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Companies with employees who understand the
organization’s business goals and are motivated
to achieve those goals can expect to improve their subsequent
financial performance, according to the latest WorkAsia research
study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide,a leading global consulting firm.
The WorkAsia study is an ongoing
series of Global Attitude surveys on employee work attitudes and
opinions about key people practices in the workplace. Based on
surveys answered by 6,500 employees in 12 countries in Asia Pacific
including the Philippines, the research is one of the most
comprehensive and statistically representative studies on the
subject matter.
Watson Wyatt defines “engaged
employees” as those who have internalized the organization’s
business goals, the steps required to achieve those goals and
further understand how their contributions drive results, according
to James Matti, Managing Consultant of Watson Wyatt Philippines.
“They have a strong desire to participate in the company’s
success.”
It is crucial for companies
seeking to develop strategies for building employee engagement, to
know the top drivers of employee engagement and how these affect
productivity, retention and financial performance.
The WorkAsia study helps
employers identify areas of improvement in order to increase
employee engagement and effectiveness thus enhancing the
organization’s financial performance.
The top three drivers of employee
engagement identified by the WorkAsia study for the Asia-Pacific
region are customer focus, compensation and benefits, and communication.
“These drivers are remarkably consistent within the Asia-Pacific
region and around the world, with only slight variation across
countries,” according to Carlo Felicia, an Associate Consultant in
the Manila office.
Key findings of study
The top driver in the Philippines
is: customer focus. Filipinos believe that organizations that
know how to satisfy their customers tend to be more successful.
The other two key drivers are: compensation and benefits; and
strategic leadership and direction.
Filipino employees need to trust
in the decisions of their business leaders since these will
personally impact their economic stability and livelihood. But
trust alone is not enough. They also need adequate pay and benefits
so they can sustain themselves and those dependent on them.
Companies need to pay attention to these areas more closely if they
intend to fully maximize their human capital for achieving business
success.
On the other hand, Filipinos
generally rated their employers lowest in the two drivers: strategic
leadership and direction; and compensation and benefits. This
means that in the areas of significant impact, Filipino employers
still need to improve to maximize their investment in their people
resources.
The highest favorable areas for
Filipinos are in line of sight or knowing the objectives of the
company and respect in the workplace. Filipinos believe they
have a clear understanding of the business goals and the steps
needed to help achieve them. They also feel that they are
respected in the workplace and encouraged to provide their opinions.
Besides reporting on general
attitudes of employees by country, the Work Asia study is beneficial
for individual companies interested in conducting organizational
climate surveys to gauge their employees’ perspectives, opinions,
and more importantly, their engagement level. “What is
unique about this study is that WorkAsia looks at issues from a
fresh perspective—by segmenting the workforce by level of
commitment and line of sight, rather than by a demographic slice, so
that companies can focus specifically on the key drivers of
engagement for each employee segment,” said Mak Yuen Teen,
Director Asia Pacific Research and Innovation Centre.
“The WorkAsia study tells us
that forward-looking organizations are replacing one-size-fits-all
offerings with programs that target their most valuable employees.
These efforts enable them to create a more productive and stable
workforce,” said Russell Huntington, Director, Human Capital
Group, Asia-Pacific.
WorkAsia Watson Wyatt conducts an
ongoing series of studies about employee attitudes around the globe.
The 2007 WorkAsia research is one of the most comprehensive and
current statistically representative surveys on attitudes of workers
in the Asia-Pacific. In this 2007 study, Watson Wyatt surveyed more
than 6,500 full-time employees covering all major employment sectors
in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
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