Engagement Surveys
&
Culture Assessment
Models and Measurement
Michael J. Walk
Engagement and Culture
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Learning Objectives
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Define and give examples of employee
engagement
Define and give examples of organizational
culture
Explain some of the business outcomes of
engagement and culture
Explain at least one model of engagement and
culture
Explain the typical methods used to measure
engagement and culture
Engagement and Culture
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Employee Engagement
Engagement and Culture
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Definitions

Scholarly background:

Kahn (1990): “the simultaneous employment and
expression of a person’s ‘preferred self ’ in task
behaviors that promote connections to work and
to others, personal presence,…and active, full
performances”
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Definitions

Current Definitions
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“A positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind
that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and
absorption.” (Encyclopedia of Industrial/Organizational
Psychology)


“The level of commitment and involvement an
employee has toward their organization and its
values.” (AlphaMeasure)
“Engagement is the state of emotional and
intellectual involvement that employees
demonstrate at work.” (Hewitt Associates)
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What Engagement ISN’T

Employee Satisfaction:


only deals with how employees feel about their
current environments
Organizational Commitment:

only deals with employees’ desires to stay
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Behaviors & Outcomes of
Engagement
Increased performance
More likely to treat customers in ways that positively
influence customer satisfaction
 Willing to give extra effort when needed
 Improves customer loyalty through improving the
service climate (Agut & Peiró, 2005)

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Bottom-Line Outcomes
Source: Towers Perrin
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More Outcomes
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High job-satisfaction
Low absenteeism
Increased loyalty

Lower costs of recruiting, hiring, training,
developing
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Consequences of Disengagement

Disengaged employees
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Miss an average of 3.5 more days per year
Less productive / Diminished performance
Lower morale
High turnover = Training dollars lost
Cost the US economy $292 to $355 billion per year
(Financial News, March 2001)
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Current Levels of Engagement

(2003) Gallup conducted international survey
measuring employee engagement
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Current Levels of Engagement (2)

France:
Disengaged workforce (31%) costs between 79 –
104 billion Euros annually!
 At today’s exchange: $109 - $144 billion
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USA: 27% are actively engaged, 17% disengaged
Engagement and Culture
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Models of Engagement
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No Universal Model of Engagement
Some plausible options include:
3-Behaviors
 3-Modes
 3-Needs
 3-Concepts

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Models of Engagement (1)
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3 Behaviors
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(Hewitt Associates, AlphaMeasure)
Say: Consistently speak positively about the
organization to coworkers, potential employees,
and customers
Stay: Have an intense desire to be part of the
organization
Strive: Exert extra effort and engage in behaviors
that contribute to business success
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Models of Engagement (2)
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3 Modes (Towers Perrin)
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Cognitive (think): Logical evaluation of the
company’s goals and values.
Affective (feel): Whether employees have a sense
of belong and pride in the company.
Behavioral (act): Retention, willingness to “go the
extra distance.”
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Models of Engagement (3)

3-Tiered Structure of Needs (Accord Management)
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Basic: fundamental to job
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Intermediate: growth and development needs
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safety, team, competent supervisor, tools/equip, basic
skills, valued, respected, fair, enjoy work
development, encouragement, sense of belonging,
personal fulfillment, adequate compensation
Advanced: org commitment needs

customer focus, org growth and success, value diversity,
belief in compete strategy
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Models of Engagement (4)
3-Part Conceptual Model (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonza´lez-Roma´, &
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Bakker, 2002)
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Vigor refers to high levels of energy and mental resilience
while working, the willingness to invest effort in one’s
work, and persistence even in the face of difficulties.
Dedication is characterized by a sense of significance,
enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge at work.
Absorption consists of being fully concentrated, happy, and
deeply engrossed in one’s work whereby time passes
quickly, and one has difficulty detaching oneself from
work.
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Measuring Engagement

Model-contingencies
Measurement will vary depending on subscribed
model.
 Most (if not all) measures are
surveys/questionnaires

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Examples of Measures

Gallup’s Q12
12 items
 Found to be predictive of business outcomes
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Hewitt Associates
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6 items
Several other organization-specific instruments
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Often accessible online
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Using the 3-Concept Model
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Work Engagement Scale
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(Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonza´lez-Roma´, & Bakker,
2002)
17 items
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6 items for Vigor
5 items for Dedication
6 items for Absorption
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Let’s Try It for Ourselves
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Get into groups
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Chose one of the models
Create 3 – 5 items
 3-Behavior (say, stay, strive)
You have 5 minutes
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3-Mode (act, feel, think)
3-Needs (basic…advanced)
3-Concepts (vigor, dedication,
absorption)
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Engagement Summary
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Many definitions – enjoyment of and
attachment to work and organization
Valid construct – research links engagement to
important business outcomes
Many models – apply to different contexts and
organizations
Measurement – done through surveys; multiple
instruments
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Culture Assessment
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Definitions
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“Refers to the shared meaning, interpretations, and
understanding of various organizational events among
organizational members.
Serves as a guide to members to behave in ways shown to be
effective over time;
adds a sense of predictability and order to uncertainties in the
environment;
and provides a general understanding of how, when, and why
members behave in certain ways.”

