Employee Engagement in HR: Insights from the Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2024 Report

Employee engagement is a crucial factor in the success of any organization. It drives productivity, boosts morale, and enhances overall workplace satisfaction. However, the recent Gallup State of the Global Workplace report reveals a significant drop in employee engagement in South Asia, highlighting the need for effective engagement strategies. Despite this regional decline, India has maintained a relatively high engagement rate, indicating the potential for improvement with the right tools and methods.

HONO, with its advanced employee engagement module, can help organizations create and deliver a tailored engagement strategy that meets the unique needs of their people, workplace, and market. We will also detail the key insights from Gallup’s report to understand the broader context and challenges.

Understanding the Current Landscape

Gallup’s report estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy a staggering $8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP. The impact of disengagement is profound, affecting not only organizational performance but also the well-being of employees.

The Role of Economics and Policy in Worker Wellbeing:

- Countries where it is a good time to find a job have lower active disengagement, as employees have the freedom to leave unfavorable work situations.

- Some labor rights laws are associated with better overall life evaluations by employees.

- Independent of labor laws, employee engagement is associated with hope for the future.

- Engaged employees in countries with labor laws aimed at fair wages, safe work, family responsibilities, and maternity report the lowest stress.

The Role of the Manager in Worker Wellbeing and Organizational Performance:

- Managers account for 70% of the variance in team employee engagement.

- Managers experience more negative daily experiences than non-managers and are more likely to be seeking new jobs.

- When managers are engaged, employees are more likely to be engaged.

- Best-practice organizations see three-fourths of managers and seven in ten non-managers engaged.

- Increasing the number of engaged employees improves organizational outcomes, including profit, retention rates, and customer service.

Learn more about the 5 C's of Employee Engagement in HR

Despite being third in engagement, South Asia saw a significant uptick in the number of not engaged employees, which rose by 10 percentage points to 56%. In India, this rate is slightly lower at 48%, but one in five employees is actively disengaged (19%). Actively disengaged employees feel disgruntled and disloyal, opposing their employer's goals.

In addition to engagement struggles, many employees in South Asia are struggling or suffering. The region has the lowest percentage of thriving employees globally at just 15%, 19 percentage points lower than the global average. This trend is consistent across all countries surveyed, with India reporting the second-highest rate of thriving at only 14%, behind Nepal at 22%.

Worker Mental Health Challenges in South Asia

South Asia reports the highest regional percentage of employees experiencing loneliness (29%), anger (34%), and sadness (42%) a lot of the previous day. Globally, remote workers are more likely to report loneliness. In India, the rates of anger and sadness are similar to regional averages.

Job Market Perceptions

In South Asia, 48% of employees say it is a good time to find a job, down eight percentage points from the previous year. In India, 57% of employees feel it is a good time to find a job, a 2% decrease from the previous year.

The region also ranks second globally for the rate of employees intending to leave their positions, with 58% actively seeking new jobs. In India, this rate is slightly lower at 52%.

The Role of HONO in Enhancing Employee Engagement

Given the complexities highlighted by Gallup's report, HR software like HONO can play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges and fostering a more engaged workforce. Here’s how HONO can help:

Real-time Analysis:

HONO’s real-time analysis feature automatically uncovers employee groups with statistically proven experience gaps. By identifying these gaps early, organizations can take proactive measures to address them, ensuring that all employees have a positive and fulfilling work experience.

Meaningful Qualitative Feedback:

Advanced AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities allow HONO to deeply understand employee sentiment from open-text comments. This qualitative feedback provides valuable insights into employee concerns, enabling organizations to respond effectively and foster a supportive work environment. Learn more.

Tailored Insights:

Role-based dashboards in HONO help senior executives, people analytics teams, and managers know exactly where to focus their efforts. These tailored insights ensure that engagement strategies are aligned with the specific needs of different employee groups, enhancing their effectiveness.

Confident Decisions:

By connecting datasets across the employee journey, HONO offers predictive insights and impactful improvements. This comprehensive view of employee data enables organizations to make confident decisions that drive engagement and performance.

Maintaining Trust:

HONO’s granular governance controls uphold employee data confidentiality and privacy. Maintaining trust is crucial for employee engagement, and HONO ensures that sensitive information is protected at all times.

Democratizing Action:

HONO’s purpose-built workspaces empower everyone from executives to frontline employees with actionable insights. This democratization of information ensures that engagement initiatives are inclusive and widespread.

Streamlining Results:

HONO automatically delivers action plans based on organizational hierarchies, ensuring that engagement efforts are coordinated and effective. This streamlined approach helps organizations achieve their engagement goals efficiently.

Hearing Every Voice:

HONO allows organizations to crowdsource ideas for improvement from employees, supporting inclusion and ensuring that all voices are heard. This participatory approach fosters a sense of belonging and engagement among employees. 

Closing the Loop:

With HONO, action plan reporting makes progress tracking easy and shares accountability with HR. This closed-loop system ensures that engagement initiatives are continuously monitored and refined for maximum impact.

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Implementing an Effective Engagement Strategy

To leverage HONO’s capabilities effectively, organizations should consider the following steps:

Assess Current Engagement Levels: Use HONO’s real-time analysis to identify experience gaps and areas needing improvement.

Gather Qualitative Feedback: Collect and analyze open-text comments using HONO’s AI and NLP features to gain deeper insights into employee sentiments.

Tailor Engagement Initiatives: Utilize role-based dashboards to develop targeted engagement strategies that address the specific needs of different employee groups.

Maintain Data Privacy: Ensure that all employee data is handled with the utmost confidentiality using HONO’s governance controls.

Foster Inclusion: Encourage employees to share their ideas and feedback, creating a participatory culture that values every voice.

Track Progress: Use HONO’s action plan reporting to monitor the effectiveness of engagement initiatives and make necessary adjustments.

Employee engagement is essential for organizational success, and with the right tools, it is achievable. HONO’s employee engagement module provides a robust platform for creating and delivering an engagement strategy that fits your people, workplace, and market. By leveraging HONO’s advanced features, organizations can enhance employee engagement, drive performance, and create a positive work environment that attracts and retains top talent. In an era where disengagement can cost trillions, investing in effective employee engagement strategies is not just beneficial – it is essential. Let HONO help you build a workplace where every employee feels valued, engaged, and motivated to contribute to your organization’s success. Request a demo!