Measuring and understanding employee engagement

Employee engagement has generated interest in many stakeholder groups ranging from academics (e.g. Kahn, 1990; May et al., 2004; Schaufeli et al., 2002), HR practitioners and consultancies (e.g. Harter et al., 2002; Masson et al., 2008), to government policy-makers (e.g. MacLeod, Clarke 2009). As this interest in employee engagement has rapidly increased over the last decade (as highlighted by Wilmar Schaufeli in Chapter 1 of this volume), so has the desire to measure, evaluate, and benchmark levels of engagement within and between organizations. Measurement is powerful, because ‘what gets measured gets attention’ (Eccles, 1991: 131). Performance dashboards, of which the ‘balanced scorecard’ (Kaplan, Norton,1992) is a well-known example, attempt to ensure that all the major factors contributing to an organization’s success are being measured – related to operations, customers, finance and employees. A performance indicator that represents the extent to which employees are engaged can constitute a useful headline measure for the ‘employee’ section of the dashboard or scorecard. However, there has been a lack of a unifying definition or framework (MacLeod, Clarke, 2009; Truss, Mankin and Kelliher, 2012) and so there exists a wide range of ‘employee engagement’ indicators. Therefore, this chapter aims (a) to provide a review of the main ways in which employee engagement has been measured; (b) to give insight into issues that may occur when designing and implementing such measures; and (c) to consider implications in regards to presenting and interpreting engagement scores. Whilst covering academic material, this chapter is designed with the practitioner in mind. Two short case studies illustrating how employee engagement can be measured and evaluated in practice are discussed at the end of this chapter

HLA gene expression is altered in whole blood and placenta from women who later developed preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a multi-system disease that significantly contributes to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. In this study, we used a non-biased microarray approach to identify dysregulated genes in maternal whole blood samples which may be associated with the development of preeclampsia. Whole blood samples were obtained at 28 weeks of gestation from 5 women who later developed preeclampsia (cases) and 10 matched women with normotensive pregnancies (controls). Placenta samples were obtained from an independent cohort of 19 women with preeclampsia matched with 19 women with normotensive pregnancies. We studied gene expression profiles using Illumina microarray in blood and validated changes in gene expression in whole blood and placenta tissue by qPCR. We found a transcriptional profile differentiating cases from controls; 236 genes were significantly dysregulated in blood from women who developed preeclampsia. Functional annotation of microarray results indicated that most of the genes found to be dysregulated were involved in inflammatory pathways. Whilst general trends were preserved, only HLA-A was validated in whole blood samples from cases using qPCR (2.30 ± 0.9 fold change) whereas in placental tissue HLA-DRB1 expression was found to be significantly increased in samples from women with preeclampsia (5.88 ± 2.24 fold change). We have identified that HLA-A is up-regulated in the circulation of women who went on to develop preeclampsia. In placenta of women with preeclampsia we identified that HLA-DRB1 is up-regulated. Our data provide further evidence for involvement of the HLA gene family in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia

Differential expression of microRNA-206 and its target genes in pre-eclampsia

Objectives: Pre-eclampsia is a multi-system disease that significantly contributes to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. In this study, we used a non-biased microarray approach to identify novel circulating miRNAs in maternal plasma that may be associated with pre-eclampsia. Methods: Plasma samples were obtained at 16 and 28 weeks of gestation from 18 women who later developed pre-eclampsia (cases) and 18 matched women with normotensive pregnancies (controls). We studied miRNA expression profiles in plasma and subsequently confirmed miRNA and target gene expression in placenta samples. Placental samples were obtained from an independent cohort of 19 women with pre-eclampsia matched with 19 women with normotensive pregnancies. Results: From the microarray, we identified 1 miRNA that was significantly differentially expressed between cases and controls at 16 weeks of gestation and 6 miRNAs that were significantly differentially expressed at 28 weeks. Following qPCR validation only one, miR-206, was found to be significantly increased in 28 week samples in women who later developed pre-eclampsia (1.4 fold change ± 0.2). The trend for increase in miR-206 expression was mirrored within placental tissue from women with pre-eclampsia. In parallel, IGF-1, a target gene of miR-206, was also found to be down-regulated (0.41 ± 0.04) in placental tissue from women with pre-eclampsia. miR-206 expression was also detectable in myometrium tissue and trophoblast cell lines. Conclusions: Our pilot study has identified miRNA-206 as a novel factor up-regulated in pre-eclampsia within the maternal circulation and in placental tissue

The relationship between perceived training and development and employee retention:the mediating role of work attitudes

This paper considers how utilizing a model of job-related affect can be used to explain the processes through which perceived training and development influence employee retention. We applied Russell’s model of core affect to categorize four different forms of work attitude, and positioned these as mediators of the relationship between perceived training and development and intention to stay. Using data from 1,191 employees across seven organizations, multilevel analyses found that job satisfaction, employee engagement, and change-related anxiety were significantly associated with intention to stay, and fully mediated the relationship between perceived training and development and intention to stay. Contrary to our hypotheses, emotional exhaustion was not significantly associated with intention to stay nor acted as a mediator when the other attitudes were included. These findings show the usefulness of Russell’s model of core affect in explaining the link between training and development and employee retention. Moreover, the findings collectively suggest that studies examining employee retention should include a wider range of work attitudes that highlight pleasant forms of affect

New research on the impact and benefits of staff engagement in the NHS

NHS Employers has collaborated with a research team to carry out a staff engagement project funded by the National Institute of Healthcare Research (NIHR). In this webinar Dilys Robinson and Katie Truss, researchers from the Institute of Employment Studies, give an overview of the project which looks at the available evidence on the nature, impact and benefits of staff engagement in the NHS. The webinar outlines the emerging findings and the planned resources that will be produced to support staff engagement practitioners

Getting the Best Out of Your Competencies (IES Report 334)

Draws on the experiences of eight employers at different stages of their use of competencies. The practices of the five organizations using competencies for the performance review of their managers have been evaluated in detail by seeking feedback from 184 employees. The findings, illustrated by quotes from users, may serve to remind employers that competencies only exist because of their employees and their willingness to make them work