Employee Engagement Research

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March 10, 2016

This article was updated on January 24, 2018

A slew of meaty studies have been published on employee engagement. Here’s a rundown of some interesting takeaways and what they mean for your business.

Let’s Talk Impact: Why Does Engagement Matter?

Most business leaders and HR professionals “get it” that employee engagement is important for their company. Particularly because the rate of employee engagement has barely increased at all since 2012 (Gallup), and it may be because employers haven’t been doing enough to integrate engagement into their Strategic Workforce Planning.

In 2014, Gallup confirmed confirmed a connection between engagement and companies’ financial success. They measured an increase in customer ratings, profitability, and productivity at highly-engaged businesses. Gallup’s research also found these measures of improved performance associated with high levels of employee engagement: fewer quality defects, fewer safety incidents, less shrinkage, less turnover, and less absenteeism.

Perhaps even more compelling is the potential for employee engagement to boost your employer brand. When hiring for EOS companies or scaling a new venture, our experience as a Retained Executive Search firm shows that engagement is the ultimate differentiator. Engaged employees acting as brand ambassadors can benefit your company through recruiting, hiring, and consumer relationships. The best approach starts with hiring people who genuinely love everything about your company, so they come effectively “pre-engaged.”

Here’s a quote from Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Report:

“Employees who are engaged are more likely to stay with their organization, reducing overall turnover and the costs associated with it. They feel a stronger bond to their organization’s mission and purpose, making them more effective brand ambassadors.”

Consistent with that, Temkin Group’s 2017 Employee Engagement Benchmark Study found highly engaged employees are nearly five times more likely to recommend the company’s products and services. Without a doubt, employee engagement is a powerful force to tap. What’s not to love about employee engagement? Perhaps—for many employers—its elusive nature.

Why Isn’t Employee Engagement Working For Us (Yet)?

Gallup has been tracking employee engagement in the U.S. since 2000. In that time, engagement levels have hovered consistently below 33%.

If your organization is struggling, you may need a more objective approach to your leadership structure. Here are common reasons why engagement may not be working:

You don’t measure engagement with validated Leadership Assessment Tools: You are guessing instead of using data.
You aren’t acting on results: You are measuring, but not doing much with the feedback.
Engagement is treated as a one-off item: It must be an ongoing strategic initiative tied to your business growth.
You measure happiness rather than engagement: Engagement is about performance outcomes, not just ping-pong tables.
Misaligned Recruiting: You’re not recruiting people who are truly passionate about your mission. As an Executive Search Firm, we see that poor cultural fit is the fastest way to kill engagement.
Engagement is limited to HR: Engagement must be meaningfully integrated across the workplace by the C-Suite and management.

How To Get Better at Employee Engagement

The good news is that you don’t need to be enterprise-sized to reap the rewards. Your employees want to be recognized for the hard work they do. But thank-yous alone won’t earn their loyalty. Employees want to feel invested in the company, and they want opportunities for growth.

Amid fierce competition for desirable candidates, not having a well-developed company culture will become a liability. If your company’s engagement level is not what it should be, now is the time to audit your Strategic Workforce Planning.