60% of employees say the ability to do what they do best in a role is “very important” to them. Employees of all generations place the greatest importance on this aspect of a job. Managers should focus on strengths when hiring and find roles for employees so they can do what they do best.
Also, just 12% of employees agree that their organization does a great job of on boarding new employees. Employees form an opinion of your organization from the first day. Developing employees into brand ambassadors has a positive effect on culture, recruiting, retention and engagement. Helpful tip: Partner new hires with your best employees. These employees serve as your brand ambassadors and can help mentor, answer questions, socialize and model the attitude and behaviors you are striving for in the organization.
In addition, employees want to be proud of the organization they work for, so it’s important for organizations to have a great external AND internal brand. The key to this is authenticity. Showcase your values in a way employees can believe, get behind and support. Promoting your customer and employee success stories, charity programs, awards, etc. on your website, social media and Intranet improves your brand image. Consistently communicating what your organization is doing to benefit the community helps build a team of brand ambassadors and improves your ability to recruit, on board and retain top talent, not to mention the positive impact on culture and morale.
About 54% of office workers say they would leave their job for one that offers flexible work time. More companies are offering more work-from-home and flexible working arrangements for their employees, and it’s paying off. In fact, Gallup’s data shows 43% of employees are working away from team members at least some of the time now compared to 39% in 2012. Gallup also discovered that the optimal engagement boost occurs when employees spend three to four days in a five-day workweek working off-site.
Flexibility is a key to increased engagement. Employees want greater flexibility, autonomy and the ability to lead a better and more balanced life. Little things like allowing staff to leave early for an appointment or to watch a child’s game without taking a vacation day help build a more engaged and productive workforce.
Only 3 in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that in the last seven days they received recognition or praise for doing good work. While this statistic paints a gloomy picture, there have been a 5-percent improvement from 2012. These improvements can be attributed to more employers viewing recognition as a business strategy. In addition, HR recognition technology including social tools are enabling managers to give more frequent feedback, along with monetary and non-monetary rewards, creating a stronger culture of recognition. The role of manager has dramatically changed. Great managers need to be more than taskmasters – they need to be coaches who develop and motivate their team. This is not an easy transition. Often managers are promoted into leadership positions because they excelled in their job, not because they have the skills that make a great manager.
An important Gallup finding: Senior leaders need to address their managers’ engagement needs in the same way managers are expected to address their employees’ needs - providing clear expectations, training and education so managers are well-equipped to be coaches.
Improving these areas are a no-cost, high impact way of improving engagement, retention and productivity.
WHY DOES ALL THIS MATTER?
1. Employees who do not feel adequately recognized are two times more likely as those who do feel adequately recognized to quit in the next year. In the current labor market, you will have talent and knowledge walk out the door that takes time and effort to replace, if you can replace it at all.
2. Having more employees receive recognition more regularly is good for your employees and your business. Improving your recognition metrics can result in a 24% improvement in quality and a 27% reduction in absenteeism.
Source: Gallup 2017 State of the Workplace, adapted from article published by CSISTARS, with permission.
Cobalt is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help you thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help you by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].