Employee engagement first

“No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the [firm’s] mission and understand how to achieve it. That’s why you need to take the measure of employee engagement at least once a year through anonymous surveys in which people feel completely safe to speak their minds.”
– Jack and Suzy Welch

Engaged employees lead to effective organizations

Engaged employees are more than just satisfied employees—engaged employees are motivated to work hard and get things thoroughly right regardless of the difficulties.

They are committed to the company and proud to tell others that they work there. They feel a sense of personal accomplishment in the work they do, and are willing to provide the discretionary effort needed to help the company achieve its goals.

Certain conditions must be in place for employees to be engaged. They must have good team leaders whom they can trust. They must have the resources and training necessary to get the job done. They must have proactive, adaptive and supportive colleagues who pull together to help the company succeed.

Supporting research

One of the most comprehensive studies of the link between employee motivation (which is closely linked to Surveys@Work’s definition of employee engagement) and company performance has been conducted over the last seven years by PEI survey co-author Dr. Palmer Morrel-Samuels.

Dr. Morrel-Samuels’ study, released by the the Workplace Research Foundation in cooperation with the University of Michigan, is titled: “The National Benchmark Study: Employee Motivation Affects Subsequent Stock Price.”

This National Benchmark Study examined survey data from 3,490 employees at 841 corporations in the US that were listed in the Wall Street Journal 1000. The study has shown a strong linkage between employee motivation and the financial performance of their employers.

The study and its findings were featured in the August 2009 edition of Forbes.

How we can help

The Positive Engagement Index ("PEI"), our employee survey instrument, measures the factors that drive employee engagement and organizational effectiveness.