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Employee Engagement Is Still a Goal, Warns BlessingWhite Study

PRINCETON, N.J.—June 23, 2006—The latest Employee Engagement Report by global consulting firm BlessingWhite indicates that even though most employees express positive feelings about their work, their employers, and their managers, less than one-fifth are fully engaged in their work, according to an announcement regarding the study.

“Engaged employees are not just happy or proud. They are what we call ‘enthused and in gear,’ focusing their talents to make a difference in their employer’s success,” explained Christopher Rice, BlessingWhite president and chief executive. “We found that only 18% of survey respondents had all the pieces of this engagement puzzle in place.”

According to the announcement, lack of alignment is a primary reason for so few employees being fully engaged. “For the third year in a row, our results indicate that strategy isn’t getting very far out of the boardroom,” Rice said, in the announcement. “Although more respondents this year indicated that their organization’s strategy is well communicated—41% versus 33% in 2005—only 19% indicated that they believe daily work priorities are linked to a clearly communicated strategy. Our findings suggest that a lot of well-meaning, hard-working employees are spinning their wheels on work that may not matter much to their employers. Sooner or later, their attitude will take a nosedive or they’ll burn out.”

This year’s report also indicated that more than two-thirds of employees do not see visible actions by their employers to increase employee engagement. “We’re not suggesting that organizations implement workforce initiatives emblazoned with ‘engagement’ in neon letters,” said Rice. “There is evidence, however, that if leaders begin talking about engagement or conduct employee engagement surveys, they need to be vigilant in helping their workforce understand what’s happening as follow-up.”

In addition to these findings, the report includes recommendations for driving organizational clarity, tapping into the self-interests and motivation of individual employees, and helping managers link business imperatives with employee needs, according to the announcement.

www.blessingwhite.com

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