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Employee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’
Making Engagement a Daily Priority for Leaders

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Employee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’

It’s Time to Go All-In on Employee Engagement
It’s rare to find an executive today who says employee engagement is not a priority. Yet despite morethan a decade of work, most longitudinal studies show that the average level of employee engagement inrecent years is essentially unchanged. The business case for continuing the pursuit of employee
engagement, however, has only become stronger, with credible data emerging to demonstrate thesuperior performance and earnings of organizations who achieve significant employee engagement (EE)
gains. 1 Engaged employees are a competitive advantage, and the impact on the bottom line is now
indisputable.
What’s preventing us from achieving real progress?
First of all, engagement is complex. Research, once focused on identifying individual drivers of EE, now
concludes that the entire employee experience plays a role in engagement. And, while that may beentirely accurate, it can also be overwhelming for companies trying to decide where to dedicate
resources.
Secondly, since employee engagement is no longer new, nearly everyone approaches it with their own
set of related experiences. These experiences shape their beliefs about engagement, which in turn drive
their actions, whether consciously or not. Many have seen the power of engaged employees; others havebecome disillusioned. In a recent study of high-level senior leaders, Dale Carnegie found that 70%
believe that EE has a strong impact on financial performance, meaning the remaining 3 in 10 question thestrength of that link. 2 In a separate study of leaders at lower levels within their organization, which we willexplore further, 22% reported that they believe their organizations are spending too much time andmoney trying to engage employees, and 26% say efforts to engage employees are a distraction fromgetting real work done, revealing a disillusioned group of leaders unlikely to embrace further initiatives.
Finally, too many organizations are simply paying lip service to the idea that engaging their employees
matters. While Deloitte reported that 85% of company leaders say EE is an important strategic priority 3,Dale Carnegie’s research found that just 31% of front-line employees and managers strongly agreed that
their organization is actually making engagement a top priority.
How can companies change their engagement trajectory?
At this point, it requires honest introspection, open dialogue, andfocused action.
In October 2017 Dale Carnegie conducted an online survey of
1,000 U.S. employees, half leaders and half individual contributors(with no direct reports), to gain new insight into ongoing efforts toincrease employee engagement (EE). Three of the importantquestions the study examined were:•••1

Just 26% of leaders surveyed
say that employee
engagement is a very
important part of what they
think about, plan, and do
every day.

How does EE fit into leaders’ daily priorities?
How does making EE a daily habit for leaders impact EE?
What influences leaders to make EE a priority in their daily work?

Gallup, Inc. “State of the American Workplace.” Gallup.com, 15 Feb. 2017, news.gallup.com/reports/199961/state-americanworkplace-report-2017.aspx
2“Transforming Attitudes & Actions: How Senior Leaders Create Successful Workplace Cultures.” Dale Carnegie Training, Oct. 2017.
3
Schwartz, Jeff, et al. “Global Human Capital Trends 2016.” Deloitte.com, Feb. 2016,www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/gx-dup-global-human-capital-trends-2016.pdf.

Employee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’

Just 26% of leaders surveyed say that EE is a very important part of what they think about, plan, and do
every day. Another 42% say they work on it frequently, and the rest only occasionally, rarely or never.
One of the first notable findings
relates to the difference in outcomes
between managers who makeworking on EE an everyday habit,
compared with their colleagues who
work on it less often.

Which of the following statements best
describes how engaging your employeesfits into your work priorities?
2% 5%
I don't think about it; it's not really apriority.

It is a low priority that I think about,Supervisors who say they thinkplan for, and act on only rarely.
26%
about, plan for and work on engagingIt is a priority that I think about, plan
25%
their employees every day, werefor, and act on occasionally.
more than 3.5 times more likely than
It is a priority I think about, plan for,all others to say their employees are
and act on frequently.
42%
always willing to do what it takes toIt's a very important part of what I
think about, plan, and do every day.
get work done, even if it means going“above and beyond” (53% vs. 14%).
Even in comparison with those who work on it frequently, those who prioritize EE every day retain anadvantage of more than 2.5 times (53% vs. 19%).

Those who make engaging their employees a daily priority also appear to enjoy a special advantage inmuch lower employee turnover relative to other groups in their organization, with nearly two-thirds (64%)
reporting their own teams to be “much better” than others in terms of turnover. Again, even leaders whowork frequently on employee engagement, but not daily, give up much of that advantage: just 46%
reported “much better” than average turnover.

