INTELLIGENT SECTION
FINANCE SALES & MARKETING HR SOLUTIONS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Study finds Australian managers disconnected from employees ’ realities
Australia ’ s managers consistently overrate both their own – and their organisation ’ s – efficacy at engaging and recognising the value of employees , according to a new study commissioned by Achievers .
The inaugural Engagement and Recognition @ Work study identified a sizable disconnect between what managers think is occurring in their workplaces in terms of how engaged employees feel in all aspects of work and whether they feel suitably recognised and rewarded for their efforts , and how employees actually feel .
In short , managers think employees are more highly engaged and recognised than they actually are .
Only 14 % of employees surveyed ‘ strongly agree ’ they feel engaged in their overall work experience , whereas managers think the proportion is 26 %. Similarly , only 12 % of employees feel strongly that they are appropriately recognised at work , where managers think 22 % of employees identify as such .
More than twice as many Australian employees ( 25 %) as management ( 12 %) said they are dissatisfied with their workplace as a result . This highlights a significant challenge facing managers that fail to act to close the gap between their own versus their employees ’ perceptions and expectations .
“ Managers are misreading engagement levels across organisations by some pretty significant multipliers ,” said Matt Seadon , Managing Director APAC at Achievers . “ As a manager , you may think you ’ re doing a good job , but our research is demonstrating that there ’ s a disconnect between what you think and what your employees are feeling .
Employees need a voice , and managers need to hear and act on it . Managers that lack the tools to do this lack appropriate insight and consequently over-estimate their grasp on the issues . Over time , that disconnect manifests in employee issues – absenteeism and turnover – and kills any prospect of creating an environment where employees can do the best work of their lives .
The Engagement and Recognition @ Work study proves a focus on engagement and recognition in key interactions between managers and employees – at onboarding , during team meetings and in regular check-in sessions – is effective at keeping the two sides ‘ in sync ’ and focused on a common goal .
Matt Seadon , Managing Director APAC at Achievers
“ The disconnect validates the need to better measure engagement , improve the voice-of-employee and get real actionable insights about your team that you can recognise and appropriately reward .”
When employees are disengaged , it saps their motivation , productivity and job satisfaction . They aren ’ t as committed to the corporate culture and its goals . This is reflected in the quality of their work and acts as a handbrake to business performance and growth .
Engagement and recognition are closely tied to job satisfaction and business success . Engagement is crucial to higher productivity and sales , reduced turnover , improved quality of work and health and lower absenteeism . Recognition is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve engagement company-wide .
Engaged and well-recognised employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs , are motivated to give more effort , are more productive and stay longer . x
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