Measured by Aegon's Global Employee Engagement Survey, employee engagement is the degree to which Aegon's 28,000 employees feel committed to the company. It reflects an increase in company pride, and the willingness to recommend Aegon as an employer.
Employee enablement is the extent to which employees feel able to carry out our work. This year, Aegon's employee enablement score was three points above the High Performing norm.
Combined, these two dimensions can be used as a measure of employee effectiveness. A clear link has been made between organizations that perform well in these areas and organizations with sustained positive financial performance .
Aegon's Global Employee Engagement Survey also measures areas such as confidence in leadership , clarity about the company's strategy and personal development. When Aegon launched the survey, it made a clear decision to prioritize action on a number of areas that closely support Aegon's strategic priorities .
Top company
In an interview last year with Ben Hubbard, Director Europe of the Employee Research Division, for Hay Group Insight - the company behind this independent survey - he predicted that Aegon was on the right track, "The results of the Aegon's employee surveys, show it is clearly taking the right actions to become a stronger business and empower its people. If it continues with the same degree of focus and energy, I would hope to see it in the zone of the top companies in the near future."
Aegon is a place where people have the opportunity to perform at their best.
He also praised Aegon's continuous improvement in employee empowerment, "We see improvements in giving people feedback and the levels of trust people have in their line managers. In many aspects Aegon has created a positive work environment that compares well to the very best companies.
"Employees are telling us that Aegon is a place where people have the opportunity to perform at their best and where they are treated with respect. You have a people-focused as opposed to 'ruthless' culture. Those are great hallmarks."
Carla Mahieu, Global Head of HR at Aegon recognizes that it's a process of continuous improvement. "We continue to improve on nearly every measurement, but there are areas we still need to address in order to reach the high-performing norm," she says, citing employees' understanding of Aegon's global strategy as an example.
With the financial services industry changing rapidly, Aegon's 2015 employee survey will continue to evolve, to measure strategically relevant topics, such as collaboration and innovation.
