Full Employee Engagement September 17, 2008 Kenexa Research Institute reveals a greater opportunity to align employees with organizational goals
By Jeanie Casison
While all is not rosy on the international work front, it is still in the best interest of business leaders to inspire current employees to reach their full potential. According to the annual Kenexa Research Institute WorkTrends Report, pride, satisfaction, advocacy and retention are the critical areas to realizing employee engagement across all industries.
"Only 57 percent of employees around the world are engaged, leaving organizations vulnerable to the costs of lower productivity and turnover," says Brenda Kowske, Ph.D., a research consultant for Kenexa Research Institute. "To improve employee engagement, WorkTrends found four major contributors: leaders who inspire confidence in the future, managers who recognize and respect employees, having exciting work that employees know how to do, and organizations that demonstrate a genuine responsibility to employees and their communities."
As for a global snapshot of employee engagement, India ranked highest while Japan was at the bottom of the list. Additionally, North American employees scored higher in employee engagement than their European counterparts, with the exception of the Netherlands.
Regardless of the country of origin, all managers should be doing more in addressing employee engagement according to Kowske. "As a baseline, managers need to treat all employees fairly and with respect. The organizational culture should not tolerate employee humiliation or retaliation as 'feedback,'" she says. "Managers also have a responsibility to recognize employees regularly for task achievement, going far beyond recognition for extenuating circumstances, and acknowledging a job well done on everyday task. As such, managers need to be well-versed in coaching techniques, which would enable them to ensure that their employees have what they need for optimal performance now and a line-of-sight on their future at the organization."
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