HBR Guide to Motivating People (HBR Guide Series)

CHAPTER 1

Want to Know How Engaged People Are? Here’s What to Measure

by Ryan Fuller

Much has been studied about the impact of employee engagement on company performance, and there is general agreement that increased engagement drives results: Gallup, for example, suggests a 20% or better boost to productivity and profitability for companies with high engagement.¹ Such companies, however, may be few and far between: Gallup also reports that only 30% of American workers, and 13% of global workers, are engaged in their jobs.

Taken together, it’s easy to see why so many companies are talking about it and making it a priority. But when you look at how engagement gets measured, that’s where things start to break down a bit.

The typical approach is ...