News & Information

 

FEATURED PRODUCT

OSHA Standards for the Construction Industry as of January 2010
This book contains the occupational safety and health standards for the construction industry promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), effective January 2010.

Learn More »

CCH® HR MANAGEMENT - 11/16/09

Survey finds respect for employee role is key to engagement

Senior management respect for worker contribution has been found to be the top leadership factor promoting engagement, according to a global survey of 28,000 employees in 15 countries by Right Management. Other senior leadership behaviors that correlate highest with employee engagement include implementing and communicating organization strategy. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

Right Management analyzed dozens of leadership practices and behaviors in order to determine which are most strongly related to employee engagement. Those with the highest correlations are:

1. Senior leaders value employees;

2. Senior leaders have the capability to make my organization successful;

3. Senior leaders effectively implement my organization's strategy; and

4. Senior leaders effectively communicate my organization's strategy to employees.

"Implicit in our main finding is that senior management must do more than simply say they value employee contribution. They need to make it real and demonstrate it," said Deborah Schroeder-Saulnier, senior vice president for Global Solutions at Right Management. "To maximize employee contribution, top management has to show employees that they really count. This includes their ideas, contributions, values and commitment. It has to be ongoing, not an annual event."

Schroeder-Saulnier said the findings also show that senior leaders are valued almost as much for communicating with employees as they are for acting effectively. "This doesn't mean putting action in second place, but points to the need to bring employees along with you."

The senior leadership behaviors that seem to matter least for engagement are "senior leaders ensure that projects are completed" and "senior leaders are visible to employees."

Employee engagement is not a vague abstraction, said Schroeder-Saulnier, but substantive and real. "We're not talking about people's morale or their motivation, but genuine commitment to the job. Without high engagement, organization performance, productivity and profitability are jeopardized. This is why organizations are seeking to define the core leadership challenge and how to bring about superior engagement at all levels," she said.

Source: Right Management; www.right.com.

Visit our News Library to read more news stories.