54% of GCC employees are not engaged or inspired by their managers

Global Workforce Study 2010 by Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company, shows that 54% of GCC employees are not engaged or inspired by their managers. At an event today in Abu Dhabi, Towers Watson shared insights from the research and presented a model on how managers can unleash the power of their workforce in the post-recession business environment.  

Towers Watson explains that “employee engagement” is the rational and emotional connection an employee has to the organization, combined with his or her willingness to invest extra effort. 

Speaking at the event, Stephen Harding, Director - Organisational Surveys & Insights, Towers Watson and co-author of the book Manager Redefined: The Competitive Advantage in the Middle of Your Organisation said, “While we found that competitive base pay is one of the top attractions for an employee to join an organization, career development and empowerment are the top drivers of employee retention and engagement. A manager's role in retaining and engaging the workforce is particularly critical in this region due to the shortage of highly skilled talent pool.” 

The Global Workforce Study 2010 also revealed that only 42 % of employees surveyed feel that senior management is sincerely interested in their well-being and less than 50% believe that senior management is committed to developing critical talent. While 76% of survey respondents in GCC want better communication on rewards and pay by their management, less than 50% employees surveyed felt that senior management has effectively led through the economic crisis. 

To attract and more importantly, retain and engage employees, Stephen Harding and Tom Davenport, co-authors of the Manager Redefined book advise that managers must:

Develop People - Create person-specific opportunities for employees to grow professionally and invest their energy and talent in the company’s success.

Energise Change - Look ahead and outside the boundaries of the manager’s own unit and organisation to anticipate and respond to environmental shifts, and to plan for and create future success for employees and the enterprise.

Build Trust  - Have the self-awareness and intellectual honesty to solicit and respond to employee input about jobs and work environment and consistently demonstrate concern for employee wellbeing.

Deliver the deal - Reward each employee’s investment of their effort  with an individually targeted portfolio of financial and non-financial, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

Execute tasks - Plan work, clarify and customise job-related roles, structure specific job tasks, monitor performance and make the necessary adjustments to ensure that work meets both individual and organisational needs and supports business strategy. 

“The best managers do their work from offstage and out of the limelight, creating an environment of success that reinforces employee autonomy and control,” concluded Davenport.