CULTURE & ENGAGEMENT 2019 Trends In Global Employee Engagement - Kincentric

CULTURE & ENGAGEMENT2019 Trendsin Global EmployeeEngagementWhile employee engagement is at an all-timehigh, the broader experience reported bymost companies points to growing pains foremployees trying to get comfortable with newways of working.

CULTURE & ENGAGEMENTEmployee engagementis increasingENGAGEMENT65%Economic growth and expansion have allowed moreopportunity to invest in people despite continued competitivedisruption. This investment is now paying off. Two thirds ofour clients’ employees are engaged1 – higher than at anypoint in our time measuring engagement.While a 1pt increase may not seem significant, the positivemulti-year trend is important and shows that employees, nowmore than ever, are bringing their whole selves to work.62%59%65% 65%66%63%60%58%20112019Global Employee Engagement RateEngagement by regionWe continue to see regional – and country – level differencesthat inform the overall, global movement: N orth America: U.S. engagement has stayed flat for thelast several years, while engagement in Canada hasdropped 3pts in the last year. Latin America: Massive instability in Venezuela hascontributed to a small drop for the region, while the largestmarkets of Brazil and Argentina have stayed consistentfrom the prior year.North America64% (0) Europe: A drop of 2pts for the U.K. is a likely reflection ofongoing tensions around Brexit, but the region overall hasstayed flat. APAC: Positive movement in the largest markets of China( 3pts) and India ( 1pt) are the primary drivers for thepositive movement for the region.Europe60% (0)APAC66% ( 1)MENA71% ( 3)Latin America74% (-1)ChangeMore than 5pt drop3 to 5pt drop1 to 2pt dropNo changeSub-Saharan Africa63% (-3)1 to 2pt increase3 to 5pt increaseMore than 5pt increase1 - Results based on over 5 million employee responses across more than 4,100 organizations in 86 countries between 2018 and 2019.22019 Trends in Employee Engagement

CULTURE & ENGAGEMENTFocus areas for driving employee engagementBe more agileWe have all heard about how organizations need to be moreagile, yet we see agility scores are dropping globally.Does this mean that organizations are getting less agile?ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY60% (-3)Global63% (-1)Latin America61% (-4)APACProbably not. It is more likely that organizations are tryingnew tactics to unwind historical, linear thinking, andemployees are in the middle of a potentially painfulre-learning curve. It’s one thing to read about agile principles– but it’s an entirely different thing to implement and practicethem in day-to-day work.57% (-5)North America53% (-4)Europe66% (-1)MENASub-SaharanAfrica59% (-3)Percent FavorableENGAGING LEADERSHIPLead the wayLeaders’ personal engagement influences the likelihoodthat your team will be engaged, but it’s perhaps even moreimportant to demonstrate engaging behaviors.66% (0)Global69% ( 4)Latin America66% (-2)APACFor example, a consistent top driver of engagement is seniorleaders’ ability to create excitement for the future of theorganization. However, excitement for the future can’t beentirely led by senior leaders. Frontline managers need tohelp inspire and coach their teams to engage in behaviorsthat align with cultural priorities.65% (0)North America62% ( 1)Europe71% ( 1)MENASub-SaharanAfrica61% (-3)Percent FavorableTALENT FOCUSDouble down on talent focusOur data tell us that the employee experience is getting moredifficult at the beginning and end points of the employeelifecycle.At the beginning, it is more difficult to attract the right peopleand have a mission that provides a meaningful direction.At the end, it’s difficult to retain the people needed to achievebusiness goals. Some of this is due to tight labor marketsthat give employees freedom to consider other opportunities,but global drops in perceptions of talent focus speaks toa broader necessity to manage your value proposition andtalent pipeline to attract and retain the talent that is critical toyour future success.32019 Trends in Employee Engagement56% (-2)Global61% (-1)Latin America58% (-2)APAC53% (-2)North America48% (-1)Europe62% (0)MENASub-SaharanAfrica55% (-7)Percent Favorable

