Over the past 25 years, research has shown employee engagement is linked to improved business outcomes like performance, innovation, and customer service. However, many organizations still struggle to fully utilize engagement data and see its impact. Moving forward, organizations need to focus on developing engaging leaders, building engaging cultures through clear strategy and accountability, and making better use of engagement data by connecting it to other metrics like performance, turnover, and business results. This will help organizations innovated what they do with engagement beyond just measuring it.

1. Employee
Engagement
Where Have We Been? Where are We Going?
Lewis Garrad
Managing Director, Sirota Consulting

2. 16%
Difference in stock
performance of a
highly engaged
company vs. their
matched comparisons
25
years
…since the term
“employee engagement”
was coined
7,261
Employee engagement
related books
on Amazon.com
1 in 5
Proportion of disengaged
people in the global
workplace

3. • Founded in 1972 by a team of
organisational psychologists
• We survey 1-1.5 million
employees every year in
companies like these:
WE HELP FIND
PEOPLE
SOLUTIONS
TO BUSINESS
CHALLENGES

4. 1
EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMEN
T: WHAT IS IT?
Employee engagement is
the extent to which employees think,
feel, and act in ways that represent
high levels of commitment to their
organization.
2
Engaged employees are motivated
to contribute 100%
of their knowledge, skills, and
abilities to help their organization
succeed.
3
Engagement is not merely about
making employees happier at work;
it is about bringing out the best in
people and tapping their full potential
on a day‐to‐day basis.

5. We’re Living in the Era of Employee
Engagement
Top Challenge
for CEOs
Human Capital:
Attracting, retaining, engaging employees
An Abundance
of Advice Exists
7,261+ employee engagement related books
on Amazon.com
Spending is
on the Rise
Employers are investing millions annually on
Engagement Programs

6. 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century 21st Century
Industrial
Age
Efficiency
Knowledge
Age
Analysis
&
Computing
Conceptual
Age
Synthesis
&
Sense making
Agricultural
Age
Manpower
Service
Age
Connection
&
Empathy
Adapted from Daniel Pink’s Whole New Mind
Volatility
Uncertainty
Complexity
Ambiguity
Perhaps because Engagement speaks
to our challenges
Disruptive

7. 89
77
81 78 76
61 64
60
75
90
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Rate XYZ on Being Responsive
to Customers
77
79
76
74
79
74
69
65
75
85
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
I Understand my Company’s
Business Strategy
75
68 69 67 66
69
69
65
75
85
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
I Have the Opportunity to Learn
and Grow
55
69
74
80 79
84 85
50
70
90
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
XYZ is Knowledgeable About
Customer Needs

8. About
performance?
About
leadership?
About
managers?
About
employees?
So what have we learnt over the last 25
years?

9. Efficiency
Innovation
Customer
Service
Sales
Performance
Turnover
Team
Performance
Stock Prices
Employees’ satisfaction
ratings explained 22% of the
difference in turnover.
Customer focused retail stores demonstrated
a 10% greater year over year sales increase.
Stock prices in high morale
companies increased 16% in one
year. Low morale companies only
increased 3% in the same year.
An increase in employee
attitudes was linked to 28
million dollars in revenue
due to increased
customer satisfaction.
Engaged steel mill
employees required 34%
fewer labor hours to
produce a ton of steel.
National Weather
Service meteorologists
working on highly
engaged teams were
more accurate at
predicting tornadoes.
Financial services
employees who felt
supported by their
bosses were
significantly more
intellectually invested
in their work.

10. 40%
Leadership &
Mgmt
Behaviour/
Style
30%
Organisational
Factors
30%
Individual
Employee
Factors
How is Engagement influenced?

11. Leaders
Managers
Engagement Performance
About 15% of Engagement
is related to this
About 25% of Engagement
is related to this
We know that leaders are critical

12. “This company is a
great place to work.
It’s meaningful and
I’m proud of it”
“I am motivated to
do whatever it takes
, every day”
Individual Fit & Fulfillment
• Company cares about me, I fit in
• What I do matters (job itself matters, sense of
challenge and achievement)
• I have a future with a company that has a
future (career and development opportunity)
Senior Leadership
Fosters climate of . . .
• Company as a “winner”
with positive future
• Great “deal” for employees
(relationship with the company,
roles, future)
Local Management
Fosters climate of . . .
• Partnership and trust, “we’re in
this together”
• Openness, involvement
• Higher performance
(expectations, feedback)
Analysis of 68 companies varying in size and global scale
What? Who?
Effectively Functioning Teams
• Openly discuss barriers to effectiveness, make
improvements
• Do whatever it takes, “there for each other” as
a team
• Higher performing (if no extra-team barriers)
But we need to be clear about roles

