A Study of Employee Engagement in the Canadian Workplace
Written by Shawn Bakker

Employee engagement is best described by its results. Engaged
employees demonstrate higher levels of performance, commitment and
loyalty. Disengaged employees do not. Given most organizations strong
focus on performance, employee engagement has become a popular topic.
Our survey of Human Resources (HR) professionals indicates that
engagement is problematic and important.

In December 2010 we surveyed 368 Canadian HR professionals. These
individuals work in business, government, consulting, education and not for-
profit organizations. As professionals with a great deal of familiarity
with employees’ experiences at work, they provide a valuable perspective
on workplace engagement.

The majority (69%) indicate that engagement is a problem in their organizations.
82% said that it is very important that their organizations
address employee engagement. In fact, less than half of one percent felt
that engagement was not an important issue for their organization.

HR professionals listed many benefits of engaged employees: willingness
to do more than expected (39%), higher productivity (27%), better
working relationships (13%) and more satisfied customers (10%).

Disengaged employees also impact the output of their organizations.
The most common results of disengagement were dysfunctional
work relationships (29%), lower productivity (25%) and an
unwillingness to go beyond their job description (17%). Startlingly,
disengaged employees do not quit in droves or fail to show up for work.
Turnover at 8% and absences at 7% were among the lower rated results
of disengagement. It appears that the disengaged do not leave their
organizations; instead they stay and damage both productivity and
relationships.

To increase engagement, HR professionals rated the following as the
most effective methods: control over how a person does their work,
opportunities to use their skills and good relationships with leadership.
Since engagement is driven by the work environment and processes,
it can only be impacted by those with influence over them.
These people are an organization’s leaders. The vast majority of our
survey respondents (84%) indicate that senior leaders and managers
are primarily responsible for employee engagement. Fair or not, it appears
that it is not up to employees to engage themselves, but organizations to
engage their employees.
When asked what leaders could do more of to improve
engagement, respondents endorsed:
{graph inserted here}
There are also significant benefits to be gained from training focusing
on engagement. In organizations providing engagement training,
the percent of engaged employees rises by more than 10%, and the
number that see engagement as a problem drops by 20%.

Our survey indicates that engagement is seen as very important, and
rightly so. Engaged employees show significant jumps in productivity
and improved work relationships, while the disengaged are their
mirror opposites – unproductive and uncooperative.

You can read the study in its entirety along with tips for improving
employee engagement at www.psychometrics.com