CULTURE & ENGAGEMENTLooking forward: trends to trackBeyond these specific employee feedback trends already discussed, it’simportant to acknowledge that approaches to examining engagement andemployee experience have also been rapidly evolving. We are asking lessabout “what is this?” and more about “what should I do about this?”Aligning leadership, culture, and engagement in order to drive businessperformance however remains the key challenge facing organizations ingeneral and HR professionals in particular.Keep an eye on these trends: Employee experience is here, but what is the higher-levelgoal you are trying to achieve? Be careful not to lose sight ofwhat the business needs to drive value. Balance is key. Culture, engagement, and employee experience areconverging. Within the employee experience, culture isboth a driver of employee engagement and an outcome ofthe collective, normative behaviors employees engage in.Understanding these intersections will illuminate hiddenstrengths and weaknesses. HR will need to advance its own capability and capacity inthe areas of research and data analytics, design thinking andagile techniques to fully meet the demand for more frequentmeasurement in search of a better employee experience.With every process being “reimagined,” HR professionals willneed these additional skills to enable organizational success.Organizations struggle to executeAfter reading these points, you may be thinking“Of course – I already know these are important.” However,as our Global Employee eXperience Research highlights, veryfew organizations are able to successfully execute on theemployee experience they seek to deliver.In fact, across more than 1,300 respondents in 43 countries,only one third of organizations have a good definition ofwhat they mean by employee experience, and even fewer(28%) feel equipped to create a differentiated eX. Add thefinding that over 70% say that measurement objectiveshave not progressed as quickly as planned, it illustrates thatgetting clear on strategy, governance, and objectives will bea requirement before realizing any success on acceleratingemployee engagement and the culture required for futuresuccess. Technology and data techniques are overshadowing the realtalent problem. Techniques like machine learning and AI areadvancing rapidly, but companies need to get more focusedon defining business and talent problems, and ensure theyhave capacity to solve them rather than simply implementingtechnology and techniques in search of a problem. Surveying more frequently will not increase employeeengagement on its own. More frequent surveys can inhibitaction by providing more data without enabling actions toaddress the underlying problem. Think holistically about yourapproach to include strategy, measurement, delivery,and action.42019 Trends in Employee EngagementWe can help. Our consultants specialize in Culture& Engagement, Leadership Development and HRAdvisory to help you and your organization deliver anemployee experience that is not only engaging to youremployees, but helps you achieve your cultural andstrategic goals.Contact us to learn more: contact@kincentric.com

ContactsChristopher Adair, Ph.D.DirectorCulture & Engagement Practice U.S.christopher.adair@kincentric.comSpecial ThanksWe would like to thank Ken Oehler, Ph.D.for contributing his insights to this report.Contact us to talk about how we can help.About KincentricKincentric, a Spencer Stuart company, approacheshuman capital differently – we help you identifywhat drives your people, so they can drive yourbusiness. Our decades of expertise in cultureand engagement, leadership assessment anddevelopment, and HR and talent advisory servicesenable us to help organizations change fromthe inside. Our global network, proven insights andintuitive technologies give us new ways to helporganizations unlock the power of people andteams. For more information, visit kincentric.com.Social Media @ KincentricStay up to date on the trends and topics thatare relevant to your business and career.@ KincentricCo Kincentric, a Spencer Stuart Company. All rights reserved.For information about copying, distributing and displaying this work,contact: permissions@kincentric.com.

1 - Results based on over 5 million employee responses across more than 4,100 organizations in 86 countries between 2018 and 2019. 2011 2019 Global Employee Engagement Rate 59% 65% 60% 65% 58% 63% 62% 65% 66% Employee engagement is increasing More than 5pt drop 3 to 5pt drop 1 to 2pt drop No change 1 to 2pt increase 3 to 5pt increase More than .