Survey: Engaged Employees = Engaged Customers

A feature in the Financial Times last week on how to engage employees (paid sub access) referenced a study by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement at Northwestern University in the US. Carried out last year, the study surveyed 100 US media companies to find out how engaged their staff were and whether this had any effect on corporate profitability. Focusing on non-customer contact employees, the study sought to understand the organizational drivers of employee satisfaction and From the report's conclusion: What is clear from this research is that Employee Satisfaction and Employee Engagement are important attitudes for managers to understand as they each influence critical market outcomes directly and, in turn, indirectly influence an organization's financial performance. Organizations with engaged employees have customers who use their products more, and increased customer usage leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction. In addition, satisfied employees see their positive attitudes transferred directly to satisfied customers. It is an organization's employees who influence the behavior and attitudes of customers, and it is these customers who drive an organization through the purchase and use of its products. Without customers, an organization ceases to exist. And, the proper target on which employees should focus is customers - employees have a direct effect on customer attitudes and behaviors, and hence, this is where the energy of an organization's employees should be directed. [...] Other key organizational factors identified in this research include the key role played by organizational communication in driving Employee Satisfaction, and the role played by managerial facilitation and job design in driving Employee Engagement. Link: Reader Comments Neville Hobson is the author of the popular Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: