What Does the Data on Employee Engagement Tell Us?

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the loyalty, employees feel towards their companies when they see themselves as an essential part of the organization, and their values coincide with those of the company. Employee engagement should be evaluated under performance management. In companies with strong employee loyalty, employees do their best to work longer for the organization and show their full potential. Therefore, they help the company write great success stories which they are a part of. 

Unfortunately, most employees today are neither pleased with the traditional performance management nor feel loyal to their companies. Current data show that the levels of these two elements, which strongly correlate with each other, are inadequate. Let’s look at the data together. 

Not enough talent, or employee engagement

Gallup’s 2021 data show that employee engagement increases productivity by 21%. This increase in productivity can also increase the company’s profits by 22%. You would expect the companies to be more substantial in this sense; however, the data says otherwise. Then, let’s look at the charts of the majority that don’t feel loyal. 

According to Gallup’s research, only 20% of all employees feel loyal to their organizations. It’s alarming that this number is even lower than last year, which was again a low ratio of 22%. The companies must make regulations on their HR policies to amplify employee engagement and evaluate their performance systems in this respect because it seems like if they don’t take precautions, they might lose a significant portion of their talented employees in time. This is especially common for the teams that don’t feel loyal and are physically separated because of the remote working or hybrid working practices. McKinsey’s data show that: 47% of all employees who’ve been working in the same company since the pandemic are either actively looking for or considering finding a new job. This is a very high ratio. 

What about the managers? Here we have the Manpower Group’s research results: 69% of all managers have trouble covering the shortage of talent. Apparently, according to the employees, they fail to see their inadequacies. According to a survey by HBR Analytic Services, 90% of the managers acknowledge that employee loyalty is essential, but only 26% think that employee loyalty is strong in their companies. What elements that build employee loyalty do these companies lack?

According to the participants of McKinsey’s new research, 54% and 52% feel that they aren’t valued by their companies and direct managers, respectively, of those who consider leaving their jobs. 51% of them don’t feel like a part of their company. The lack of a mentor that would guide them (24%), having no room for career development (21%), and the absence or inadequacy of feedback from their managers (16%) are some of the other essential criteria of their decision to quit their jobs. 

The traditional performance management system fails

All researches on the matter show that we’re at a threshold of traditional performance management. Some companies became more successful by crossing this threshold and integrating new-gen performance management into their systems. According to the Neuroleadership Institute’s data, 96% of human resources professionals aren’t happy with traditional performance management. Therefore, 83% have changed their performance management systems recently. When the human resources departments that switched to the new-gen performance management systems were questioned in the second year of their integration, 100% said they were pleased with this rooted change. 

Of course, we also need to look at this from the employees’ point of view. According to Gallup’s research, only two of every ten employees think that the performance management in their companies allows them to show extraordinary performance. Moreover, only 21% have a role in determining the performance metrics which they’re evaluated over. Apparently, they feel the need to determine much more. 

How does performance management amplify employee engagement?

The data prove how much employee engagement would be amplified when the performance management becomes people-focused and relevant to the current period. According to Gartner’s data, the new-gen performance management boosts employee engagement by 14%. It increases general performance by 24%, and the number of high-performance employees increases by 7%. But how?

Giving the employee a say in their goals

Determining goals and strategies might just be the most critical bridge between performance management and employee engagement. Despite this, Gallup’s research shows that the ratio of employees who have a role in determining their own goals is only 30%. The employees want to play an active role in this goal-determining process rather than being told what their business goals are by their managers. The more engaged they are, the more employee loyalty boosts. So much so that, according to Gallup’s research, the employees who’re given a chance to contribute to their goals will feel 3.6 times more loyal.

Giving adequate and constructive feedback to the employees

Aside from being inarguably important, feedbacks and feedforwards have become even stronger of a determinant in amplifying the loyalty for the organization, especially during the remote-working period. Today, 33% of the employees want to get more feedback. 50% don’t know what’s expected from them in the workplace. 16% consider leaving their job because they’re not able to meet one-on-one with their managers. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 38% of the employers haven’t been asked about how they feel about their work, even once by their managers. 

On the other hand, weekly feedbacks triple employee loyalty. Gallup’s data on this emphasizes the importance of a sustainable feedback culture and regular check-in meetings where mutual discussions are made. 

Performance management from one platform

According to 83% of the participants of a new HBR research, accessing and measuring the data on employees’ performances over a single platform is a great advantage. Moreover, according to the managers, this advantage helps determine the factors that motivate the employees more efficiently. Even still, how many of the companies do you think benefit from such an advantage? According to the results, only 23% can access all data over a single performance management platform. The lack of user-friendly performance management and analyses over a single platform works against the upper-level managers, HR managers, and all employees, while performance data that can be accessed from the same place, online, and 24/7 can resolve any ambiguities in the business processes.

Amplify employee engagement with WOKR

According to HBR’s report, 69% of the people think that increasing the performance is difficult without amplifying employee loyalty. The new-gen, people-focused performance management platform Wokr easily meets the expectations of both the employees and the managers. 

The employees who find the opportunity to determine their goals and strategies with Wokr can exchange feedback in constant communication with their managers and teammates. HR professionals and managers that are able to access comprehensive performance measurements and analyses over a single platform 24/7 can make fair evaluations. This amplifies employee loyalty, strengthens corporate culture, maximizes performances, and helps the companies take critical steps on their journey to success.

Let’s design your journey to success and progress together with Wokr!