This is part 2 of our Employee Engagement Research Summary. To read part 1 Go Here.
More than 100 studies, surveys and research efforts have been done that look at the “key drivers of employee engagement” (the specific factors that lead to having engaged employees).
Most will agree that there is no “one true list” of engagement factors, since different factors matter more in certain companies than others, and mean more to certain individuals than others. The factors that drive engagement largely depend on how each research effort has defined an “engaged employee.” Although the research varies on this point, most researchers have found similar repeating patterns.
For instance, most researchers agree that the single most important variable driving engagement (or disengagement) is the link between employees and their immediate managers, since managers directly control so many of the elements within employees’ lives (including remuneration, scheduling, the type of work assignments, performance feedback, recognition and career advancement, just to name a few). This is why Gallup refer to the Q12 as "The 12 Elements of Great Managing."
The list below represents 20 frequently cited drivers in employee engagement research.
Not (necessarily) in order of importance.
"People join companies, but they leave managers . . . in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue."
— M. Buckingham, C. Coffman, First Break All The Rules
“Being concerned about employee feelings, I’m absolutely certain, is what distinguishes a great boss from a merely good one.”
— Mark C. Crowley
“Recognition is the number one driver of engagement. Employees will say to us: ‘You know if we mess something up, management are here in a minute. I can't begin to tell you when was the last time someone said thank you. I don't feel appreciated.’ ”
— Kevin Sheridan
“…[from the research] we’ve learned that one of the least satisfying things we can do is accomplish someone else’s goals. We might feel a sense of relief, but not joy. Satisfaction — self-motivation — comes from self-selected goals. This doesn’t mean that you can turn everyone lose to do whatever they want, but it does mean that when you're on a team or when you have a strategy to implement that you have some vote in what you're going to work on — that you have some kind of say in when you’re going to accomplish it and how you're going to go about it.”
— Will Marre
“A depressed manager once visited a coach. Upon meeting the coach, she explained that she had everything she needed and wanted from her workplace: Good pay, good working conditions, a good team. She was a very well respected manager, working in her role for many years and the company really needed her there. But there was just one thing wrong. She simply couldn't get passionate about what the company produced: biros. She exclaimed to the coach: 'I mean, I've tried to get excited about my work, I really have, but I think to myself . . . they're just pens for goodness sake!' "
— Robert Holden, Success Intelligence
"For the fifth consecutive year, career opportunities remained the top driver to positively impact overall engagement levels.”
— Aon Hewitt, Trends in Global Employee Engagement (2013)