Are You Not Engaged?

Subscribe – Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

Why Most Employee Engagement Surveys Are Feel-Good Theater

Employee engagement surveys have become organizational sacred cows that everyone politely applauds while secretly questioning their value. In this episode, co-hosts Jackson Lynch and Scott Morris challenge the conventional wisdom around engagement measurement, arguing that most surveys conflate satisfaction with actual engagement and fail to connect to meaningful business outcomes. Scott & Jackson define true engagement as applying discretionary effort without being asked, while showing commitment to purpose and business outcomes. They advocate for dramatically shorter surveys focused on role clarity and performance rather than happiness, emphasizing that engagement stems from understanding expectations, having necessary tools, and receiving regular feedback rather than measuring emotions through lengthy questionnaires.

Three Key Takeaways

• Engagement is about commitment, not satisfaction – True engagement means applying discretionary effort toward organizational goals without being asked, driven by connection to purpose and business outcomes. You can have satisfied employees who aren’t engaged, but engaged employees tend to be satisfied as a byproduct.
• Most surveys measure feelings instead of fundamentals – Effective engagement measurement requires just 5-6 questions focused on role clarity, expectations, tools, feedback, and mission connection. Organizations waste time with 100-question surveys that can’t be administered frequently enough to match business pace.
• Clarity drives engagement more than perks – The foundational question “I know what is expected of me at work” is a diagnostic sledgehammer that reveals whether employees understand their role, outcomes, and how their work connects to organizational strategy. Without this clarity, commitment is impossible.

Practical Advice

The Six-Question Engagement Framework:

Focus on these core areas instead of sprawling surveys:

1. Role Clarity – “I know what is expected of me at work” (THE foundational question)
2. Resources – “I have the tools and materials to do my work right”
3. Recognition – “My supervisor gives me regular feedback about my performance”
4. Development – “I have the opportunity to do my best work every day”
5. Purpose – “The mission of my company makes me feel my job is important”
6. Measurement – “I am measured in a fair and objective way”

Implementation Strategy:

• Survey frequently with fewer questions – The entire survey (not just pulse surveys) needs to be shorter. Deploy quarterly, match business rhythms, and track changes after organizational initiatives
• Focus on outcomes, not tasks – Help employees understand how their work contributes to business results (e.g., following up on delinquent accounts reduces days outstanding and accelerates cash flow)
• Make it actionable at every level – Ensure managers can take specific actions based on survey results rather than creating executive-level action plans that don’t reach frontline workers
• Build trust through transparency – Clear expectations and fair measurement create trust, which naturally drives engagement without needing extensive surveys

Remember: If your engagement survey doesn’t directly connect to business outcomes and give managers clear actions to take, you’re measuring motion instead of impact.

Want More?

1. First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman – The foundational research behind the Q12 engagement survey that connects specific questions to measurable business outcomes through meta-analysis
2. 3 Key Metrics That Employee Engagement Surveys Miss – Harvard Business Review analysis of why traditional engagement surveys aren’t working and suggests three nontraditional KPIs to track instead: team success, innovation, and trends (Harvard Business Review, January 2024)
3. Where Measuring Engagement Goes Wrong – Harvard Business Review research from Wharton professors on why engagement surveys may not tell you much about your employees that you can actually act upon (Harvard Business Review, May 2019)

Skip to Footer

Founder & CEO

Copy link