Concurrent surveys of HR managers in financial services, healthcare and manufacturing industries and workers also explored perceptions of credit for prior learning as a retention tactic

In a new survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of University of Phoenix, majorities of human resource (HR) managers across financial services, healthcare and manufacturing cite higher quality of work as a top outcome that occurs when employees are engaged at work, as well as higher levels of innovation and creativity. However, just 31% of HR managers give their company an A grade for their employee engagement—leaving the rest with room to grow, including 28% who give themselves a C or below.

“Driving employee engagement should be foundational to any growth-oriented business,” states Jay Titus, vice president and general manager, Workforce Solutions Group at University of Phoenix. “We activated this survey to take a deeper look at how employees view different engagement strategies, and the impact that those strategies can have on their retention. Opportunities for upskilling, career development planning, and formalized learning pathways were all mentioned as drivers when asked what matters most to them. It’s great insight for employers to have about today’s workforce.”

A significant majority of employees, 86%, find learning and career development programs helpful, especially upskilling opportunities or resources as well as clear paths for advancement and leadership development programs.

Employees are also ready to identify ways to improve engagement: in the concurrent employee survey, 85% cite strategies or programs they believe their company can offer to feel more engaged in their roles. Increased compensation takes the top spot (47%), while employee incentives such as bonuses and raises, childcare support or transportation reimbursement (37%) and upskilling opportunities and resources (23%) round out employees’ top three.

HR managers are quick to make the connection between keeping employees engaged and keeping employees happy, with 45% citing increased job satisfaction as a top outcome of employee engagement. Even these informed business leaders might underestimate how right they are: an overwhelming 96% of employees who feel engaged at work also report being satisfied with their job—more than triple the 26% of unengaged employees who say the same.

The survey findings underscore earlier results of the University of Phoenix’s 2024 Career Optimism Index®, which revealed a critical moment of talent stagnation with nearly two-thirds, 64%, of American workers saying their company does not offer opportunities for internal mobility.

As engagement and retention come into focus, one option employers could consider is credit for prior learning, in which organizations or institutions offer evaluations of prior work or learning experience for college credit.

A significant majority, 67%, of HR managers cite increased employee retention as a reason they would like to see their organization offer employees the opportunity to apply work experience or third-party training as credit toward a degree or certificate. Credit for prior learning enjoys considerably high favorability among employees – 69% of all employees felt that job candidates with degrees or certificates that counted their experience for credit have an advantage over candidates with the same degrees or certificates that did not count their experience for credit.

The HR manager survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of University of Phoenix among 610 US adults aged 25+ who are employed full-time at an organization with 10,000+ employees, has a title of manager/supervisor or higher, has a job function in human resources or learning and development, and works in one of the following industries: Financial Services, Health Care, or Manufacturing. Data are weighted where necessary by employee-size categories within industry to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

The employee survey was conducted online within the United States between September 17-19, 2024, among 1,195 employees (adults aged 18+ who are employed full-time or part-time). Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, and political party affiliation, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For these studies, the sample data is accurate to within ±4.1 percentage points for the HR managers and ±2.5 percentage points for the employees using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

Read the complete survey narrative report here.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

About University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions

University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions helps organizations address critical skills gaps, engage workforces, and support talent agility. Workforce Solutions provides adaptable skills solutions, including shared education savings, to enable continuous skill building and a Professional Development Skills Center to help motivate and engage employees. Backed by decades of experience in online adult learning, Workforce Solutions leverages adaptable skills solutions to help unleash the full skills potential of an organization to meet the demands of the changing workplace. This includes support and services to build a skills-centric foundation and support employee success. Learn more at phoenix.edu/workforce-solutions.

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