06 December 2011
Global employee satisfaction continues to lag in 2011
Workforces worldwide are reaching their tipping point as employee satisfaction continues to be sluggish and remains at the lowest level since 2008, according to analysis recently released by Aon Hewitt.
At the end of 2011’s third quarter, HR outsourcing and consultancy group Aon Hewitt analyzed its Employee Engagement Database of more than 5,700 employers, representing five million employees worldwide. The findings revealed an engagement level of 56 percent thus far in 2011, which is the same as 2010 but lower than 2009 (60%) and 2008 (57%).
Traditionally, engagement levels between 65 percent and 100 percent represent a high-performing culture; 45 percent to 65 percent indicate the workforce is indifferent to organizational success or failure; and anything lower than 45 percent represents a serious or destructive range.
The results show that the largest drop in engagement this year has been employees’ perception of how companies manage performance. Workers worldwide believe their employers have not provided the appropriate focus or level of management that would lead to increased productivity, nor have they connected individual performance to organizational goals.
Aon Hewitt further analyzed this 2011 data and measured satisfaction scores for key drivers of engagement, with its benchmark database. This revealed that the driver Managing Performance (“The way we manage performance here keeps me focused on achieving this organization’s goals”) dropped nearly eight percentage points globally in 2011, with a global satisfaction score of 44 percent. Regionally, Managing Performance in Latin America was at 55 percent, followed by the USA (50%), Canada (49%), Asia Pacific (49%) and Europe (36%).
Engagement scores connected to Managing Performance were also low. For example, Career Opportunities (“My career opportunities here look good”) had a 42 percent global satisfaction level, Recognition (“Appropriate recognition beyond pay and benefits for an employee’s contribution”) was at 40 percent globally, Tools and Resources (“Contribution of tools and resources toward employee productivity”) was at 51 percent worldwide, while Senior Leadership (“Evidence of effective leadership from senior leaders”) had a score of 48 percent globally.
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