Retaining top talent: Engagement is more important than ever
Employee engagement dropped slightly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but has since rebounded.
Even with the challenges of a global pandemic and a struggling economy, three out of four employees say they are highly engaged with their work, a new study finds. The report from Quantum Workplace is its 10th annual survey from the company on best practices in the workplace to retain top talent.
The Quantum Workplace report seeks to show how employers find success in attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent. It found that employee engagement dropped slightly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but that it rebounded as the nation responded to the crisis. In fact, the survey found the peak of engagement in the spring of 2020 was 11% higher than engagement levels during the same period in 2019.
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“It is obvious that employee engagement is more important now than ever since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greg Harris, Quantum Workplace co-founder and CEO. “As America’s workplaces face challenges with regard to complete disruption, remote work and scrambling to find new ways to collaborate, perhaps the most important priorities for organizations are employee retention, advocacy and discretionary effort. The intertwining of engagement and performance measures remains key to individual and team success. Employees are still demanding the same elements and experiences from their workplaces to feel engaged and successful – even during the worst of times, such as those we’re currently undergoing.”
Clear communication, recognition of work adds to engagement
Not surprisingly, when employees feel their work duties are clearly communicated and their efforts are supported and recognized, engagement goes up. The survey found that when goals and accountabilities are clearly communicated to workers, they are nearly three times (2.8) more likely to report being highly engaged. When they believe they will be recognized by their employers, they are 2.7 times more likely to report being highly engaged. And when employees believe their immediate manager directly cares about their development, they are 3.1 times more likely to be highly engaged (83%) than those who do not feel supported (27%).
The data from Quantum’s research also finds that executives are more likely to being highly engaged in their work, and that smaller and medium-sized companies tend to consistently have a higher rate of engaged employees than large companies. The survey found the smallest companies, with fewer than 250 employees, have 23% more highly engaged employees compared with the largest organizations (5,000+ employees).
However, the data also shows a disconnect at the C-suite when it comes to the value of engagement. Although 92 percent of executives agreed that employees perform better when highly engaged, and the same percentage agreed that organizations with engaged employees have happy customers, there was a sharp drop-off in agreement when asked about return-on-investment.
“Only 56% [of executives] agreed their organization has achieved positive ROI from its investment in employee engagement,” the report said. “Taken together, these findings show that there is a lot of belief in the ROI of employee engagement, but few HR leaders have proven that value to the organization.”
The trend toward diversity and inclusion
The study also underscores a trend that has been in the spotlight recently: diversity and inclusion. A high percentage of companies—88 percent—said they considered diversity and inclusion as moderately or critically important to their business.
At the same time, the study found that organizations aren’t’ always successful in advocating for, or implementing, initiatives in these two areas.
While 89 percent of employees said in a Quantum survey that everyone at their business is treated fairly regardless of race, gender, and sexual orientation, there were differences among groups. For example, 94% of whites agreed that everyone was treated fairly, compared to just 85% of black employees.
“This shows a disparity in the employee experience when it comes to diverse employees,” the report said. “Further, the actual levels of diversity in many industries still fall far below representation in the United States. This is especially true in higher levels of organizations, including the C-suite and board of directors.”
Opportunity, respect, and an emphasis on wellness increase engagement
Other findings of the report include:
- When employees witness professional growth and career development opportunities within their own organizations, they are 2.5 times more likely to be highly engaged (89%) than those who do not (36%).
- When employees feel the people with whom they work treat one another with respect, they are 4 times more likely to be highly engaged (82%) than those who do not feel respected (21%).
- When employees believe their workplace supports their health and wellbeing, they are 3.5x more likely to be highly engaged (84%) than those who do not (24%).
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