1. turbocharging
employee
engagement
A Towers Watson Case Study

2. a successful business is like a
powerful
sports car

3. it moves
quickly

4. turns
nimbly

5. and handles curves
without losing
momentum

6. but sometimes a business, like a car,
will hit a
speed bump

7. go into
a ditch

8. or run
out of gas
E
FUEL
F

9. regardless of the driving conditions,
both perform best when they
have strong
engines

10. for a Ferrari, the power comes from a
500 horsepower,
V12 engine
-6

11. in a corporation, the engine is
employee
engagement

12. employee engagement
refers to the
broad & trusting
connections
people have with
an organization

13. an engaged workforce gives
an organization the power it
needs to climb the hill
to prosperity

14. and to make that climb
FASTER
than the
competition

15. companies with a highly engaged employee population have
significantly better financial performance...
3%
5%
3%
7%
1%
9%
5%
1%
6%
7%
5.75%
3.44%
difference in
operating margins
difference in net
profit margins
...than those with low engagement

16. they also produced shareholder returns
9.3% higher
than the returns for the S&P 500 Index from 2002 - 2006

17. we found that employee
engagement rises when
people experience a
combination of...
...effective
and
caring
leadership

18. appealing
development opportunities,

19. interesting
work,

20. supported by
tangible
and
intangible
rewards

21. the Towers Watson research uncovered
two elements that have a particularly
strong
influence

22. 1
senior management’s
sincere interest
in employee
well-being

23. the opportunity an
employee has for personal
development
of skills and
abilities
2

24. manager-delivered recognition
of employee performance
boosts
engagement
the way a turbo charger cranks
up a sports car’s horsepower

25. recognition from the immediate
manager can give a
powerful lift
to the two principal engagement
drivers: opportunity and well-being

26. recognition from the manager
boosts employee engagement an
average of
38%

27. departments and work groups, of course,
are the supervisor’s home turf, the place
where he or she has the
greatest impact
as a leader and
as a source of
appreciation

28. these are the
venues where a
pat on
the back,

29. thank you!
a sincere
word of
praise
in front of the team

30. and the presentation of
an commendation award
has great power to
increase
employee
engagement

31. most organizations have
recognition programs or
other mechanisms that
managers can use to show
appreciation
for high
performance

32. failure results not from the
lack of recognition methods,
but from the
execution of
the manager

33. effective recognition from managers, encompasses
three basic
requirements

34. 1
inclusiveness
2
3
communication
trust

35. only
56%
of survey respondents agreed
their immediate managers
recognize & appreciate great work

36. manager’s need to improve their
recognition practices of
INCLUSIVENESS
I frequently receive recognition at work
59
36%
everyone has the opportunity to be recognized at my organization
47%
percent responding favorably

37. manager’s need to improve their
recognition practices of
COMMUNICATION
my immediate supervisor communicates openly
59%
my immediate supervisor encourages me to suggest new ideas and methods for doing things
56%
percent responding favorably

38. manager’s need to improve their
recognition practices of
TRUST
I trust my immediate supervisor
58%
management trusts the judgement of people at my level in my organization
53%
percent responding favorably

39. clearly there is room for
improvement

40. with the right tools and training
managers have the ability to
impact employee
engagement
significantly

41. companies with higher engaged employees generate
more marketplace power
than their competitors

42. APPRECIATE GREAT WORK
2010 Towers Watson, The Power of Recognition From Managers: The Engagement Engine