Total Employee Engagement

Our ability to address the global epidemic of chronic disease depends on our ability to attract and maintain the best talent and to help them reach their full potential. Medtronic’s greatest strength lies in the quality and integrity of our employees and the passion they share for saving and enhancing the lives of others, so we continually strive to provide a positive work environment that encourages collaboration and innovation and helps employees grow in their careers.

Research (see box below) confirms that organizations with high levels of employee engagement deliver better business performance. An engaged workforce increases productivity, customer satisfaction, retention, and financial return.

Employee Engagement Business Performance Statistics

Organizations with highly engaged employees achieve twice the annual net income of organizations whose employees lag on engagement. ("Engaging the Employee," A Kenexa Research Institute WorkTrends Report, 2008)

Organizations with high levels of employee engagement have 2.6 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with lower engagement in the same industry. (Gallup)

Over a period of 36 months, companies with a highly engaged employee population performed significantly better financially (a 5.75% difference in operating margins and a 3.44% difference in net profit margins) than companies with low-engagement workplaces. (Towers Watson)

Highly engaged employees miss 20 percent fewer days of work and are almost 80 percent more likely to be top performers. (Watson Wyatt)

To achieve the full benefits of employee engagement, Medtronic recently launched eMpower, a three-year global initiative driven by managers and Human Resources personnel.

eMpower focuses on three key drivers of employee engagement: fostering participation, recognizing performance, and maximizing employee potential. The program provides Medtronic managers and Human Resources staff with tools that address each focus area. An internal web site will also allow them to share best practices and leverage ideas across the enterprise.

We also actively engage employees in citizenship activities, ranging from facility-level environmental challenges to increasing access to life-enhancing therapies.
In addition, we pursue the following global engagement strategies:

Medtronic conducts a global employee survey every two years to measure employee engagement and identify our strengths and areas where improvements can be made.

In fiscal year 2010, we launched several engagement-related initiatives:

Medtronic University increased employee access to development resources and tools via a virtual “Mission-inspired” global learning environment that offers online training classes by function, business unit and geography.

We rolled out Scorecards for our Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint for Change, regarding representation of women and minorities, from the VP level to the director/manager level.

Live Healthy Medtronic sponsored a 100-day Wellness Challenge. Free to all employees, the team-centered challenge offered activity goals and guidelines, weekly motivational emails, and personal online wellness tracking pages to promote fitness and weight loss.