8/6/2019 A Study of Employee Engagement in the Canadian Workplace

1/2

A Study of Employee Engagement in the

Canadian Workplace

Control, Opportunity & Leadership

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 engagements is problematic and important.

In December 2010 we surveyed 368 HR professionals working in Canadian companies.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. A vast

82% said that it is very important that their companies address employee engagement. Infact, 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 morethan expected (39%), higher productivity (27%), better working relationships (13%) and

more satisfied customers (10%). The advantage of engagement goes beyond better

communication and directly impacts the production and efficiency of the workplace.

Disengaged employees also impact the output of their organizations. The most common

results of disengagement were dysfunctional work relationships (29%), lowerproductivity (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; insteadthey stay and damage both productivity and relationships.

To increase engagement, HR professionals rated the following as the most effectivemethods: 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 organizations leaders. The vast majority of our survey respondents

8/6/2019 A Study of Employee Engagement in the Canadian Workplace

2/2