Low Employee Engagement Score Among Fresh Graduates in Saudi Arabia

Our recent employee engagement survey by Engagesoft has provided valuable insight on fresh graduates in the Saudi Arabian job market. The key finding shows that fresh graduate employees in Saudi Arabia have scored their overall engagement a score of 7.1 on a scale of 1-10 (1 being extremely dissatisfied and 10 extremely satisfied), this is the lowest score across all career levels, according to the survey results.

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This suggests that HR Leaders in Saudi Arabia need to prioritize the fresh graduate employee segment in order to achieve higher levels of employee engagement. We’re highlighting some of the key findings from our survey and also addressing the main drivers where fresh graduates have scored the lowest and how their scores affect the overall engagement scores within an organization.

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Why do fresh graduate employees have low engagement scores?

As we continue to explore the state of employee engagement in Saudi Arabia, it is important to understand the drivers that affect fresh graduates employee engagement and their impact. As part of our survey, we have discovered that there are 5 drivers that have scored the lowest with fresh graduates:

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Regular Feedback

Score: 6.3 out of 10

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Having just joined the workforce after graduating from university, it’s understandable how fresh graduates need regular feedback from their managers to get a clearer picture on the quality of their work. They need proper guidance and direction from managers and veteran employees to help them ease into the organization. 

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With ‘Regular Feedback’ scoring the lowest (6.3 out of 10) compared to all drivers, this highlights the need for an interference from your HR team to ensure fresh graduates have a smoother transition from academic to professional life. 

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Organizational Attention to Employee's Wellbeing

Score: 6.4 out of 10

Fresh graduates are possibly the most vulnerable category within your organization and need the most mental health support as they are getting used to a new lifestyle. Scoring 6.4 out of 10 shows the need for employers in Saudi Arabia to focus on their employee’s wellbeing in general but specifically with their fresh graduates. For more information on how you could support mental health and wellbeing within the workforce - read our recent article here. 

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Workload and Stress

Score: 6.5 out of 10

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Fresh graduates are typically expected to work long hours with relatively little pay affecting their workload and stress levels immensely. In many cases, fresh graduates are given menial tasks or asked to follow orders without being consulted or encouraged to participate in decisions about how things should be done. 

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Recognition by Immediate Manager 

Score: 6.7 out of 10

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With a low score of 6.7, the lack of recognition makes fresh graduates feel that they are not being taken seriously by their managers and is hence negatively affecting their engagement scores. Your HR team could speak to managers directly and train them on how to deal with fresh graduates to help increase their engagement levels. 

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Career Growth 

Score: 6.8 out of 10

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When it comes to career growth within an organization, fresh graduates also seem less optimistic than older workers with more experience, scoring it a 6.8. Clear communication from senior managers in regards to the hierarchy within the organization and what new hires need to achieve in order to progress can help tackle this problem head on. 

For reference, the following chart shows a comparison of how fresh graduates and managers scored the five drivers mentioned above. The chart shows a clear level of disengagement among fresh graduates, especially as far as those five drivers are concerned.

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How to Engage Fresh Graduates

We find that the areas mentioned above (where fresh graduates expressed their disengagement), can be addressed by taking action with regards to: communication, on-boarding, setting realistic expectations, and training and coaching.

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The lack of communication between managers and recent graduates contributes to low engagement scores among fresh graduates. Managers almost consistently fail to allocate the needed time to work closely and communicate sufficiently with their junior hires; they don’t share enough feedback with them and they don’t acknowledge and recognize their achievements. HR managers have an important role to play in training line managers on how to communicate effectively and regularly with their junior hires.

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Some fresh graduate hires may have unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve in their first job and how fast they can grow. For example, they may think that they will be promoted within a short period of time or that they can make a huge difference to the company’s success. Organizations should work with their fresh graduate hires to calibrate their expectations while enabling them to maintain their ambition and energy.

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The first few months after fresh graduates join the organization (most likely their first job) have a direct impact on their engagement. An inclusive onboarding experience, clear communication from management on training and tasks as well as giving them a voice and platform for them to share their ideas and feel seen is crucial to help improve their engagement levels across the country. 

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Finally, companies often don’t invest enough time in training their new recruits properly or provide them with challenging assignments that can help them grow professionally or improve their skill set. HR managers should work to ensure that fresh graduates have comprehensive and well-aligned training programs that enable these new hires to bring their best to their jobs.

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Next Steps

This article highlighted the general numbers in Saudi Arabia when it comes to fresh graduate employees and their engagement scores across different engagement drivers. However, it’s vital that HR leaders take initiative to assess and survey employee engagement drivers among their employees and create plans of actions tailored to their organization. 

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.

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