13. Employee EQ
Employee
Engagement
Employee
Performance
Manager EQ
Manager
Engagement
Manager
Performance
Multinational Hospitality Group: N=1034, 245 Managers, 799 Employees. 9 month time frame

14. 91
86
76
75
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
30 Day 90 Day 180 Day 365 Day
Motivated
to go
above
and
beyond
We need to stop de-
motivating them
We need to stop trying to motivate people

15. 50
52
59
61
65
71
71
73
79
90
Leaders know how to build a culture of employee engagement.
Good job of taking action on our employee engagement data.
EE program has had positive impacts on business outcomes.
Leaders understand the role they play in improving engagement and
performance.
Leaders work hard to create an environment of employee
engagement.
Effective at measuring employee engagement.
Effective at analyzing our employee engagement data.
Effective job making the business case for engagement.
Snr leaders: engagement to be a key business driver and
performance indicator.
Snr leadership: recognizes the value of employee engagement.
%Favorable
Research with The Engagement Institute
Where is the impact?
Even after all this time,
only half feel they
know how to act on the
data

16. 70%
30
64%
48
52%
48 43%
48
Managers
Individual
Contributors
I believe the
results of this
survey will be used
constructively by
management.
The results of the
last employee
survey were used
constructively by
management.

17. Focus on
performance
Develop
Engaging
leaders
Build
Engaging
Cultures
Make better
use of the
data
So what needs to happen?

18. First, engagement isn’t an end in itself
TOOLS & RESOURCES
INNOVATIVE TEAMS
EXCELLENT
PROCESSES
CLEAR STRATEGY
CLEAR GOALS
ACCOUNTABILITY
ENGAGED
COMMITTED
ENTHUSIASTIC
STRONG VALUES
POSITIVE MANAGEMENT
BEHAVIOURS
Performance
Strategy
Employees
Managers
Leadership

19. Second, we need to develop
Engaging Leaders
Leader
Personality
Decisions
and
Behaviors
Climate and
Culture
Employee
Engagement
Performance
How You
Behave
How You
Affect Your
Team
Who You
Are

20. Competence Competencies Character
Ability to get results
KPIs
Performance
Management
KSAs & Behaviors
critical to mission
360s and Surveys
Leadership
Development
Personality &
Values
Individual
Assessments
Selection & Coaching
What makes for an Effective Leader?
Based on George Hollenbeck’s (2009), “Executive Selection—What's Right … and
What's Wrong” Industrial Organizational Psychology article

21. DNA of Engagement: How Organizations Create and Sustain
Highly Engaging Cultures
Third, make it happen every day

22. Alignment
Philosophy
Policies &
Practices
Communication
Collaboration
Assessment
Leadership
Business Impact
1. Engagement is a business imperative
2. Engagement is part of accomplishing the mission
3. Engaging employees is part of HR practice decisions
4. Open, transparent, 2-way communication
5. Structure and space that promotes collaboration
6. Regular assessment & feedback
7. Managers empowered to build Engagement
8. Engaged teams are shown to perform better

23. Onboarding
Surveys
Engagement
Surveys
Exit
Surveys
Performance
Data
• Manager Support at Day 10  Employee
Engagement at Day 180
• Non-Financial Rewards in 2010  Engagement
Increases in 2011
• Awareness of Career Growth Opportunities  2x
Likely to Stay
• 1% Increase in Store Engagement  $1,444.29 in
quarterly sales
Last, start connecting the dots

24. What am I saying?
Engagement is an important business
measure
Over the last 25 years, we have learnt
a lot
But many organisations want to see
more impact
The next phase is about innovating what
we DO rather than what we measure
EE P
Performance
driver
Leaders
matter
EQ matters
Natural
motivation
52
%
48
Good job of taking
action on our
employee
engagement data
Performance Data
Culture Leadership

25. THEENGAGINGLEADER.COM
SIROTA.COMSTAY IN
TOUCH
http://sg.linkedin.com/in/lewisgarrad/