HR Special survey

Figuring

just how

much of a

worker�s

heart is in

the job

they believed would most influence their contribution

at work. Again, the top three items for

Indian workers match the top three global requests:

Development opportunities and training

(26 per cent); regular, specific feedback

about how I�m doing (25 per cent); and greater

clarity about what the organisation needs me to

do and why (22 per cent).

Retention: In 2008, HR executives in India

continue to struggle with talent management

issues, particularly retention. Yet, when asked

the question, �Assuming you have a choice, do

you plan to remain with your organisation

through 2008?�, 65.54 per cent said �yes�.

Clearly, Indian employees expect opportunity

and a chance to partake in the action. But the

real test for Indian companies is still to come:

can these levels of engagement be sustained in

a downturn? Will the employees be ready

when market demands change and companies

need to react? Building an engaged and loyal

workforce today will help weather the challenges

of tomorrow.

THE QUEST TO FIND THE BEST WAY TO RETAIN EMployees

has taken HR pundits through concepts

such as employee reviews, employee satisfaction

and employee delight. The latest idea is

employee engagement, a concept that holds

that it is the degree to which an employee is

emotionally bonded to his organisation and

passionate about his work that really matters.

The BW-HR Anexi BlessingWhite Employee

Engagement Survey 2008 shows significant

differences between what motivates workers in

India and what motivates workers in other

countries. The term �employee engagement�

represents an alignment of maximum job satisfaction

with maximum job contribution. By

plotting a given population against these two

axes, we identified five distinct employee segments:

(a) Fully engaged (b) Almost engaged

(c) Honeymooners & hamsters (d) Crash &

burn and (e) Disengaged. The global survey

shows that 34 per cent of the employees in India

are fully engaged and 13 per cent disengaged.

As many as 29 per cent are �almost engaged�.

Focus On Employee Engagement

Engagement by industry: With the exception

of the government sector (which has relatively

low engagement levels in all countries), some

high-tech industries (pharma, biotech) score

low whereas some service-focused industries

(retail, consumer products) score high.

Engagement by level: Our survey shows that

people higher up in the organisation experience

higher engagement. However, there is a drop in

engagement past the vice-president level.

Engagement by gender: The survey reveals a

large disparity between men and women: Men

count 8 per cent more fully engaged and 6 per

cent less disengaged than women.

What Employees Want

Factors influencing satisfaction: In the survey,

respondents were asked to pick one of eight

factors that they believed would most influence

their satisfaction at work. Career development

opportunities and training (30 per cent), more

challenging work (20 per cent), and more opportunities

to do what I do best (19 per cent)

were the three factors at the top of Indian workers�

wish lists, consistent with the top three

global demands.

Factors influencing contribution: Respondents

were asked to pick the single top item

5 MAY 2008 32 BUSINESSWORLD

Engage The Employee

People higher up in the organisation expectedly

show higher levels of engagement as

they are closer to the centres of decision

making, have more say in the direction of the

organisation and presumably were promoted

at least partly on the basis of their ability to

deliver in tune with the organisation�s goals.

Another clearly observable pattern is that

there is a drop in the level of engagement

past the VP level.

Heights Of Engagement

Administrative/Clerical

Specialist/Professional

Team Leader/Tech Lead

Manager/Supervisor

Director

Vice President or above

13 11 16 32 28

16 11 16 28 29

13 11 10 30 36

11 11 11 31 36

9 10 12 25 44

12 7 11 24 46

%

%

%

%

%

%

The engaged Almost engaged

Honeymooners & hamsters Crash & burners

Disengaged

cover-HRA Report.qxd 4/24/2008 7:12 PM Page 2

5 MAY 2008 33 BUSINESSWORLD

Taking global figures into account, it can be said that Indian workers

are among the most focused and satisfied in the world. Slightly more

than a third (34 per cent) of the employees in India are fully engaged

while 13 per cent of them are disengaged. The economic growth in

India is such that opportunities are aplenty for the respondent population.

Therefore, pay and growth opportunities rate highly in their list

of expectations.

Indians Workers More Satisfied

The level of engagement seen in terms of gender classification shows

some interesting trends. There is a considerable disparity in

engagement when it comes to employees of different genders. Eight

per cent more men than women are fully engaged. Apart from that, it

is also revealed by the findings that as much as 6 per cent less

members of the male population are disengaged than members of the

female population.

