Stop Measuring Satisfaction—Focus on Engagement

For strategic talent management, forget surveying satisfaction, says Consultant Allan Benowitz. The meaningful focus should be on engagement. Satisfaction is about giving things to employees, he adds, while engagement is about employees giving back.

Benowitz, who is the vice president of Growth and Development at The Employee Engagement Group, offered his expert tips on engagement surveys in a recent webcast offered by BLR®.

Engagement is about mutual commitment, says Benowitz. Companies help employees reach their potential and employees help their companies perform better. This combination results in engagement—“the capture of discretionary effort.”

That’s in contrast with employees who do just enough to escape attention for negative performance.

These days, engagement is the cornerstone for many organizations. However, many don’t understand it very well. Benowitz offers a table to help:

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A Few Helpful Stats

According to a 2012 Employee Engagement Benchmark Study by Temkin Group, Benowitz says, highly engaged employees are:

• 480% more committed to helping their company succeed.
• 250% more likely to recommend their company as an employer.
• 370% more likely to recommend improvements. 

Gallup’s study last year of 192 organizations showed engagement levels as follows:

• Engaged—30%
• Not engaged—52%
• Actively disengaged—18%

Sink the Boat

Think of it like a boat, Benowitz says. Thirty percent of the crew is actively running the boat, 52 percent of the crew is there but looking at the scenery, and 18 percent of the crew is actively trying to sink the vessel.

How about your organization? Benowitz asks. What’s your estimate of how many of your employees are “actively disengaged”?

Engagement Is the Top Challenge

According to a recent Aberdeen Group survey, Benowitz says, senior executives listed Employee Engagement as their number one concern. Many of his clients say the same—engagement is an imperative in 2014.

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What Leads to Disengagement?

Benowitz offers the following quotes as examples of what disengaged employees are thinking and saying:

• I fear I might be next.
• Why are we having layoffs? We’re still making money.
• They said I would be promoted in 2 years.
• When the economy improves, I’ll leave.
• I don’t like it here, but no one is hiring now.
• I wanted to retire, but now I have to work.
• They no longer offer flex time.

In tomorrow’s Advisor, do’s and don’ts of engagement surveys, plus an introduction to the unique guide for smaller and even one-person HR departments.