After years of declining employee engagement levels around the world, a new analysis released by Aon Hewitt, the global human resource solutions business of Aon plc, showed a positive global shift in employee engagement—or emotional and intellectual involvement in the workplace.

Aon Hewitt's 2012 Global Engagement report, which analyzed employee engagement trends of more than 3,100 organizations representing 9.7 million employees worldwide, found that 58 percent of employees were engaged in 2011, up from 56 percent from 2010.

Improvements in employee perception scores occurred in three key areas in 2011:

1. Effective leadership at the business unit/division level was 61 percent, up from 54 percent in 2010
2. People/HR practices creating a positive work environment was 53 percent, up from 47 percent in 2010
3. Perceiving relationships with customers as rewarding was 75 percent, up from 70 percent in 2010.

The analysis also showed a decline in three key perception scores in 2011:

1. Effective communication was 42 percent, down from 46 percent in 2010
2. Innovation was 52 percent, down from 55 percent in 2010
3. Workplace safety and security was 75 percent, down from 78 percent in 2010.

Organizations are likely to receive the highest return on investment in employee engagement if they improve the following drivers:

• Career opportunities: For the fourth consecutive year, career opportunities remained the top driver to positively impact overall engagement levels
• Recognition: Recognition has a higher impact for employees in Asia Pacific and Latin America than in other regions
• Organizational reputation: European and North American employees are more concerned about their company's reputation and what it stands for in the market versus recognition
• Communication: Effective and engaging communication resonates with the employee in rationally, emotionally and behaviorally relevant ways.

To download the report, go to: http://www.Aon.com/globalengagement.