Employee Engagement in the Public Sector – A Study of Engagement Levels within the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland Theme: Leadership, Management & Communication By:Madge Toye Temple

What is Employee Engagement Employee Engagement is a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values and a willingness to help out colleagues (CIPD, 2011). Employee Engagement is much more than job satisfaction and motivation. Employee Engagement is a measurable degree of an employee’s positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, their colleagues and their organisation all of which profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform at work.

What does Employee Engagement mean to an Organisation Employee Engagement positively impacts on business outcomes such as:  Employee satisfaction  Safety  Productivity  Profitability  Improves organisational performance (even in challenging economic times)

Why Study Employee Engagement in the Health Service Executive Globally, the recession has dramatically altered the way employees view their work (Towers Watson, 2010). The public service is not exempt from the recession and economic downturn forcing organisation to change The Health Service Executive has experienced major change There are few studies of Employee Engagement in Ireland

Objectives of the Study 1: To ascertain if there are any differences in the levels of Employee Engagement across the following variables: gender, age, contract agreement, working hours and duration of employment. 2:To ascertain if there are variances in Employee Engagement in the various job roles within the Health Service Executive. 3:To investigate the relationship between performance reviews and Employee Engagement.

Method Study was based on ONE local health office within the HSE 4% of all employees completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) achieving a response rate of 59%. UWES measures employee engagement by 3 constructs – vigour, dedication and absorption.

Results of the Study

Results of the Study - Gender

Results of the Study - Age

Results of the Study – Contracted Agreement

Results of the Study – Working Hours

Results of the Study – Duration of Employment

Results of the Study – Job Roles

Result of the Study – Performance Review

Key Findings of the Research 50% of employees are within the range of “average engagement” and experience engagement “a couple of times per month” with a mean engagement score of A higher level of Employee Engagement exists in the organisation in comparison to similar international studies. There is no significant difference in the levels of Employee Engagement among the different groups within each of the variables of: “age”, “employment status”, “gender”, ”job category”, “work agreement”, “job category”, “duration of employment” and having a “performance review”. There exists a significant relationship between dedication and employment status with temporary employees indicating higher dedication than permanent employees There exists a significant relationship between dedication and having participated in a performance review, with participants who have had a performance review indicating a higher level of dedication than those employees who have not had a performance review.

Recommendations Leadership Share the vision of the organisation with all employees Ensure all employees know their role in the organisation Involve all employees Listen to and respond to feedback Recognise and appreciate commitment