Are Employee Engagement Levels Really That Important?

In 2006, Towers Perrin/ISR, one of the world’s premier employee research and consulting firms, conducted what it refers to as one of the most extensive Employee Engagement studies ever, culling from survey data spanning more than 664,000 employees at numerous company types across 50 countries worldwide.

To quote from the prestigious researcher’s own briefing, found at http://www.isrinsight.com:

“Previous ISR research found that companies with highly engaged employees have:

Lower staff turnover rates

Lower absenteeism

Higher customer satisfaction and loyalty

ISR’s latest research reveals the difference an engaged workforce can make to the financial performance of an organization.”

Specifically, ISR compared the financial performance of organisations with highly engaged workforces to their peers with a less-engaged workforce, over a one-year period. In ISR’s own words, the findings were “striking.”

The companies with high levels of Employee Engagement delivered:

19.2% increase in Operating Income (compared to companies with low levels of engagement experiencing a decline of 32.7%)

13.7% increase in Net Revenue (compared to companies with low levels of engagement experiencing a decline of 3.8%)
27.8% increase in Earnings-Per-Share (compared to companies with low levels of engagement experiencing a decline of 11.2%)

Do I have your attention yet?

Laughter is the Best Workplace Medicine

How important is a sense of humour in the workplace? Ninety-seven percent of workers polled say it is very or somewhat important for managers to have a funny bone.

According to the survey by Robert Hall International, 87 percent of 490 employees pooled said their supervisors have a good sense of humour. Ten percent said that they don’t find their boss funny, and 3 percent didn’t know or had no answer.

“Managers who can laugh at themselves or at difficult situations are often seen as more approachable and in touch with the challenges their teams face,” said max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Hall International. “Levity also can be used to build rapport among staff and ease stressful situations.”

But he also warned that too much clowning around can backfire. “To be taken seriously, supervisors must balance their desire to keep the mood light with the need to accomplish business objectives, inspire great performance and maintain professionalism.”

Your Workers May Not Be Engaged If...

Your Workers May Not Be Engaged If….

They miss important deadlines, not once, but chronically.
They frequently report that they are too ill to come to work, and usually on Fridays or Mondays.
Key managers expect high turnover.
The same errors appear on the ledger sheet month after month.
No one accepts responsibility for common mistakes
Team members are not communicating about basic job duties.
No one can find Employee after 3 pm
Unfounded rumours about the organization frequently float throughout the office.
Important equipment needs repair or replacement, and no one reports it, fixes it or replaces it.
Workers’ pay remains the same even as their performance soars.