In this report, we will describe what the research and practitioner communities have learned about employee engagement over the last three decades.

On the research side, a review of the academic literature reveals a large volume of methodologically sound papers. What we lack is a summary of the most definitive discoveries. The practitioner community has produced a similarly large number of “white papers.” However, the majority of these lack methodological rigor and objectivity, raising concerns about the credibility of their conclusions.

Our aim in this report is to summarize all available research from both the academic and practitioner communities so that organizations can build their engagement efforts on the foundation of the best possible intelligence.