OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Bersin & Associates, the leading provider of research-based membership programs for best practices in HR, talent and learning, today announced the introduction of the company’s market focus on employee engagement, with the new report: Employee Engagement: Market Review, Buyer’s Guide and Provider Profiles. This research helps business and human resources leaders develop proven strategies to improve performance and retention by identifying the latest trends and insights for buyers in the fast-growing employee engagement solution provider market, valued at an upper limit estimated at $1.53 billion.

Summarized in a WhatWorks market brief titled “Employee Engagement: Behind the #1 Metric,” the research shows that organizations currently invest approximately $720 million annually in engagement improvement, including both outsourced and internally developed programs. Only 50% of the potential market has been tapped, with half the organizations stating an interest in engagement programs actually investing. The annual revenue of providers is an estimated $325 million.

“Our High Impact HR research shows that among all the things that HR leaders measure, employee engagement is number one, with 71 percent of all companies now monitoring employee engagement levels,” said Dr. Brenda Kowske, Bersin & Associates Senior Analyst and author of the report. “More than a metric, employee engagement is something savvy business and HR leaders continually monitor and build. It is an untapped store of employee energy and a wealth of potential organizational excellence. This is why the market for employee engagement solutions continues to expand rapidly, particularly as it melds with talent management and analytics products and services.”

Cummins Inc., a global power leader and a Bersin & Associates WhatWorks member since 2009, relies on Bersin & Associates’ employee engagement research-based know-how to help build its employee engagement program.

“Engagement is a top priority at Cummins, where we understand that our power is defined not only by our products, but the ideas, energy and passion of our people,” said Bruce Parkinson, Director, Employee Engagement at Cummins Inc. “Through our Bersin & Associates membership, we gained the research-based expertise that helped us formulate an employee engagement strategy with best practices in mind. We also gained the opportunity to speak with other professionals, which has been very useful as we take our engagement program to the next level.”

The Employee Engagement Buyer’s Guide describes additional key trends:

• Providers do not agree on how to define employee engagement. In fact, definitions vary dramatically, with elements including commitment, goal alignment, enjoyment, performance, and the antithesis of “burnout” – to name just a few. Buyers need to define what employee engagement means for their organization and select providers that align with that definition.
• Market innovators are integrating engagement into all HR functions. HR leaders increasingly are focused on aligning engagement efforts with business strategy, and they are also integrating engagement with HR programs and organizational operations. From recruiting to building a leadership bench to alumni relations, innovative providers are helping their clients infuse engagement into every step of the employee lifecycle.
• Global specialists are rare. As organizations expand their geographic footprint, few providers are equipped with resources around the world to handle international clients who have more than 50,000 employees.
• “Big Data” and analytics are on the rise. While most of the engagement providers reviewed in this report offer some way to measure the relationship between engagement and organizational performance, only a few have moved into a new frontier – HR analytics. Since HR analytics enables organizations to optimize workforce performance and fuels continual improvement efforts, buyers should consider their requirements in this area carefully.

The new Employee Engagement Buyer’s Guide also provides tips for navigating the rapidly-changing, fast-growing market. For example, it recommends that organizations conduct an annual review of the engagement program and results with their solution provider, and provides tools for conducting such an assessment.

The guide includes profiles of 11 selected employee engagement providers that have notable market share, brand recognition or compelling innovations. Each profile reflects responses to in-depth questions and summarizes the provider’s products and/or services, history, tools and approach. Companies profiled include BlessingWhite, CEB Valtera, Development Dimensions International (DDI), eePulse, Infosurv, Kenexa, OrgVitality, Questar Data Systems, Sirota Survey Intelligence, Spring International, and Towers Watson.

To learn more about Bersin & Associates membership and to download a complimentary WhatWorks Market Brief on this research, go to http://marketing.bersin.com/engagement-report.html

The full report is available today: $995 for a PDF and $1145 for a print copy. For more details, go to: http://www.bersin.com/engagement-market-review

Bersin & Associates research members already can access regularly-updated detailed background and product information on more than 300 solution providers in all areas of HR and talent management in the Bersin online Solution Provider Library.

Those interested in learning more about Bersin & Associates and its WhatWorks membership may email info@bersin.com or call (510) 251-4400.

For media queries, email laura.evenson@bersin.com or call (510) 251-4406.

About Bersin & Associates

Bersin & Associates is an award-winning provider of proven people strategies that leaders and their organizations need to deliver exceptional business performance. Our WhatWorks research membership gives Fortune 1000 and Global 2000 HR professionals the research-based information and tools they need to drive bottom-line impact for their organizations.

Members use our insights and tools to design and implement best practice solutions, benchmark against others, and select and implement systems. A piece of Bersin & Associates research is downloaded every minute during the business day. More than 5,000 organizations worldwide use our research and consulting to guide their HR, talent and learning strategies.

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