TORONTO, May 8th, 2006 - New research reveals seven clear, top indicators of
employee engagement, redefining how Canadian employers should be addressing employee satisfaction and retention. Specifically, employers need to address a failing grade in these top seven indicators if they want to improve their current standing in employee engagement and overall organizational success.
This according to a report released today, How much and how important? An executive view of employee engagement factors, an independent research study and survey of more than 300 organizational leaders from across Canada conducted by WarrenShepell, a leading provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Canadian HR Reporter, Canada´s national journal of Human Resource management.
"The Report´s data shows links between the presence of seven top job and workplace factors and positive employee mental health, a lower rate of turnover and higher satisfaction," explains Rod Phillips, president and CEO of WarrenShepell. "Based on the data, for every one point increase in the presence of rewarding job and workplace features, an organization could expect a 0.5 point increase in positive mental health; and an almost equal decrease in negative mental health. This is accompanied by an even greater increase in employee satisfaction, and a marked decrease in annual turnover."
The top seven workplace factors highlighted in the Report are whether employees:
1. Trust senior management
2. Are asked for their ideas and opinions on important matters
3. Clearly understand the organization´s vision and strategic direction
4. Trust their supervisors
5. Receive recognition and praise for good work
6. Have a clear say in decisions that affect their work
7. Perceive their supervisors as caring and considerate of their wellbeing
"These top, or ´super seven´ factors derived from the research provide a concise checklist for organizations to utilize when reviewing their own success in dealing with satisfaction, retention and workplace mental health issues," says John Hobel, acting publisher and editor of Canadian HR Reporter. "Simply put, we´ve created a shortlist of workplace factors that business leaders must foster in order to ensure proper employee engagement and organizational success."
"Once we were able to determine this shortlist of key factors," continues Phillips, "we surveyed human resource leaders, CEOs and financial officers across the country and asked what workplace factors they felt had the greatest impact on organizational performance and what key workplace characteristics were present or absent in their workplaces."
According to the survey, when asked which of the top seven workplace characteristics were present in Canadian workplaces to a ´large or very large extent´ business leaders responded as follows:
-33 per cent of employees clearly understand their organization's vision or strategic direction;
-34 per cent of employees have a clear say in decisions that affect their work;
- 37 per cent of employees trust senior management;
- 42 per cent of employees trust their supervisors;
- 45 per cent of employees perceive their supervisors as caring and considerate of their wellbeing;
- less than 50 per cent are asked for their ideas and opinions on important matters; and
- less than 50 per cent receive recognition and praise for good work
"What we discovered," says Phillips "is that while business leaders may recognize the importance of the top seven factors, there is still a large gap between what employees need and what is being provided in Canadian workplaces."
"It´s interesting that money, often mistakenly perceived to be one of the top reasons employees stay in their jobs, is not even in the top seven," says Hobel. "There are many misconceptions about what job and workplace factors are the most engaging. This report not only demonstrates long-held assumptions that intrinsic factors, such as psychological and emotional wellbeing, more so than extrinsic factors such as compensation and perks, drive employee well-being, satisfaction, and retention, it proves that the relationship between intrinsic rewards and employee mental health is twice that of extrinsic rewards."
The Report also demonstrates that when intrinsic rewards are in place, there is no correlation between extrinsic rewards and employee retention or turnover. Given this fact, and the results of the survey, the Report emphasizes that organizations should be placing a greater emphasis on providing an atmosphere of trust, input and two-way communication between employees and all levels of management.
According to Paul Fairlie, director of research at WarrenShepell, the Report used data-mining methods to distil key findings from large quantities of survey data. "Our ability to use non-traditional research methods enabled us to analyze these workplace characteristics and mathematically isolate the top seven based on their relationships with employee mental health, satisfaction, and turnover," says Fairlie. "This collaborated research effort represents 12 months of study to investigate how well-adjusted and satisfied workforces in Canada encourage organizational success."
The Report also includes best practice surveys of organizations that had the largest presence of engaging workplace characteristics, the highest employee mental health and employee retention and identifies the actions and practices that foster the presence of key engaging job and workplace characteristics. A description of these best practices will be released in the May issue of Canadian HR Reporter.
Photo available upon request.
Cut line: Executive Research Team for How much and how important? An executive view of employee engagement factors. From L-R, Paul Fairlie, director, WarrenShepell Research Group; John Hobel, acting publisher and editor, Canadian HR Reporter; Rod Phillips, president and CEO, WarrenShepell; Karen Seward, vice president, WarrenShepell Research Group.
About WARRENSHEPELL and the WARRENSHEPELL RESEARCH GROUP
WarrenShepell is the largest provider of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and related organizational health and wellness services in Canada. Through the delivery of effective prevention-based services that focus on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of employees, WarrenShepell promotes productivity and employee behaviour change. Currently over 2,500 organizations across Canada, the United States, and internationally, look to WarrenShepell to strengthen their organization from the inside out. Over 3,000,000 employees and their families have access to WarrenShepell EAP services.
The WarrenShepell Research Group is a division of WarrenShepell. Its mandate is to encourage an informational dialogue on mental health and wellness issues as they impact the workplace. The WarrenShepell Research Group offers a precise understanding of health and wellness trends by conducting sector and issue-based analysis. www.warrenshepell.com.
About CANADIAN HR REPORTER
Since 1987, Canadian HR Reporter, the national journal of human resource management, has offered readers the most current news and information on the latest trends and practices, expert advice, experiences and insights from HR practitioners, research and resources.
Published 22 times a year, each issue provides real-world solutions to HR concerns (from peers and industry experts), helpful case studies and insightful commentary. In each issue you´ll find HR-related news from Canada and across the world, HR resources such as books, websites and events, expert columnists and special supplements on key issues in the HR field. And, www.hrreporter.com Canadian HR Reporter´s website provides original web content and an online archive featuring thousands of articles from past issues.