The future of employee engagement

Engage for Success special interest group

Collection of thought pieces:
www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/research/future-engagement.aspx

Part 1: Contextual

'Worker in bottle factory, 2000', Seattle Municipal Archives, cropped. Published in Creative
Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/2710933334/in/photostream/

Encouraging findings from WERS

(Workplace Employment Relations Study)

Source:
Dromey (2014) MacLeod and Clarkes Concept of Employee
Engagement: An Analysis based on the Workplace Employment
Relations Study.
Available at
www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/7/6/08140-MacLeod-Clarkes-Concept-ofEmployee-Engagement.pdf

I share the values of my organisation

55
%

65
%

Good relations between managers and

employees

61
%

64
%

Managers deal with employees honestly

55
%

58
%

Satisfied with ability to influence decisionmaking

40
%

43
%

Get a sense of achievement from work

71
%

74
%

Feel loyal towards the organisation

70
%

75
%

Happy days!

Ann Fisher - Friendly and helpful CTA employees. Published on

Creative Commons www.flickr.com/photos/yooperann/5376756346

But a more mixed picture from SES

(Skills and Employment Survey)

Sources:
Job-related Well-being in Britain
Job Control in Britain
In the series First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey
2012 available at www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/ses2012/

Skills and Employment Survey

Skills and Employment Survey

More shifts, 2006 to 2012
Work intensification:
More high pressure jobs
More high speed jobs
Mixed picture for employee influence:
Individual task discretion unchanged
Decline in influence over organisational decisions

Intensification & security (WERS)

My job requires I work very hard

2011
2004
My job is secure

10

15

20

25

30

35

Happy days?

Notice to all employees (memo) by Kevin Lim. Published on Creative

Commons www.flickr.com/photos/inju/3382984128

Sustainable engagement

www.cipd.co.uk/publicpolicy/policy-reports/engagement-behaviouralframework.aspx

Questions, questions
Are we getting better at fostering employee engagement?
Are employers asking too much of employees?
Is engagement a ruse to increase pressure?

Part 2: Conceptual (& measures)

'Equilibrium: force' by Felipe Gabaldn, cropped. Published in Creative Commons

https://www.flickr.com/photos/felipe_gabaldon/3752507142

Fundamentally different perspectives?

Academic vs. Practitioner Measures

Most academic researchers use Schaufeli et als Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES)

This focuses on work engagement, and has three dimensions: vigour,

dedication and absorption
Based on the job demands-resources model
Sees engagement as the opposite of burn-out
Practitioners use a variety of commercially-available products (or devise their own) to
measure engagement with the organisation, eg

Gallups Q12
Aon Hewitts say, stay, strive
Net Promoter
IESs engagement measure
Civil Service People Survey
NHS staff survey

An engagement deficit?
What
does a
5% rise
mean?
60

50

40

30

37%

60
%

Whats
your cutoff point?

20

3%
10

Engaged

Neutral

Disengaged

Theres 3 types of people in the world

Not
that
simple
!

A rose by any other name?

Commitment The extra mile
Support Recognition

Voice Empowerment
Playing to strengths
Purpose Meaning Passion
Well-being Energy!

Alignment

Collaboration

Shared values Trust

But are your engagement metrics like?

Potpourri, by Garry Knight. Published on Creative Commons

www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/3385578984

Questions, questions
(How) do you talk about employee engagement in your
organisation?
Does it matter there are different perspectives?
How should we be measuring engagement?

Part 3: Practical

The conversation by Andrew Polandeze, cropped. Published in Creative

Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/71297346@N00/1206596658

Voice the forgotten pillar?

Voice the forgotten pillar?

MacLeod & Clarke on voice:

employees views are sought out; they are
listened to and see that their opinions count and
make a difference. They speak out and challenge
when appropriate. A strong sense of listening and
of responsiveness permeates the organisation,
enabling effective communication.
www.engageforsuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/file52215.pdf

The rise of enterprise social networks

www.cipd.co.uk/socialtech

@simonheat
h1

A more engaging conversation

Sterling College (2012) Discussing Presidential Candidates published on Creative

Commons

Lead the way

Trendsetter, Eric Parker, published

on Creative Commons
www.flickr.com/photos/ericparker/
4558361297

Meaningful work

Tattooed carpenter, Photo by Michelle Ress licensed on Creative Commons

https://www.flickr.com/photos/safoocat/8540758992/

Empowering management

A sign of the future or the past?

Photo by unexxx licensed on Creative Commons www.flickr.com

Tell, brainwash or empower?

How far have we really come?

Questions, questions
Are we serious about giving employees a voice?
What gets in the way of their voices being heard?
Are managers getting any less controlling, any
more empowering?

Complex but a simple philosophy

Thanks for listening

@jonnygiff