"Engage Employees and Boost Performance"
No Author Cited
The Hay Group, December 2001
According to this report by the Hay Group, many employees lack the motivation to maximize their performance, because they don’t find their work engaging. The study finds that engaged workers exert more of what the authors call “discretionary effort.” In other words, they go beyond meeting the minimum standards for their job. It is this difference in discretionary effort that separates great performers from average performers, the report argues.
In a study of workers at a professional services firm, the Hay Group found that offices with a high level of engagement consistently outperformed disengaged offices. The researchers measured the satisfaction level of the firm’s employees at 10 different offices using a diagnostic survey. Consultants at the five most engaged offices generated an average of $238,000 in annual revenue, while those at the least engaged offices averaged $166,000 in annual revenue – a difference of 43 percent.
The report urges managers to focus more of their energy towards engaging their employees and identifies six core factors that address this issue: tangible rewards, quality of work, work/life balance, inspiration values, creating an enabling environment and providing growth opportunities.
