Meet Julie Gebauer: Co-Author of Closing the Engagement Gap
Julie Gebauer is the managing director of Tower Perrin's organizational research and workforce effectiveness practices. She is the co-author of Closing the Engagement Gap along with Don Lowman
Don Lowman is a member of the firm's executive council and board of directors, and is managing director of strategic growth.
Towers Perrin, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is a global professional services firm that has more than 6,000 employees and serves about 700 of the Fortune 1000 companies.
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When people are truly engaged in their work they give more "discretionary effort" and make a huge difference to their company. They ask, "What's
in it for us?" instead of "What's in it for me?" Yet an engaged workforce is as rare as it is valuable. A groundbreaking global study, led by Julie Gebauer and Don Lowman of Towers Perrin, shows that most people are not engaged and don't contribute as much value as they could. Not because they're inherently lazy or apathetic, but because their companies and managers don't know how to draw out the best from them. For instance, while pay and benefits are critical in attracting talent to a company, they have little effect on engagement. Instead, there are five proven ways to engage employees, including:
• Grow them by helping them develop skills and Knowledge
• Involve them by asking for input and delegating Authority
• Reward them with recognition and advancement Opportunities
Using real world examples, the authors show that consistently better engagement really is possible and can deliver a huge impact to the bottom line.
