Aon Hewitt : employee engagement is at its lowest still

Recent data released by Aon Hewitt shows employee satisfaction or engagement continues to be “sluggish” and remains at the lowest level since 2008.

At the end of the third quarter, Aon Hewitt analysed its Employee Engagement Database of more than 5,700 employers, representing five million employees worldwide. The findings reveal an engagement level of 56 per cent thus far in 2011, which is the same as 2010, but lower than 2009 (60 per cent) and 2008 (57 per cent). Traditionally, engagement levels between 65 per cent and 100 per cent represent a high-performing culture; 45 per cent to 65 per cent indicate the workforce is indifferent to organizational success or failure; and anything lower than 45 per cent represents a serious or destructive range.

According to Aon Hewitt, the largest drop in engagement this year is employees’ perception of how companies manage performance. Workers worldwide believe their employers have not provided the appropriate focus or level of management that would lead to increased productivity, nor have they connected individual performance to organizational goals.

“A significant number of employees are not motivated enough to provide extra effort beyond the job requirements and many anticipate leaving their employers in the near future,” said Pete Sanborn, Talent and Organization Consulting global practice leader for Aon Hewitt. “This is critical, as our research continues to show a strong correlation between employee engagement and financial performance, even in turbulent financial times. For example, in 2010, organizations with engagement levels of 65 per cent or greater outperformed the total stock market index and posted total shareholder returns 22 per cent higher than average. On the other hand, companies with engagement of 45 per cent or less had a total shareholder return that was 28 per cent lower than the average return in 2010.”

Aon Hewitt further analysed this 2011 data and measured satisfaction scores for key drives of engagement, with its benchmark database. This revealed that Managing Performance (the way we manage performance here keeps me focused on achieving this organization’s goals) dropped nearly 8 percentage points globally thus far in 2011, with a global satisfaction score of 44 per cent. Regionally, Managing Performance in Latin America is at 55 per cent, followed by the U.S. (50 per cent), Canada (49 per cent), Asia Pacific (49 per cent) and Europe (36 per cent).

Engagement scores connected to Managing Performance also are low. For example, Career Opportunities (my career opportunities here look good) has a 42 per cent global satisfaction level, Recognition (appropriate recognition beyond pay and benefits for an employee’s contribution) is at 40 per cent globally, Tools & Resources (contribution of tools and resources toward employee productivity) is at 51 per cent worldwide, while Senior Leadership (evidence of effective leadership from senior leaders) has a score of 48 per cent globally.

“Our analysis suggests that even at the height of the recession, employees felt a greater connection to their work and role in achieving organizational success than they do now,” said Sanborn. “This is a harsh reality, but also an opportunity for those employers willing to invest in specific areas that will have the largest impact on employee engagement. While there is an expense in doing so, the return on investment can be well worth the effort.”

Following are universally applicable best practices for improving and maintaining engagement:

– Create a strategy for improving employee engagement based on data with specific goals

– Communicate a clear “employment deal” that links the success of the company to employees

– Display authentic leadership; be consistently open, honest and transparent

– Invest in improving the capabilities of middle managers

Source : Aon Hewitt

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