Percent Of Managers Who Say
Their Teams Are Always Willing
To Go "Above And Beyond" ToGet The Work Done

Percent Who Say Their TeamRetention Rates Are"Much Better" than Average by
How EE Fits Into Manager's
Work Priorities

53%

64%
46%

9%
Occasionally,rarely, not at all

28%

19%
Frequently

Every dayOccasionally,rarely, not at all

Frequently

Every dayThis type of data suggests there is an important difference in mindsets between leaders who see EE as
one priority among others, and those who see EE as the primary way through which they will achieveresults, including the accomplishment of other priorities. Given that, we then explored the impact ofvarious drivers on this critical dependent variable of whether a manager makes EE a daily priority. As
expected, supervisors who feel their organizations make EE a top priority, support them in engaging theirEmployee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’

employees, and work to engage them as leaders, are far more likely to make working on EE a daily habit.
And, as with any behavior, having the knowledge and skills required to perform it is also essential tosuccess. Many organizations are trying: 46% of respondents at least somewhat agreed that theircompanies are doing all of these things. What was surprising is how many leaders reported theirorganizations are failing them in one or more of these areas, and the serious impact those failures canhave:
Treat employee engagement in the same way as other strategic priorities. Only about one in five
respondents (22%) strongly agree that their organization makes EE a top priority, supports their efforts toengage their employees, and works to engage them as leaders, with another 30% agreeing to someextent. Twenty-one percent actually disagreed that their organization succeeds with one or more of those
three elements of a culture of engagement.
•Less than a third (31%) of leaders strongly agreed that their companies make EE a toppriority. Sixteen percent somewhat or strongly disagreed.

•Organizations performed better in supporting leaders’ efforts to engage their employees, with
41% strongly agreeing, and just 8% somewhat or strongly disagreeing.

•Nearly every leader is also an employee, and studies have clearly shown that while theirengagement does tend to track with the level of their position in the organization 4, it’s notguaranteed. Only about a third (34%) of leaders strongly agreed that their companies work toengage them as leaders. Fifteen percent disagreed, suggesting some organizations take theposition that they need not work to engage their leaders or the misguided mentality of “wepay leaders to be engaged.”

Provide practical knowledge and skills. Even though engagement has been front and center for sometime, there are leaders who still lack the basics of what and how to do it. Just 28% of respondents
strongly agreed that they know what to do to engage their employees and that their company has
provided effective training. On the other end of the spectrum, fully 20% either disagreed theirorganizations have provided effective training to help them engage their employees or expressed
uncertainty in knowing what to do.
••Half of all respondents (50%) strongly agree that theyknow what to do to effectively engage theiremployees; only 2% admitted they don’t.
Just 36% strongly agreed that the organization theywork for has provided effective training to help themengage employees who report to them, and 19% said
they have not received effective training.

Managers who report that
their organization fails in any
one or more of these areas
are highly unlikely to makeengagement a daily priority.

The impact of a failure in any one of these is serious. While 42% of leaders whose organizations manage
at least moderate success in all of these areas reported making EE a daily priority, for leaders who said
that any one or more of these elements are missing the percent prioritizing EE daily plummeted to 13%.
What else impacts a leaders’ commitment to EE? The importance of self-motivation, based onwhether leaders believe there will be tangible benefits to them, personally, is often overlooked.

4“Dale Carnegie Employee Engagement Study.” Dale Carnegie Training, July 2016.

Employee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’

As noted before, the majority of leaders are now convinced of the strong connection between highlyengaged employees and better financial results for their organization. Yet as also stated previously,
nearly three-quarters of our respondents don’t make EE a daily priority. Part of the explanation may bethat efforts to present the “why” may not have moved beyond this high-level impact to benefits that are
more tangible for individual leaders. Some leaders have seen these benefits for themselves, reportingthat when their employees are fully engaged:
••
•
•
•

62% strongly agree their team is more productive
61% strongly agree their customers are more satisfied
53% of leaders strongly agree it makes their job as a leader easier
45% strongly agree employees are less likely to be absent from work
43% strongly agree it makes their job less stressful