(Encyclopedia of I/O Psychology)
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Models of Culture

Denise
Rousseau

Multi-layered
concept
ranging from
most accessible
to least
accessible.
Material Artifacts
Behavioral Patterns
Behavioral Norms
Values / Beliefs
preferences
for various
the
basic, fundamental
provide
predictability
routinized
activities
thatamong
buildare
outcomes
or
behaviors
assumptions
that
typicallyand
exist
logos,
layouts,
etc.
members
and
identify
coordination
generally
conscious awareness
or espoused
outside
of conscious
acceptable
and unacceptable
by organizational members
behavior
Assumptions
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Assumptions?

Edgar Schein (1992)
A pattern of basic, largely unconscious assumptions
that organizational members share.
 These assumptions are learned over time as those
behaviors effective at solving organizational issues
with adapting to the external environment or with
resolving internal conflict that have become to be
internalized as the right way to do things here.

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Models of Culture (2)
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VIT Industrial Systems (Finland)
Culture: “a solution created by an organization for
the demands set by the core task,” (Reiman, 2001;
Reiman, & Norros, 2002).
 Core Task: “the essential content of some job or
duty”

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Models of Culture (2)
VIT Industrial Systems
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Measuring Culture
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Model-contingencies
Measurement will vary depending on subscribed
model.
 Surveys / Questionnaires
 Qualitative Methods

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Culture Instruments

Classified Into Two Types
Typing Surveys: classify organizations into mutually
exclusive taxonomies (similar to MBTI), provide
examples of typical cultures that match scores.
 Profile Surveys: assess organization on
predetermined cultural dimensions.

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Exercise on Types
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Academy:
• highly skilled, tend to stay, work up ranks,
stable environment (e.g., universities,
hospitals)
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Baseball Team:
•free agents—highly prized skills, high
demand; fast-paced, high-risk (e.g.,
investment banking, advertising)
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Club Culture:
•fit into the group; start at bottom and stay;
promote from within (e.g., military, law firms)

Fortress:
Source: Carter McNamara
•uncertain job security, massive
reorganizations, opportunities for those with
specialized skills (e.g., savings and loans, car
companies, etc.)
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Instruments – Typing Surveys
Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)
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Types of Culture:
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Hierarchy Culture
Market Culture
Clan Culture
Adhocracy Culture
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Dimensions of Culture:
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Engagement and Culture
Dominant Characteristics
Organizational
Leadership
Management of
Employees
Organizational Glue
Strategic Emphasis
Criteria for (judging)
Success
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Instruments – Typing Surveys
Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI)
(Cooke & Lafferty, 1983) – published by Human Synergistics
Types of Culture:
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Constructive
Passive-Defensive
Aggressive-Defensive
12 Normative Beliefs:
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Humanistic-Encouraging
Affiliative
Approval
Conventional
Dependent
Avoidance
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Engagement and Culture
Oppositional
Power
Competitive
Perfectionistic
Achievement
Self-Actualizing
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Research with OCI
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Found that Constructive cultures have higher:
member satisfaction, commitment, motivation, role
clarity, intent to stay
 group teamwork, unit-level quality
 organizational quality of service, safety and
reliability, customer satisfaction, voluntary turnover,
sales, profitability

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Instruments – Other Resources
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Organizational Culture Instrument (van de Post & de Coning, et al., nd)
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Organizational Culture Survey (Glaser, Zamanou, & Hacker, 1987)
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15 dimensions of culture (e.g., customer orientation, task
structure, goal clarity, etc.)
6 components (e.g., teamwork-conflict, information flow, etc.)
Schweiger-Larkey Organizational Culture Index (SLOCI©)

15 dimensions of culture (e.g., centralized vs. decentralized,
conflict avoidance vs. conflict confrontation, etc.)
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Qualitative Methods
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Document Analysis
Critical Incidents
Interviews / Focus Groups
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(e.g., Yauch & Steudel, 2003)
Observations
Seminars / Workshops
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Mixed Methods (VIT Industrial)
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Contextual Assessment of Organizational Culture
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The development of an organization’s operations requires an
understanding of the overall dynamics (culture) of the
organization’s activities, but also an assessment of the impact
of culture on operational efficiency, which must be assessed
on a case-by-case basis.
Core-Task Analysis
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studies and assesses work’s essential content and its critical
demands
how the demands manifest themselves in daily work
what effect new content (e.g., pressures for change from
environment) has on core task
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Mixed Methods - Triangulation
Best to combine quantitative instruments with
qualitative methods
For example, Yauch & Steudel (2003) did all of the
following:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Document review
Observation of meetings and workplaces
Group interviews with several levels
Administered OCI
Member checks to insure findings met member’s
impressions
Third-party audit
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Culture Summary
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Many definitions – the beliefs, values, and norms
generated out of an organization’s specific
environment and context
Theoretical concept – gaining new place in
scholarly research
Many models – apply to different contexts and
organizations
Measurement – done through surveys and
qualitative methods
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What are your questions?
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