Engagement By Gender

Each person surveyed was asked to pick the single top item that he or she believed would most influence satisfaction

at work. Across regions, the Indian working population lists three items as the most important for satisfaction at the

workplace. They are, in order of priority: career development opportunities and training, more challenging work and

more opportunities to do what the particular employee thinks he or she can perform best at. In this respect, the Indian

employee�s wishes match the top three global demands.

Employees Seek More Challenging Assignments

Region Disengaged Honeymooners Crash Almost engaged Fully

& hamsters & burn engaged

India 13% 13% 11% 29% 34%

South AF. 11% 14% 18% 26% 31%

NA 19% 12% 13% 27% 29%

AU NZ 20% 18% 12% 24% 26%

Europe 21% 15% 13% 28% 23%

SEA 21% 9% 18% 31% 22%

China 33% 9% 16% 32% 10%

Other 36% 7% 7% 27% 24%

Grand Total 18% 12% 13% 28% 29%

Fully Almost Newlyweds Crash & Disengaged

engaged engaged & hamsters burn

Female 28% 29% 14% 12% 18%

Male 36% 29% 12% 10% 12%

Grand Total 34% 29% 13% 11% 13%

India 30.03% 20.09% 19.33% 10.74% 7.71% 4.47% 4.04% 3.58%

Grand Total 28.22% 12.24% 23.80% 9.80% 8.28% 7.39% 5.43% 4.82%

More

challenging

work

More

opportunities

to do what

I do best

Greater clarity

about my

own work

preferences

and career

goals

Greater

clarity

about

what the

organisation

needs

me to do �

and why

Improved

cooperation

among

my

co-workers

More say in

how my

work gets

done

A better

relationship

with my

manager

Career

development

opportunities

and training

29%

is the percentage of

employees in India

who figure in the �almost

engaged� category.

It is slightly

more than the global

average of 28 per

cent. China scores

the highest on this

count, with 32 per

cent of its employees

falling in the �almost

engaged� category.

18%

is the percentage of

complete disengagement

among the female

working population,

compared to

12 per cent among

men. The percentage

of female employees

in the �crash and

burn� category is also

slightly more than

that of men at 10 per

cent. Female workers

are thus clearly

behind in their levels

of engagement.

cover-HRA Report.qxd 4/24/2008 7:12 PM Page 3

surveHR Special y

Career development opportunities are a huge expectation of Indian workers, clearly emerging as the number one

request for employees at all levels of engagement. Offering challenging work would build engagement with the

�newlyweds & hamsters� segment, and also help sustain the engagement level of those who are already fully engaged.

Opportunities To Develop Are Sought After At All Levels

When asked, �Assuming you have a choice, do you plan to remain with your organisation through the 2008 year?�, the

Indian working population was found to be more engaged than the global workforce. The proportion of Indian workers

saying they would �probably stay� is lower than the global and is tied not to dissatisfaction at work but to more opportunity

in a growing economy. An important revelation is that an employee being fully engaged is less of a guarantee of

retention in India.

Would You Remain With Your Employer Through 2008?

Fully Almost Newlyweds Crash & Disengaged Grand

engaged engaged & hamsters burn total

Career development opportunities and training 26.25% 27.45% 28.67 32.06% 31.13% 30.03%

More challenging work 15.63% 18.82% 20.33% 16.98% 24.75% 20.09%

More opportunities to do what I do best 20.31% 19.22% 18.00% 19.18% 19.61% 19.33%

Greater clarity about my own work preferences 10.31% 12.94% 11.67% 11.57% 9.19% 10.74%

and career goals

Greater clarity about what the organisation needs 13.13% 8.63% 9.67% 6.88% 5.27% 7.71%

me to do � and why

Improved cooperation among my co-workers 5.63% 5.88% 4.00% 4.69% 3.55% 4.47%

More say in how my work gets done 5.00% 3.14% 3.67% 4.10% 4.04% 4.04%

A better relationship with my manager 3.75% 3.92% 4.00% 4.54% 2.45% 3.58%

Grand Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Fully Almost Newlyweds Crash & Disengaged Grand

engaged engaged & hamsters burn total

No way 17.81% 9.02% 3.00% 1.02% 2.08% 4.76%

Probably stay 49.06% 49.02% 29.67% 28.84% 16.79% 29.70%

Yes, definitely 33.13% 41.96% 67.33% 70.13% 81.13% 65.54%

In their own words, development opportunities and training influence Indian employees�

contribution the most. Notably, relationships with co-workers and managers, while higher than

global figures, do not rank the highest on most people�s wish list. An important global conclusion

drawn is that it is not the quality of relationships that hinders employee engagement, but

rather the lack of time invested in clarity and coaching to gain people�s engagement.

