SALINE – A new study shows the optimal employee energy increases financial performance, while too much energy can significantly decrease productivity.
The Leadership Pulse study was released this week by eePulse Inc. The work was conducted in partnership with Mercer and the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California.
?The Leadership Pulse results indicate that employee energy levels tie directly to productivity, growth and financial performance, and energy is on the rise,? said Theresa M. Welbourne, Ph.D., eePulse Founder, President and CEO. ?It’s important to know, however, that working above or below one’s optimal energy level is counter-productive, leading to more mistakes, bigger problems and burnout.?
The results show that 63 percent of leaders in the sample are below their ideal energy level (this is lost productivity), and only 16 percent indicate that they are at their best energy level.
?Although energy averages are increasing, we still have more work to do in order to assure leaders are at optimal levels, leading to highest performance for 2014,” said Welbourne.
How to Increase Productivity – Leadership Pulse Study Highlights
? Employee energy levels have increased.
Using a scale of 0-10, the average energy rating was 7.01. This is the highest average energy measured in this study since 2003 with energy levels showing a steady increase from 6.18 in September 2010 to September 2013.
? Firms with higher energy had higher financial performance.
Firms with high financial performance rated energy levels at 7.12 = 0.54 to 0.57 below their best energy level
Firms with average financial performance rated energy levels at 6.80 = .83 below their best energy level
Firms with poor financial performance rated energy at 6.24 = 1.32 to 1.58 points below their best energy levels
? Senior managers are the most disengaged group.
CEO/President-82 percent fully engaged
Other C-Core (CFO, CIO, etc.) ? 50 percent fully engaged
Senior VP or Executive VP ? 75 percent fully engaged
VP ? 59 percent fully engaged
Director ? 47 percent fully engaged
Senior Manager ? 41 percent fully engaged
Manager/Supervisor ? 58 percent fully engaged
The Valour Pulseportion of the study consists of measuring a company?s culture for growth, change and innovation where ?VAL? equals valuing people, ?O? stands for ownership, and ?R? relates to rewards.
It is unique in that it combines these traditional, engagement metrics with ?U,? or a sense of urgency. eePulse research indicates that people who feel a high sense of urgency while being valued, recognized and rewarded for their contributions are more productive.
In the study, senior managers show the lowest level of engagement. Welbourne sees this as an aftermath of the poor economic conditions firms have been challenged with where senior managers have been doing a lot of work that has not necessarily been recognized or rewarded.
?We find that organizations that know how to balance urgency with traditional engagement are the ones that win in the long run,? said Welbourne. ?They have sustained growth and a culture that supports innovation.
It’s more challenging to sustain a high sense of urgency than it is to increase traditional, employee engagement scores, and working on urgency is where we spent a lot of time and research over the years. Traditional HR interventions can increase engagement, but they often lower sense of urgency. Thus, innovative HR and leadership tools are needed to positively affect both.?
