The Big Pivot

CHAPTER EIGHT

Change the Incentives, Engage the Whole Organization

It matters if employees are engaged at work. It matters a lot.

A Gallup study showed that companies whose workers are the most engaged outperform those with the least engaged—by a significant amount: 16 percent higher profitability, 18 percent higher productivity, and 25 to 49 percent lower turnover (depending on the industry).¹ The last benefit can save real money. Software leader SAP calculated that “for each percentage point that our retention rate goes up or down, the impact on our operating profit is approximately €62 million [$81 million].”²

Tony Schwartz, an expert on peak performance, describes an engaged workplace as an “environment that more fully energizes employees ...