Employee engagement studies are unethical junk science
CALGARY, Feb. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Employee engagement surveys are "junk science" that destroys employee engagement, according to an article in the latest edition of the American Society for Quality's Journal for Quality and Participation.
Understanding Employee Engagement and Trust; The New Math of Engagement Surveys by Robert Gerst of Converge Consulting Group, reviews the way in which employee engagement surveys are conducted, highlighting four corrupt practices:
- using statistical significance to determine important findings and differences among departments,
- using regression analysis in creating engagement 'models',
- ranking of results (i.e.; best companies to work for), and
- boiling complex concepts like employee engagement down to a single number or index.
Just how bad are these practices? They are the same methods used in the 1994 best seller 'The Bell Curve' to 'prove' that blacks were intellectually inferior to whites. "This misuse of statistical method in engagement surveys not only harms the business and demoralizes employees, but it's offensive and just plain unethical." said Gerst.
Converge's Voice of the Employee avoids corrupt research practices, one reason it meets the Gold Standard in Employee Research established by the Quality Council of Alberta. Converge also publishes a free do it yourself guide for ethical research.
SOURCE: Converge Consulting Group
Robert M. Gerst
Converge Consulting Group Inc.
[email protected]
403 266 0061
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