 |
Employee engagement—an employee’s attachment to his or her job and organization—greatly influences how someone performs at work. Engaged employees act in ways that further the interests of their organizations. Engagement is different than job satisfaction or morale—and cultivating it can be a challenge without measuring key indicators.
Amid continued uncertain economic times in 2010, a survey recently conducted by APCO Worldwide and Gagen MacDonald found that U.S. employees are nevertheless optimistic about the direction of their companies. They also remain committed to their employers, even as they question how faithful their employers are to them. The study also identified a wide gap between the perceived performance of CEOs and immediate supervisors, with employees expressing far more confidence in the performance of and communication from middle managers. Collectively, the findings provide communications executives with a roadmap for how to capitalize on employee goodwill to build greater employee engagement.
EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE
The Employee Confidence Index, which measures employee optimism about his or her company, stands at 81.4, down from 84.3 in 2009. This finding suggests employees hold a positive overall outlook, but the current index masks some turbulence among key employee groups:
• Females (79.6) are now less confident in the direction of their companies than their male counterparts (83.4). There was a 10-point decline in confidence among females 18-44 years of age between 2009 and 2010.
• Confidence remains lower among workers earning less than $50,000 a year and those with a high school education or less.
• The gains in confidence among employees in the Western U.S. were offset by a significant decline among Midwestern workers and continued anxiety among Northeastern employees.
Employees credit senior executives supporting and living the company values, sharing their vision, and communicating both positive and negative news openly as keys to their confidence. Confident employees also have a positive two-way relationship with their immediate supervisor.
EMPLOYEE CONNECTION
Our Employee Connection Index measures an employee’s commitment to his or her company. This year’s index is 83.5, a decline from last year’s 86.7.
This continues to be a positive finding, as employees express high degrees of loyalty to their employers and a willingness to do what it takes to help the company succeed. Our research indicates that while executive communication and engagement play a role in determining an employee’s connection to their employer, it is also important for the employee to feel comfortable sharing information and ideas and to be receiving the information necessary to do his or her job.
CONNECTION & COMMITMENT
The Employer Connection Index measures an employee’s perception of how committed their company is to her/him. Consistent with the 2009 results, the Employer Connection Index is significantly lower than the Employee Connection Index.
In 2010, the rating is 63.3, down from 65.9 a year ago. Significant declines in the Employer Connection Index were measured among 18-34-year-olds, those with a high school education or less, newer employees and Midwestern workers.
CONNECTION GAP
The gap between the Employee Connection Index and Employer Connection Index is 20.2 points (83.5-63.3). Poor ratings on three elements help explain the gap:
• The executive team in my company supports and lives our values.
• My company’s executive team exemplifies authentic, open, and honest communication.
• I receive consistent information from all of the leaders in my company.
In other words, the gap is as large as it is because senior leaders are not perceived as empathizing with employees and what they are going through, nor are they providing sufficient information for employees to filter the news they are receiving externally. Left unchecked, there is a real potential for softening in employee commitment and potential job defections.
SUPERVISORS VS. CEOs
Employees rate the quality (51% said it was excellent) and frequency (56%) of the communication they received from their immediate supervisors; these ratings are significantly higher than the quality (42% excellent) and frequency (37%) of the communication they received from their CEOs.
These numbers show just how important it is to have strong middle managers in your organization. Their ability to mentor employees and provide clear direction is critically important.
Leaders can improve employee engagement by:
• Living the company values: Upper management should strive to maintain a company’s reputation and demonstrate high ethical standards.
• Sharing the vision: Employees who know where the company is going and how they can help get the company there are by nature more engaged with their company.
• Encouraging feedback: It is important for senior leaders to solicit feedback as well as communicate what is happening within the organization.
• Taking care of immediate supervisors: Middle managers are perceived to be performing at a higher level than senior executives and appear to be the glue holding many organizations together. Employees value control over the flow and pace of their jobs, and managers can create opportunities for employees to exercise this control.
These results provide insights leaders can use to improve their employee engagement strategies. There remains a reservoir of employee goodwill, but executives risk draining it if they do not capitalize on the opportunities in front of them. PRN
CONTACT:
Bill Dalbec is a senior vice president at APCO Insight, the opinion research unit of APCO Worldwide, in Washington, D.C. He was a panelist at the PR News PR Measurement Conference in Washington D.C. He can be reached at [email protected].