How engaged are your employees?

New research has found that only 16 per cent of employees feel completely informed about their employer's corporate mission and only 22 per cent feel completely informed about the values of the organisation they work for.

The study from global employee engagement company Reward Gateway surveyed 500 workers and 250 senior decision makers across Australia. It found that 91 per cent of employers say it's critical to the success of their business that employees understand their mission.

"There is quite a disconnect," Reward Gateway's director of consultancy Kylie Green told Wellness Daily.

"Ninety-one per cent of employees are saying engagement is critical, yet only a very small proportion of them feel connected, so there is definitely an engagement gap. 

"It is quite concerning and it does confirm what we have been hearing from HR in the marketplace. The flipside is that there is a major opportunity for organisations to think outside the box in terms of the way they want to serve their culture and their workplace."

Recognition is one of the key drivers needed to ingrain employees with a company's values and corporate mission; however, 42 per cent of employees don't agree that their employer recognises them when they demonstrate the values their company cares about. 

Reward Gateway's previous research, undertaken in 2017, also uncovered that 66 per cent of employees would rather work for a company with a culture where they received recognition over a higher salary job where they didn't get any recognition.

"Not all companies can afford to pay in that top quartile," Ms Green said. "For those companies, we have conversations around how they can attract and retain their talent and engage their employees. A simple thank you can help change how someone feels about coming into work every day," she said. 

"It gives employers — particularly those with quite a limited talent pool – the opportunity to create a culture where people really do love their job and have the opportunity to contribute and have visibility amongst their colleagues as well."

The research found that 90 per cent of employees who say they are likely to recommend their employer to a friend or peer as a place to work also agree that their employer is transparent about how the company plans to achieve its mission and 84 per cent agree that their employer recognises them when they demonstrate the values their company cares about most.