Every 3 months, our sister program, CEB Human Resources surveys employees globally. Check the latest trends below – all of which can be found in our new Data Resource Center!
Finding #1: Employee Agility – On The Rise
Top Line News: Between 2011 and 2012, the percentage of employees demonstrating high levels of workplace agility rose by 2 percentage points from 23% to 25%. (NB – employees exhibiting agile behaviors are likely to perform 17% better than their peers).
How CEC Can Help: Although the number of employees exhibiting agile behaviors has risen by 2%, the majority of employees are not agile at work. To sustain improvements in employee agility, 3 things matter:
1. Personal connection to company goals: Seek to understand the information that employees require to translate organizational objectives into their day-to-day.
- Featured Resource: Information Needs Assessment Process (ConAgra Foods)
2. Connection to peers: Don’t simply connect employees to everyone, seek to help them make connections with colleagues who have information that can help them to do their jobs better.
- Featured Resource: Peer Learning Platform (The MITRE Corporation)
3. Market context: Help employees understand the potential scenarios your organization may face, so that they understand how your leaders have made decisions, rather than just what those decisions are.
- Featured Resource: Strategy Assumptions Matrix (Lilly)
Finding #2: Discretionary Effort – Plateauing?
Top Line News: In Q2 2012, the percentage of employees reporting high levels of discretionary effort decreased by 0.8 percentage points after 6 months of growth. However, at 19.1%, discretionary effort is still at one of its highest levels in the last 5 years.
How CEC Can Help: As my colleague Kayleigh noted last week, discretionary effort alone isn’t enough to drive employee performance. In addition, it’s important to ensure that that additional effort is directed towards company goals - there’s a big difference between being mobilized and frantic (see figure 2). To help mobilize employees, enable your managers to hold dialogue with them around specific events.
- Featured Resource: Dialogue Prep Sessions (Nordea)
Finding #3: Intent to Stay – Decreasing
Top Line News: A slight downward trend in global intent to stay levels continued in the second quarter after increasing for more than a year. The number of employees with high levels of intent to stay fell 0.4 percentage points from Q1 2012 and now stands at 32%.
How CEC Can Help: Too often, the EVP is created behind closed doors and then “pushed” out to the organization. An inclusive, transparent EVP realignment process involves listening first – work with senior leaders, line managers and employees to ensure authenticity.
- Featured Resource: Rebuilding the Employment Value Proposition
CEC members: For more data, statistics and trends, check out CEC’s brand new Data Resource Center.
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