Watson Wyatt's WorkUSA Survey Identifies Steps to Keep Employees Engaged, Productive in a Downturn
February 10 2009 - 1:52PM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As the economic
downturn continues, ensuring that employees are engaged is crucial
to keep workplace morale and productivity high, according to Watson
Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm. Watson Wyatt's 2008/2009
WorkUSA Report found that when employees are highly engaged, their
companies enjoy 26 percent higher employee productivity, have lower
turnover risk and are more likely to attract top talent. Their
companies have also earned 13 percent greater total returns to
shareholders over the last five years. According to the survey
findings, highly engaged employees are twice as likely as their
less engaged peers to be top performers. They also miss 20 percent
fewer days of work and three-quarters of them exceed or far exceed
expectations in their most recent performance review. Additionally,
highly engaged workers tend to be more supportive of organizational
change initiatives and resilient in the face of change. The report
surveyed more than 13,000 full-time U.S. workers in May and June
2008, before the full advent of the financial crisis. "Keeping
workers engaged and productive is always a daunting challenge.
However, it's even more crucial in this type of economic
environment when organizations are striving to do more with less
and employees are paying closer attention," said Ilene Gochman,
global practice leader for organization effectiveness at Watson
Wyatt. "There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach to employee
engagement. Segmenting the workforce and tailoring communication,
performance management programs and other resources to specific
employee groups is the most effective way to engage workers."
Findings from the 2008/2009 WorkUSA Survey Report suggest that
employers can take specific actions to increase engagement and
productivity. Some of these actions are: -- Capitalize on
"engageable moments." An engageable moment is a critical juncture
for maintaining and building engagement. It might occur during such
programs as new hires' onboarding, performance management and
benefits enrollment or when the organization goes through
particularly challenging economic times. WorkUSA data shows that
engagement starts off high among new employees, but tapers through
careers -- average employee engagement drops by 9 percent in the
first year alone. Almost three-quarters (71 percent) of employees
on the job for less than six months said that they are motivated to
do their best work every day. This number drops to 57 percent after
six months. "While some decline is inevitable, companies that
identify and take action around engageable moments can minimize or
potentially even reverse the decline," noted Gochman. --
Demonstrate strong leadership and clear direction. When times are
difficult, employees want to know about their organization's
specific plans and progress. Decisive action backed by clearly
articulated rationale can build support for corporate initiatives,
particularly when individual performance objectives and rewards are
tied to corporate objectives. -- Manage organizational change with
effective communication. Effective communication from senior
management directly connects employees to the purpose of the
organization. This is particularly important in a challenging
economy, when employees are anxious to learn the rationale behind
decisions. Reviewing communication processes to ensure that
information flows vertically as well as horizontally throughout the
organization is an important step to employee engagement. --
Emphasize customer focus. In difficult times, employees are aware
that job security is strengthened by satisfied customers.
Emphasizing customer satisfaction keeps employees from being too
internally focused and provides a common direction to move the
organization forward. -- Institute and communicate a system of
equitable rewards. While it may be necessary to cut back on
rewards, organizations need to understand which reward programs are
most important to engage their critical employee segments. Changes
to rewards need to be communicated in a way that is consistent with
delivering on the employment deal. Employees who indicate their
organization effectively delivers on the employment deal are 20
times as likely to be highly engaged and 50 percent more likely to
be top performers. -- Invest in the core. The key to driving
productivity gains is increasing engagement among core
contributors, who represent 60 percent of the typical workforce.
Highly engaged employees are already working at or near their peak
but are often limited by their less engaged co-workers. Focusing on
engaging core contributors can improve both groups' productivity.
"Improving employee engagement will help drive business results in
the long run by improving employee commitment to corporate goals
and generating exceptional individual performance and
productivity," said Gochman. About Watson Wyatt Watson Wyatt
(NYSE:WWNASDAQ:WW) is the trusted business partner to the world's
leading organizations on people and financial issues. The firm's
global services include: managing the cost and effectiveness of
employee benefit programs; developing attraction, retention and
reward strategies; advising pension plan sponsors and other
institutions on optimal investment strategies; providing strategic
and financial advice to insurance and financial services companies;
and delivering related technology, outsourcing and data services.
Watson Wyatt has 7,700 associates in 32 countries and is located on
the Web at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/. DATASOURCE: Watson Wyatt
CONTACT: Steve Arnoff of Watson Wyatt, +1-703-258-7634, ; or Ed
Emerman of Eagle PR, +1-609-275-5162, Web Site:
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/
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