Influence of Employee Engagement Survey Results on Business Leaders' Decision

Measuring employee engagement has steadily become more commonplace in the last two decades. This study investigated individual experiences of business leaders to better understand how these leaders use employee engagement survey results to make decisions about their organization. The outcomes show that business leaders used employee engagement survey results to make two types of decisions: tactical decisions that lead to quick wins, and strategic decisions that seek long-term organizational success. Additionally, the findings showed that there was a tension that exists between a leader's desire to act on employee engagement survey results and their need to balance organizational profit. Leaders also felt limited in their ability to influence change due to their position or title within the organization. Leaders may want to consider the perception employees hold toward the confidentiality and anonymity of the surveys and how this impacts employee engagement survey results when assessing decisions. Finally, this study's results explored the impact that organizational culture has on engagement and how this impacts leadership decisions. The implications for practice include encouraging human resources professionals and business leaders to create an organizational culture that harnesses the power of the employee voice to make decisions. Key words: human resources, leadership decisions, employee engagement, organizational culture.