“How many of your employees would describe your organisation as a great place to work?”

Gallup Australia undertakes a Biannual Australian Engagement Study in Australia. It surveys the levels of workplace engagement of Australian employees. Although the most recent study relies on 2008 figures and may not accurate reflect the 2009 situation (which may be worse), the study reveals that 21 per cent of employees are actively disengaged. What is very worrying is that this is estimated to be costing employers $33.5 billion annually! In addition to this, evidently 45 per cent of these employees intend to stay with their employer for the next twelve months (ie through 2009). The big challenge for the employers is how many of their disengaged employees can be transformed into engaged employees, and how will they achieve it?

One question that is guaranteed to make employers cringe is “How many of your employees would describe your organisation as a great place to work?” It’s a great leveller and a direct reflection on how the organisation performs as an employer.

I believe that it requires some determined questioning to accurately gauge levels of employee engagement. It is not a subject to be taken lightly as disengagement has a direct impact on an organisation’s bottom line – more so than most employers seem to realise. The world’s leading drinks producer Diageo relies on six questions which employees are required to answer annually. With the best of intentions, I really cannot believe this is a sufficient number. From the answers it receives, Diageo determines whether employees are ‘engaged’ or ‘super engaged’. Evidently 41 per cent are in the ‘super engaged’ category. This seems to be supported by voluntary turnover figures which dropped from 18.4 per cent to 13.5 per cent between 2007 and 2008.

Conducting online surveys to gain insight to employee perceptions is of significant value. Sadly, in my experience not too many employers conduct such surveys and certainly not regularly.

The next level however is to hold ongoing face-to-face meetings between varying groups of employees and senior management to provide employees the opportunity to engage in open dialogue (and prove, despite rumours to the contrary, that bosses are real people). A live meeting with ‘real’ people is much more valuable than reading an inter office memo. It’s where clarity, understanding, encouragement and inspiration tend to come from.

Ask yourself this question... Are regular meetings between employees and senior management part of your organisation’s culture, and actively encouraged? If not, why not?

Engagement is directly related to employees having a great place within which to work and thrive. Open and honest communication is a key contributor to this.


Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg