Guest Post by Christopher Roberts
The average Australian worker is so disengaged with their workplace that they are unlikely to recommend their own organisation’s products and services, a new nationwide employee study has found.
The State of Employee Engagement in Australia 2015, conducted by Engaged Marketing, asked 3,361 Australians about their attitudes towards their current workplace and employer.
It found that less than a third (30 per cent) of employees would actively recommend their organisation’s products and services to their families and friends. More than a third (36 per cent) are ‘Detractors’ who would actively discourage others against using their organisation’s products and services.
The results give Australian workers an overarching Net Promoter Score of -6 per cent. This low Net Promoter Score is alarming given the power of word of mouth.
It is well-known that word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing channel – four times more effective than television advertising. But if Australian companies were hoping their employees were their greatest advocates, they need to think again!
It begs the question, if your own employees are not willing to recommend your products and services, what chance to you have?
A score like this is indicative of people not understanding your strategy and direction. If your staff don’t understand the strategy, value propositions and directions of your organisation, it is no mystery as to why they don’t feel comfortable recommending you to their friends and family.
The research found the top three negative emotions Australian employees felt were Stress (32 per cent), Frustration (29 per cent) and Anxiety (15 per cent). In contrast, staff said they wanted to feel Valued (69 per cent), but only 36 per cent felt valued now, and Supported (54 per cent), but only 28 per cent felt supported now.
Culture within an organisation starts and ends with emotions, both positive and negative. Clearly, stress and frustration are not conducive to a productive and energised workforce so organisations must look at how they make sure their staff feel valued and supported.
Christopher Roberts is the managing director of Engaged Marketing. You can access the full report right here.