PROVO, Utah, July 26, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bad times don't have to mean bad employee attitudes, according to a new study. Despite sluggish business conditions, satisfaction among 100,000 employees at a major U.S. company jumped four points over a year ago reaching its highest level since surveying began in the mid-nineties, according to BT.Novations, an HR consulting unit of Provant, Inc.
"A satisfaction increase of four percent is unprecedented for this population," said BT.Novations Managing Director Joe Folkman. "Management's efforts to improve satisfaction were consistent with previous survey periods in which either no change or a one percent increase was achieved. So in analyzing the results we concluded that employee satisfaction rose not despite, but because of the bad economy. Suddenly, amid so many layoffs and dot.com collapses, employees began to think 'this isn't a bad place to work after all.'"
In fact, this major employer makes strenuous efforts to build satisfaction and productivity, Folkman explained. "Such efforts certainly pay off, but only gradually. What's happened is that the company's character as a stable employer became more of a positive than it was a year ago when the economy was booming."
Nevertheless, for many companies bad times do in fact mean bad attitudes, observed Folkman. "Another company that was surveyed showed a clear correlation between stock price and company morale. It's a high-tech outfit that promised riches to its workers, so their disappointment and dissatisfaction aren't hard to understand."
According to Folkman, the lesson for senior management is to focus employees on the job, doing it well and contributing to the company's success. "Unrealistic promises, tied to a fickle stock market, can backfire...as they are now in so many cases."
In addition, suggested Folkman, HR professionals need to be more aware of external factors and how they affect employee satisfaction and performance. "We're finding that economic issues as well as perceptions of how employees at other companies are doing play a role in shaping attitudes, probably more than we realized."
BT.Novations has gathered and analyzed data since 1995 from more than 100,000 employees at the company in question. Employees remained anonymous. For purposes of the research, satisfaction was based on a composite of 12 separate survey items.
BT.Novations is a unit of Boston-based Provant, Inc., a leading provider of performance improvement training services and products. With headquarters in Provo and Memphis, BT.Novations provides companies nationwide with a full range of HR consulting services, from employee selection and retention to development and contribution. More information on the firm may be found at www.bt.novations.com.
-0-
CONTACT: BT.Novations
Joe Folkman Ph.D., Managing Director
(801) 354-7544
Phil Ryan
(212) 206-0033