Senior Leadership Key to Improving Dismal U.S. Employee Engagement

MINNEAPOLIS — March 30, 2012 — Modern Survey, a human capital measurement and analysis company, is pleased to announce the release of its Spring 2012 National Norms Survey on employee engagement levels in the U.S. workforce. Register to receive your free copy of the full report.

Conducted in March 2012, the most recent iteration of Modern Survey’s biannual study found that 67 percent of employees are either disengaged or under engaged in their current job and organization. While the study shows an increase of 2 percentage points in the number of disengaged workers at 30 percent of the surveyed workforce, the number of fully engaged and moderately engaged employees saw a slight uptick by 2 percentage points, to 10 percent and 24 percent, respectively. The study also reflects a 5 percentage point drop in the number of under engaged employees.

“When compared with the study’s September 2011 survey findings, engagement is slowly returning, but it is still far below acceptable levels,” said Don MacPherson, president of Modern Survey.

“Based on our new survey findings, the U.S. workforce reports that they want two things more than anything: They want senior leadership’s clear vision of where their organization is going, and they want the opportunity to personally grow and develop once again. Both of these things have been stunted during the economic malaise of the last few years.”

While the Spring 2012 National Norms Survey reports plenty of data on employee engagement, it also dives deep into what drives engagement and which people practices extraordinary organizations have put in place to enable engagement.

“Our free report is a must-read for any organization trying to understand the engagement issues and trends occurring in the U.S. workforce as well as their own organization.”

For more about the latest U.S. workforce engagement data from Modern Survey, register to receive your free copy of the full report.

About the Study
Modern Survey began conducting this study in August 2007 to a nationally representative sample of U.S. working adults (18+ years old) who matched census data in terms of age, gender and region. The most recent iteration, conducted in March 2012, polled 700 U.S. working adults matching the same census criteria. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine which survey items best predict engagement mean scores — responses to these identified items are most significantly associated with overall engagement.

About Modern Survey
Modern Survey is a human capital measurement company. Providing a robust suite of proprietary technologies combined with an array of consultative services, Modern Survey helps organizations manage talent throughout the employee life cycle, measure and evaluate customer satisfaction, and gain insight into changing markets. Modern Survey’s products and services have spanned 100 countries on six continents in over 40 languages. Through direct and partner channels, Modern Survey’s solutions have been used by more than 500 companies, over 85 of which are among the Fortune 500.