During a session at the CMAA World Conference on Club Management, Jodie Cunningham, HR Specialist with KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE, clarified a common misconception about employee engagement. Engagement, she explained, is not about workplace perks or surface-level happiness. Cunningham defined engagement as “the willingness and ability to contribute to company success.” She says engagement reflects how connected employees are to the club mission, vision and purpose.

That connection matters because when employees are engaged, clubs see higher productivity, stronger member satisfaction, lower turnover and improved financial performance. But the club industry has room for improvement. According to Club Benchmarking research, only 48% of club employees are actively engaged.

One of the most effective ways to measure employee engagement is through employee surveys. Attendees of this session were polled about their employee survey practices. Ninety-eight out of 176 attendees reported conducting an annual employee survey. While that is a high percentage, Cunningham says it’s what you do with the data after it is collected that matters most. When feedback isn’t acted upon, employees quickly lose confidence in the process and are less likely to participate in future surveys. Fifty-eight of the 98 respondents who conduct annual employee surveys said they communicate survey results but then do not use the data to take meaningful action.

One of the best ways to increase employee engagement is to focus on leadership behavior. A consistent finding across countries and industries is employees are more likely to be engaged when their managers are engaged.

Conducting employee surveys is important and necessary, and it requires leaders to be open to honest feedback. Cunningham warned, “You are probably going to get feedback that makes you feel uncomfortable, but that is how we learn and grow.”

Notable – April 2026

Jodie J. Cunningham, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is a HR/Talent Strategist, Consultant and Search Executive with KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE. She can be reached via email: jodie@kkandw.com.