Employee Engagement Report shows slight improvement
The State of Employee Engagement 2018 report from HR specialists HR Zone shows some progress has been made over the last two years
HR Zone have just published the latest version of their State of Employee Engagement report, which examines different approaches and priorities within the workplace and how they are evolving. It shows an 8% increase in the number of organisations surveyed focusing on employee engagement.
The survey, carried out between March and April this year, includes results from over 500 professionals across 230 international organisation, with 58% of respondents in the UK.
There are several key findings highlighted, the first of which is the proportion of organisations focusing on improving employee engagement. This now stands at 78%, an 8% increase over the last survey in 2016. The drivers of this tend to be senior leaders, with business reasons given including improving morale, as well as attracting and retaining talented staff. This is a slight change over 2016, when retaining talented workers was the most popular reason stated. However, 22% of organisations still do nothing to improve employee engagement, with ‘budget constraints’ the most popular justification.
The main obstacle to engagement in the workplace remains lack of buy-in from stakeholders. The report makes the point that the obvious benefits of increased engagement (such as higher profitability and productivity, alongside reduced staff turnover and absenteeism) need to be clearly communicated to stakeholders through appropriate methods and channels. Furthermore, all levels of staff within an organisation, from employees, line managers, HR leaders and CEOs, should be consulted prior to any actions to ensure the best possible buy-in.
The trends most likely to affect employee engagement are also discussed. The desire for instant feedback and to experience more timely resulting change was one popular trend mentioned, along with the evolution of technology and automation within the workplace. The document highlights a definite expectation from employees for highly functional communications capabilities within organisations, both to be represented and to share with colleagues.
The frequency of engagement surveys is another point of interest, highlighting greater success for those who use quarterly pulse surveys versus those who carry them out annually. Those who utilise quarterly surveys reported high degrees of satisfaction with this approach for 67% of employees, compared to 51% for those relying on annual surveys. In spite of this, 62% of organisations still only conduct engagement surveys once a year, with 24% conducting them even more infrequently. Overall, 71% of organisations rely on surveys to gauge and improve engagement levels.
The report also makes the point that employee experience is a growing HR trend, and that it might be advisable for organisations to consider this in addition rather than just remaining focused on employee engagement. Whilst employee experience shares some commonalities with the latter, it is a much broader subject that engagement alone, and there are obvious benefits to taking this approach. We have previously discussed employee experience here.
Our Time & Attendance Systems are specifically designed to benefit employee engagement through supporting factors such as flexible working, staff empowerment, fairness and wellbeing. These are in addition to the conventional benefit of reducing HR administration, through automating much of the workforce management process.
When it comes to communication, our Kelio Visio Smart Terminals provide a unique opportunity for employees to receive messages from Managers and HR. It also allows you to conduct pulse surveys and provide a suggestions box function on the terminal screen which will easily be seen by staff as they use it as part of their daily activities. This is without needing to provide additional equipment such as PCs or smartphones. Our solutions support both the trend of providing more technological advanced communication methods and the capability for staff to provide instant feedback.
If you would like a free demonstration to see how our Time & Attendance Systems can support the specific needs of your organisation, please contact us.