For those that are convinced of any of these more personal benefits when employees are fully engaged,commitment to engagement increases significantly, with leaders almost four times more likely to make EE
a daily priority than those who aren’t fully-convinced of any of them (31% vs. 8%).
Aligning reward and recognition has a powerful impact as well. Leaders who strongly agreed that they
expect to be rewarded and recognized for having fully engaged employees were nearly three times more
likely to make EE a daily priority than all others (50% vs. 17%).
Combining a culture of engagement, including strong organizational support and leadership by example,
along with effective training and an emphasis on the personal benefits of having fully engaged
employees, produces a powerful impact on the likelihood that leaders will make EE a daily priority.

Percent of Leaders Who Make EE a Daily Priority
Overall
In organizations which are at least moderately effective atensuring leaders have the right knowledge/skills and at
creating a culture of engagement
In organizations which are very effective at ensuring leaders
have the right knowledge/skills and which create a strong
culture of engagement

26%
42%

17%

59%
68% 11%79%

Added impact when Reward & Recognition are also aligned

Certainly, ensuring that all of these drivers are in place is no easy task. Companies who want to improve
the likelihood that their leaders at every level are thinking about, planning for and acting on employee
engagement every day can begin by:
1. Focusing. While every touchpoint the employee experience does impact engagement, it’sleadership – the human element that determines so much of an organization’s culture – that
continues to wield outsize influence in determining engagement levels. Immediate supervisors
still matter a great deal, and with growing transparency in the workplace, the words and behaviorsof all leaders have impact beyond those with which they work face-to-face on a regular basis.

Employee Engagement: It’s Time to Go ‘All-In’

2. Honestly examining top priorities. Do senior leaders truly buy-in to engagement as acompetitive advantage? Is employee engagement being treated as other top priorities are? Has
the organization moved beyond lip service to clearly impress upon every leader that they share
responsibility for it? Have senior leaders somehow been exempted? They shouldn’t be. Effective
efforts must be made at all levels for an authentic culture of engagement to thrive.
3. Opening a dialogue with managers and truly listening to understand their beliefs – andfrustrations – regarding EE. Few come to the table without preconceived ideas onengagement, and when prior experiences have been negative, it will take more than cheerleading
to change minds. If there have been missteps in the past, acknowledge them before
communicating why and how this time will be different.
Highlight early successes and use examples to bring awareness to the personal benefits toleaders of having engaged employees. Work from the top to engage leaders at all levels so thatthey feel the effects themselves.
Assess, too, whether managers really believe they have the right knowledge and skills. Leaders
told to “engage” but then left to their own devices are being put in a tough position. The drivers ofengagement for which leaders are responsible rely heavily on interpersonal skills that build trust,create psychologically safe working environments, demonstrate respect and communicate
sincere appreciation. Organizations should carefully scrutinize how they spend their resources
when it comes to training managers to engage employees, and ensure the emphasis is onpractical skills that matter.
4. Aligning policies with the intent. This includes both creating supportive policies, such as thoseregarding performance evaluation, and also changing policies that are barriers to engagement.
Organizations that win with engagement see it as the way through which other priorities will beachieved. In other words, if engaging your employees isn’t the first KRA in your managers’
performance management documents and discussions, perhaps it should be. If it truly is intended
to be a top priority for those who lead others, does the way in which progress is measured allow
for accurate assessment? Are reward and recognition programs aligned?
Are there processes and procedures working at cross-purpose with engagement efforts? If so,change them. Often, these come to light through engagement surveys and removing these kindsof barriers is an important part of engagement initiatives. At the same time, these “barrier removalprojects” alone are not enough without a strong focus enabling leaders to make engagement atrue priority in their daily work.
Maximizing the entire employee experience is no simple task, but when it comes to improving
engagement, most companies need look no further than their own leadership for their best starting point.
Those who don’t actually believe in their employees as a competitive advantage will never make the leap;
the temptation to relegate EE down on the list of business priorities will remain too great. In addition,clearing the way for leaders of people to put engagement first takes real courage. Saying “yes” toengagement means saying “no” to some other priority. For companies who hope to realize the many
benefits of an engaged workforce, though, it’s time to go all-in. Those that don’t make it a top priority anda daily habit – for the organization and every leader – simply can’t expect to cash in.

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