Behavior-Predictive Attitude Research

How the AER™ Employee Engagement Survey Works and
Why it is Your Best Choice

1. Employees have emotional reactions to workplace experiences and observations.
2. Based on these emotional feelings, employees form positive, neutral or negative attitudes about objects, positions, events and situations at work that substantially influence their behavior.
3. There exists a particular set of objects, positions, events and situations in every organization that heavily influence employee willingness of effort and engagement level over time. This set is referred to as “engagement drivers”.
4. The sum total of employee attitudes towards these drivers determines engagement level. (These drivers were originally identified by Dr. Frederick Herzberg in his “The Motivation to Work” studies and empirically certified by Dr. Robert Brown and Ken Scarlett through the surveying of millions of employees worldwide.)
5. Engagement level, as measured by AER™, statistically describes and predicts employee willingness and intensity of effort. AER™ also provides a profile of strong engagement drivers and weak drivers by group so leaders can structurally improve engagement levels over time and thereby improve business performance.
6. High positive AER™ engagement produces high effort and high return on human resource expenditures with minimum tactical oversight.
7. Negative AER™ engagement produces low or off-quality effort and negative return on human resource expenditures.

How AER™ Incrementally Measures Employee Engagement

1. AER™ measures employee attitudes towards the proven 15 drivers of engagement calculating an index for each individual driver and an overall engagement index based on the correct weighting of each driver. Each leader has a statistical, psychometrically sound AER™ engagement profile for his group that he/she can impact.
2. Each engagement driver is independently measured by an empirically validated battery of questions.
3. Engagement drivers, questions results and AER™ Engagement Indexes are compared to our exclusive Scarlett Surveys Critical Ranges based on over 15 million surveys thereby ensuring confidence of action.

How to use AER™ to Structurally Improve Employee Engagement and Improve Business Performance

1. Use AER™ on an annual basis.
2. Ensure that each leader is accountable for their group employee engagement index scores; establish as a primary performance appraisal criterion.
3. Ensure that each leader prepares written action plans, approved and monitored by their immediate supervisor. Use the Scarlett Surveys ESAP (Engagement Survey Action Planning) system for action planning.
4. Develop causal and correlation models between engagement index and driver scores to business outcomes.
5. Set a high standard for Employee Engagement and institutionally support that endeavor.
6. To speed the improvement process, use Scarlett Surveys Engagement Leadership Training (ELT) certification for each level of leadership.