No survey could. But they do cover most of the factors behind a feeling of engagement that can vary with great sensitivity to changes in the workplace. We used a statistical technique called meta-analysis to combine the results of many diverse studies, because it provides the strongest test of true relationships and their consistency across organizations. We then correlated engagement results with business outcome data to assess whether business units with high scores on engagement had higher business outcomes and if those with low scores had lower outcomes. This research points to but does not establish cause.
Employee engagement is far from the only driver of desirable business outcomes.
Management tactics, procedures and human invention also contribute to improved revenues, customer loyalty, higher productivity and so forth. What we claim is that this picture of the nexus between engagement and economic performance is robust, in part because of the huge research database and the different industries and work situations. It is new knowledge, a foundation on which to build a big advance in the understanding of the connection between human elements and economic outcomes. The study found variability in degrees of engagement within companies from unit to unit, which tells us that the factors influencing employee engagement are mostly local and proximate to workers, not pan-corporate. It is true that manufacturing work teams and groups had lower engagement scores than professional or white-collar varieties.