India’s Engagement Imperative

Abstract

Employee engagement is a leading indicator of business performance. Improving engagement must therefore be a leadership priority to unleash employee potential. Gallup’s latest measure of global engagement shows that less than a third (32%) of India’s workforce is engaged, and only 14% of employees are ‘thriving’, based on Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index. Challenges that impede the effectiveness of engagement initiatives include conflating ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ responses to artificially boost positive engagement survey results, implementing tactical interventions based on data that are either erroneous or of poor quality, over-reliance on pulse surveys with little or no follow-up, and a perception that engagement programmes are ‘an HR thing’ rather than the responsibility of leaders. Employees need a workplace environment in which they feel valued and can contribute to the organisation’s mission or purpose, and a manager who coaches and inspires them.