How Does Riyadh Compare When It Comes To Employee Engagement?

As an HR leader of a team based in Riyadh, you may wonder how engagement levels among employees in Riyadh compare to other major cities in Saudi Arabia. In this article, we share the findings of the employee engagement in Saudi Arabia and highlight in particular how employee engagement levels compare across  the capital, Riyadh and other major cities in the Kingdom, including Jeddah and the Eastern Province. 

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The key findings show that in general, employees in Riyadh, have a lower than average engagement score of 7.2 on a scale of 1-10 (1 being extremely dissatisfied and 10 extremely satisfied); this is the lowest score across the major cities in the Kingdom.

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Comparing Riyadh to Jeddah and the Eastern Province

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Let’s take a deep dive into the segments that have the biggest engagement gap between the 3 major cities and break down the scores in each. While we may not have definitive insight into the reason why employees in Riyadh score engagement lower, we call upon HR leaders in the capital to prioritize their employees' engagement and look into their own organizations to help bridge the gap between the cities.

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Work autonomy and independence 

Riyadh: 7.1

Jeddah: 7.6

Eastern Province: 7.7

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Work autonomy entails a culture that empowers employees to work in a way that suits them and one that enables employees to be successful at what they do and to take full responsibility. To read more about work autonomy in the Kingdom - click here.

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Trust in corporate leadership 

Riyadh: 7.3

Jeddah: 7.9

Eastern Province: 7.8

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Poor leadership communication is often the biggest reason for lack of trust within organizations. Without trust in leadership, the organization as a whole will suffer.

Trust is a powerful force that builds loyalty, increases credibility and supports effective communications. It gives employees the benefit of the doubt in situations where they want to be heard, understood and believed.

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Attention to employee wellbeing

Riyadh: 6.2

Jeddah: 7.0

Eastern Province: 7.0

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Many workers are struggling to cope with the increasing insecurity of the modern workplace. For tips on how to increase employee wellbeing in your organization - click here. 

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Regular feedback 

Riyadh: 6.9

Jeddah: 7.6

Eastern Province: 7.1

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Recognition 

Riyadh: 7.3

Jeddah: 7.8

Eastern Province: 7.7

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Feedback and recognition fall into the same engagement pillar of ‘being valued’. When employees feel they are being recognized and appreciated and when they receive regular and effective feedback, they will be significantly more engaged in their work. For more information on these two segments - click here. 

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How can organizations increase engagement scores in Riyadh?

We highlighted in this article some of the key engagement attributes that drive low engagement among employees in the Capital. We share in this section pointers for HR leaders to start the dialogue to put plans in action to drive increase the level of engagement among their teams in Riyadh.

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Employees Wellness

• Listen to what your employees need and use their feedback to evolve
• Allow employees to have more control over their work schedule.

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Recognition and Feedback

• Implement regular one-to-one meetings between managers and the team.
• Work with the managers and train them to increase their level of comfort to publicly recognize their employees.

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Alignment of Leadership and the Organization

• Open up workspaces so it’s easier for junior staff to interact with seniors.
• Communicate the company’s vision and goals to employees so they understand how their work contributes to the company’s success.

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Next steps 

We highlighted in this article the average engagement scores across different segments in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, it’s vital that as an HR leader, you take initiative to assess and survey employee engagement drivers among your employees and create plans of actions tailored to your organization.

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The Engagesoft team will be happy to give you a demo of how you can leverage Engagesoft to survey your employees, and gain access to a rich set of dashboards and reports to identify the best plan of action to drive higher employee engagement in your organization.