What Influences Employees� Contribution?

India 26.28% 25.32% 21.74% 7.41% 7.25% 7.25% 4.76%

Global 20.35% 20.34% 18.54% 6.77% 17.78% 4.81% 11.41%

Regular,

specific

feedback

about how

I�m doing

Greater clarity

about what

the organisation

needs

me to do �

and why

Better communication

with my

manager

More

resources

A better

relationship

with my coworkers

A coach or a

mentor

other than

my manager

Development

opportunities

and training

Figures for Indians (above) and for non-Indians (global figures, without India) below

No way 21.89% 11.71% 5.57% 3.33% 0.81% 7.83%

Probably 48.51% 50.78% 39.51% 31.02% 14.79% 33.97%

Yes, definitely 29.60% 37.52% 54.92% 65.65% 84.41% 58.20%

No Way,

Say

4.76%

In India

cover-HRA Report.qxd 4/24/2008 7:12 PM Page 4

5 MAY 2008 35 BUSINESSWORLD

While we find the same three items � development opportunities and training, regular feedback about how I�m doing

and greater clarity about what the organisation needs me to do and why � in the top of each segment�s list, one can

observe a clear shift from �greater clarity� for those low on the satisfaction scale to �regular, specific

feedback� for those higher on the satisfaction scale.

Finer Nuances Of Factors Influencing Performance

Disengaged Crash Newlyweds Almost Fully Grand

& burn & hamsters engaged engaged total

Development opportunities and training 24.69% 27.84% 24.67% 27.23% 26.23% 26.28%

Regular, specific feedback about how I�m doing 14.69% 15.29% 21.33% 29.28% 30.76% 25.32%

Greater clarity about what the organisation 31.88% 23.92% 26.67% 18.01% 18.38% 21.74%

needs me to do � and why

Better communication with my manager 7.50% 9.02% 8.00% 6.30% 7.60% 7.41%

A better relationship with my co-workers 9.06% 7.45% 5.67% 8.05% 6.37% 7.25%

More resources 5.31% 9.80% 6.67% 6.73% 7.84% 7.25%

A coach or a mentor other than my manager 6.88% 6.67% 7.00% 4.39% 2.82% 4.76%

Grand Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Between January and March 2008, Blessing-

White, a global consulting firm based in the US,

in partnership with HR Anexi, a leading HR consulting

firm based in Mumbai, collected global

responses to an online survey. The objective of

the study was to analyse worldwide employee

engagement trends.

BlessingWhite�s global survey results in

2004 and 2006 determined that the majority of

employees liked their work but were not necessarily

focused on what mattered most to the organisation.

Last year�s findings suggested that,

despite a majority (60 per cent) saying they

planned to remain with their employers, a disappointing

portion of those employees (21 per

cent) was truly engaged.

This year�s survey was designed to revisit and

build on the themes of past surveys. The survey

wanted to explore:


Will employees stay? Why or why not?


How do they feel about their organisation and

their organisation�s direction?


How do they feel about their jobs?


What can most improve their satisfaction and

performance?


Are their talents being maximised � and

focused on what matters the most?


What do they think about their relationship

with their manager?


What evidence of employee engagement

initiatives do they see at play in their

organisations?

HR Anexi�s Engagement Survey team sent invites

to over 4,500 companies across India. The

survey link was e-mailed to individuals representing

a cross-section of job functions, job titles,

and industries.

It was also posted or distributed through professional

networking sites and blogs. Globally,

the survey was conducted in the English language,

but it was also made available in several

other languages, such as Thai, Chinese and

Japanese.

The online survey was designed to be completed

in less than 10 minutes and consisted of

19 multiple-choice questions and two optional

write-ins. Everyone answered the first 16 items.

The remaining items differed based on respondents�

answers to question 16, which inquired

about plans to stay with their employer through

the 2008 year.

While the demographic questions were not

compulsory, only respondents who provided

full demographic details were included in the

report.

To round off the employee perspective, 40 interviews

were conducted with HR and line leaders.

The interviews centred on employee engagement

challenges and the best practices of

organisations and HR departments � as well as

the actions that individual leaders take every

day to create engaged teams.

For the full survey, log on to www.hranexi.com

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