Exploring the global drivers of employee engagement

On the surface, a workforce comprised of employees who are content to do their jobs – reliably and with no thought of leaving the organization – may seem like the best of states for a workforce. But in today's global business environment, it is becoming clear that satisfaction and stability – even loyalty and some degree of commitment are not enough to forge the crucial link between employee performance and positive business results.

Over the last couple of decades, employers' focus has moved from employees who are "satisfied" with pay, benefits and working conditions to those who are "committed" to the organization and not considering a move, to those who are genuinely "engaged" in the work and mission of the organization and willing to expend extra effort to help the organization succeed.

What is employee engagement?

We define "engagement" as a state of mind in which employees feel a vested interest in the company’s success and are both willing and motivated to perform to levels that exceed the stated job requirements. It is the result of how employees feel about the work experience – the organization, its leaders, the work and the work environment.

While organizations have done a good job of establishing the structures, incorporating the technology and arriving at process implementations that best support organizational performance, breaking the code to employee engagement – learning how organizations can win the hearts and minds of its employees – is really one of the most complex yet beneficial challenges in building a high-performing organization.

What drives engagement?

Over the last several years, Mercer has conducted What's Working™ studies around the world in order to capture and track employee perceptions and attitudes about work; identify the drivers that contribute most to higher levels of employee engagement; and develop reliable normative or comparative data that employers can use as they design, implement and communicate their human resource strategies and programs.

What's Working™ surveys have gathered data in 22 countries from a statistically valid sample of working adults representing a cross-section of industries. These surveys generally contain up to 125 questions grouped into 13 dimensions:

Work processes Quality and customer focus Benefits Communication Work/life balance

Job security and career growth Teamwork and cooperation Ethics and integrity Immediate manager

Performance management Compensation Leadership and direction Training and development

By correlating responses to five survey questions intended to measure employee engagement with responses to other survey items, Mercer has identified what drives employee engagement.

This differs from country to country, sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, the most recent What's Working™ studies found that the UK has more drivers in common with some emerging economies than with the US, another mature economy.

Mercer's employee engagement index
Mercer research has shown that the following five survey questions are the greatest predictors of employee engagement:
I feel a strong sense of commitment to this company	I am not considering leaving this company in the next 12 months
I am proud to work for this company	I am willing to "go over and beyond" in my job to help this company be successful
I would recommend my organization to others as a good place to work

Global drivers of engagement

While country- or region-specific variations are common, Mercer's What's Working™ research has also identified four global drivers of employee engagement. These include the work itself, leadership, recognition and rewards, and communication. This can provide the framework for a global engagement strategy, lending cohesiveness and consistency to engagement initiatives.

The work itself, including opportunities for development	Confidence and trust in leadership
Engagement- driven companies have found effective ways to make this global driver a reality for their employees.	Highly engaged employees see their leaders act in accord with the expressed values of the organization and allocate resources in ways that support strategy.
Recognition and rewards	Organizational communication
While competitive pay and cash bonuses are not in and of themselves engagement drivers, they should be structured so as to be internally fair and externally competitive and therefore not de-motivators. Non-monetary rewards, both formal and informal, are an effective part of a reward mix that supports engagement.	In organizations seeking to create an engaged workforce, information cascades from top management in a timely and orderly fashion.

Getting to engagement

Through our research and work with organizations worldwide, we have identified four stages representing increasing levels of engagement with the organization and corresponding to particular psychological states. These four dynamic stages – satisfied, motivated, committed and advocate – are depicted as a continuum in Mercer's Employee Engagement Model©:

Satisfied employees enjoy doing their jobs and are not dissatisfied with the terms and conditions of employment. Generally, they are content to work alone, reliably, without requiring a great deal of management oversight. At the same time, they are not necessarily willing team players and tend not to go "above and beyond" in their efforts. Optimizing the working relationship of satisfied employees requires adequate work tools, resources and equipment. Motivated employees occupy the next stage on the employee engagement continuum. In addition to sharing the attributes of satisfied employees, motivated workers contribute energetically and are highly focused individual contributors to the enterprise. Mainly, though, they are striving to achieve individual goals more so than team or organizational goals. Motivated employees respond best when meaningful work is delegated to them; fair performance goals are established; job expectations, priorities and feedback are clearly communicated obstacles to optimal performance are removed; and skill development is provided. Committed employees have thoroughly internalized the values and behaviors represented by the earlier stages of the engagement model but have also forged a strong identification with the organization. They are loyal to the company and optimistic about its future. They are also openly ambitious and believe the organization will enable their best performance. Employees who have reached the Advocate stage have a vested interest in the organization's success. They freely contribute discretionary effort – a willingness to go the extra distance in executing projects and their regular duties. They are motivated to perform to the highest standards and apply creative energy to their work and the work of their teams. They proactively seek opportunities to serve the mission of the organization.

Using the research for optimal performance

In the rapidly changing and increasingly global business landscape – where success is more likely driven by human capital rather than financial capital, technology or equipment – the organization that best understands and engages the productive energy of its workforce is most likely to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

By taking advantage of the latest research into the drivers of employee engagement, employers are succeeding in winning the hearts and minds of their employees – and are reaping the rewards of optimal performance.