Productivity boost with increased employee engagement

An annual global study has revealed employee engagement is up across the world with businesses in Australia enjoying higher levels of productivity as well.

Aon Hewitt's '2014 Trends in Global Employee Engagement' study  took in the views of 7 million employees in 155 countries and found that employee engagement levels had risen to 61 per cent since this time last year.

This is a 1 per cent increase from 2012 and a 3 per cent lift from 2011 figures.

Engagement Practice leader for Aon Hewitt in the UK Jenny Merry said businesses have been struggling in the last few years, but this is a positive step.

" [This has] challenged business leaders to create agile, innovative organisations that can grow. But creating this type of organisation is impossible without having engaged employees, and companies with low-to-moderate engagement levels will struggle," she said.

"Our study shows that organisations overcoming business and people challenges are investing in a culture of engagement built on performance focus, strong reputation and superior leadership."

Potentially, the greatest reason for employee engagement increasing was sales growth, operating margins and total shareholder return. Businesses that can achieve these factors have a higher chance of a more productive workforce.

Australian employee engagement

Comparing region to region, Asia-Pacific's employees are more engaged. The region increasing from 58 per cent to 61 per cent in this survey, marking the first time that Aon Hewitt has recorded a lift in two years.

This said, Asia-Pacific is still well behind leaders Latin America, which boasts 70 per cent engagement. Although Australia is on the right track, more can be done to improve.

Businesses wanting to lift employee engagement levels could invest in productivity software that can improve employee work rates and overall efficiency.