What are the key factors for employee engagement? I and others have written at length on this topic. I believe one key factor for employee engagement is creating an environment in which employees want to engage through strategic appreciation of employee efforts. But there are many factors that feed a truly engaging environment.
Recent research completed by Right Management shows how well change is managed in an organisation is also a significant contributing factor. In fact 94% of employees who say change is not handled well in their organisations also report being disengaged. On the other hand, of those who believe leadership manage change well, only 40% are disengaged.
Among other key findings in the report, best performing organisations were reported to manage change nearly four times more effectively, while organisations that do not manage change well are four times more likely to lose talent.
Clearly, change is a powerful force within any organisation. Lack of or unclear communication of objectives and expectations is one major reason for change to fail within in organisations. Employees need to know where you’re headed and how they contribute. Such simple messages are often lost in all the other talking points around any change initiative.
Strategic recognition is a powerful communication mechanism in a change management process, serving as a tool to positively and clearly communicate what is expected and desired from employees and then encouraging them to repeat those behaviours. Recognition of effort also conveys to employees how much they are valued and appreciated, especially during a potentially confusing and frightening change.
What are other key factors you see contributing to employee engagement? Do you agree with the findings of this research (of nearly 30,000 employees in 10 industries in 15 countries) that failure to implement change well is a significant contributing factor to disengagement? Have you recently gone through a major change in your organisation? What was your experience?
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