A study by Aon has found that the employee engagement in the Middle East and the North Africa (MENA) region to be 4% higher than global average at 69%.
The report titled ‘Trends in Middle East & North Africa Employee Engagement’, stated that after two back-to-back years of stagnation, the region has revived and the predominant improvement was noted to be in the North African and Levant region (eight points up from 2016 at 74%) while the GCC showed a slight downturn of one point at 70% compared to its performance in 2017.
The global professional services firm measured employee engagement for more than 200 companies across the MENA region and analysed data from more than 250,000 employee responses. More than 28 industries were represented in the study, the report stated.
The UAE’s engagement performance dropped by two points from 70% to 68% with notable drop in employee motivation and willingness to try new things for fear of mistakes playing a factor. Saudi Arabia also displayed a two-point drop to 69% with economic and social reforms playing a contributing factor.
According to Aon, rewards and recognition ranked as the strongest driver of engagement in MENA this year, from a previous ranking of 4th in 2017. It was followed by career & development, talent & staffing, employee value proposition, and senior leadership.
Aon Middle East and Africa CEO – talents, rewards & performance Christopher Page said: “The findings of our proprietary employee engagement study in MENA reflect the transformational changes that the region is witnessing today. With increased focus by regional governments on embracing digital technology as a driver for socio-economic progress, it is rewarding to see that businesses are aligned with this vision and investing in building the future-tech skills of their employees.
“This fits in with the true definition of employee engagement – which is all about the level of an employee’s psychological investment in their organization. Through enhanced employee engagement and continuous listening, businesses can not only achieve their organisational goals but also contribute to a happy and productive society,” he added.
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Aug 14, 2018 , India
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