employee engagement

turbocharging

A Towers Watson Case Study

a successful business is like a

powerful sports car

it moves

quickly

turns

nimbly

and handles curves

without losing momentum

but sometimes a business, like a car,

will hit a speed bump

go into

a ditch

out of gas

FFUEL

E

or run

regardless of the driving conditions, both perform best when they

have strong engines

for a Ferrari, the power comes from a

500 horsepower, V12 engine

-6

in a corporation, the engine is

employee engagement

employee engagement refers to the

broad & trusting connections people have with an organization

an engaged workforce gives an organization the power it needs to climb the hill

to prosperity

and to make that climb

FASTERthan the competition

...than those with low engagement

companies with a highly engaged employee population have significantly better financial performance...

difference in operating margins

5%7%

9%1%

3%

5.75%difference in net profit margins

5%6%

7%1%

3%

3.44%

they also produced shareholder returns

than the returns for the S&P 500 Index from 2002 - 2006

9.3% higher

we found that employee engagement rises when people experience a combination of...

...effective and

caring leadership

development opportunities,

appealing

work,interesting

supported by

tangible and intangible rewards

the Towers Watson research uncovered two elements that have a particularly

strong influence

senior management’s

sincere interest in employee well-being

1

the opportunity an employee has for personal

development of skills and abilities

2

manager-delivered recognition of employee performance

the way a turbo charger cranks up a sports car’s horsepower

boosts engagement

recognition from the immediate manager can give a

to the two principal engagement drivers: opportunity and well-being

powerful lift

recognition from the managerboosts employee engagement an

average of

38%

departments and work groups, of course, are the supervisor’s home turf, the place where he or she has the

greatest impact as a leader and as a source of appreciation

these are the venues where a

pat on the back,

in front of the team

a sincere word of praise

thank you!

and the presentation of an commendation award has great power to

increase employee engagement

appreciation for high performance

most organizations have recognition programs or other mechanisms that managers can use to show

execution of the manager

failure results not from the lack of recognition methods, but from the

effective recognition from managers, encompasses

three basic requirements

inclusiveness1

trust3

communication2

recognize & appreciate great work

of survey respondents agreed their immediate managers

only 56%

manager’s need to improve their recognition practices of

percent responding favorably

59

INCLUSIVENESSI frequently receive recognition at work

36%

everyone has the opportunity to be recognized at my organization

47%

manager’s need to improve their recognition practices of

percent responding favorably

my immediate supervisor communicates openly

my immediate supervisor encourages me to suggest new ideas and methods for doing things

COMMUNICATION

56%

59%

manager’s need to improve their recognition practices of

percent responding favorably

I trust my immediate supervisor

management trusts the judgement of people at my level in my organization

TRUST

58%

53%

clearly there is room for

improvement

with the right tools and training managers have the ability to

impact employee engagement significantly

companies with higher engaged employees generate

more marketplace power than their competitors

APPRECIATE GREAT WORK

2010 Towers Watson, The Power of Recognition From Managers: The Engagement Engine