Gallup reported this month that US employee engagement has dropped in each of the last two years, from 36 percent in 2020 to 32 percent in 2022. However, employee engagement is higher for organizations that focus on culture. Gallup’s reporting raises the question: why not focus on improving organizational culture? Afterall, our research shows that organizations that invest in their cultures have 22 percent higher financial results.
The organizations in Gallup’s data that focus on improving organizational culture are Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award winners. According to Gallup, while only 32 percent of US employees overall are
engaged, these organizations have more than doubled this percentage. The Exceptional Workplace Award winners averaged an outstanding 70 percent employee engagement even during the disruptive year of 2021.
Gallup has identified what its Exceptional Workplace Award winners do differently. According to Gallup, the focus on culture leads the list:
“They use their organizational culture and values to guide business decisions. Employees need to see the intended culture and values lived out daily. It is important to listen to people and act based on employees’ work-life needs. The most successful organizations put their values at the center of decisions. For example, those organizations may spend more money in the short-term to do what is right for employees during a pandemic — even if those expenditures are well beyond the original budget — or design flexible working arrangements with employee wellbeing and performance in mind.”
At InnovationOne, we are not surprised by Gallup’s reporting that organizations that focus on culture and their values have two times the employee engagement scores of other organizations in their client base.
Companies that focus on innovation cultures can have 22 percent higher financial performance.
Our research, published in 25 peer-reviewed academic articles, shows that holistic cultures focused on innovation drive higher employee engagement scores and organizational productivity, innovation, and financial performance. Companies scoring in the top quartile of our InnovationOne Culture Index© reported higher financial performance than bottom quartile performers by as much as 22 percent. Public research labs see a three-fold improvement in lab outcomes for every one-point increase in the InnovationOne Culture Index©.
Unlike an employee engagement assessment, the InnovationOne Culture Index© drivers the whole organization to improve performance, innovation, and financial results. Our assessment is more comprehensive than employee engagement measures – and is more valuable and instructive to the organization’s executive leadership.
The InnovationOne Culture Index© assesses and benchmarks an organization’s culture and capability to be innovative across four organizational dimensions and 12 drivers of innovation. We provide specific recommendations on how executives improve the organization’s culture and raise the organization’s ability to ignite innovation, invite employees and external partners to recommend ideas, experiment with ideas, breakthrough boundaries, and align the organization with commercializing innovation. Along this journey, employee engagement increases as employees find purpose, recognition, and fulfillment in their work.
12 Drivers of Innovation
The 12 drivers of innovation are shown in the graphic at right. Taken as a complete set, they drive culture change and improved performance, beginning with the behaviors of executives and managers to the alignment of the
organization’s performance management system, metrics, and sales, marketing, and operations to support innovation.
Two of those drivers, Employee Connectivity and Employee Empowerment, assess most of what a typical employee engagement survey measure. Employee Connectivity assesses how employees believe they are valued, treated with equity, included, respected, and allowed to learn and contribute to the organization. Employee Empowerment evaluates the level teams and employees feel safe generating ideas, improvising with innovation, acting on opportunities, and making decisions within known parameters to speed up, slow down, change course, and even cancel projects.
The other ten drivers go beyond typical employee engagement surveys to assess more of the organization’s holistic culture and capability to innovate. These drivers add the extra analysis and insights to move the organization’s culture forward.
Our assessment is more comprehensive than employee engagement measures – and is more valuable and instructive to the organization’s executive leadership.
The next time you are thinking about taking an employee engagement survey, we encourage you to consider an upgrade. Why not use an assessment that allows you to focus on improving your organization’s culture –like Gallup’s Exceptional Workplace Award winners. Use the InnovationOne Culture Index©. Employee engagement is higher for organizations that focus on culture.
Improve your organization’s culture.
We provide a clear path to improve your organization’s culture and benefit from improved productivity, innovation, employee engagement and financial performance. We invite you to read the Seven traits of highly innovative organizations that drive improved financial performance and contact us to learn more.
Contact us for a complimentary discussion.
About InnovationOne®, LLC.
InnovationOne®, LLC helps organizations worldwide build a culture of innovation and make it sustainable. InnovationOne® uses a scientifically developed assessment to measure, benchmark, and improve your company’s culture and capability to innovate and enjoy better outcomes and financial results. Companies scoring in the top quartile of our InnovationOne Culture Index© reported higher financial performance than bottom quartile performers by as much as 22 percent. Measure and ignite your culture of innovation.
Victor Assad is the CEO of Victor Assad Strategic Human Resources Consulting and managing partner of InnovationOne.. He works with companies to transform HR and recruiting, implement remote work, and develop extraordinary leaders, teams, and innovation cultures. He is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Hack Recruiting: the Best of Empirical Research, Method and Process, and Digitization. Subscribe to his weekly blogs at www.VictorHRConsultant.com.