Validating a scale measuring engagement in a South African context

Abstract

Employee engagement is at the top of management agendas because it is associated with a range of benefits. A number of instruments are available to measure engagement. However, the validity of widely used instruments measuring engagement was found to be less than optimal. Consequently the authors set out to validate a scale measuring engagement concurrently at the individual and organisational levels in a diverse, multicultural (South African) context, reported here. Study 1 collected survey data from employees, reflecting the profile of typical South African employees, in one company using a web-based questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine the factorial structure and Cronbach’s alpha was used to establish the internal reliability of the scale and its subscales. The internal reliability and construct validity were confirmed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in study 2. The statistical analyses showed that employee engagement, a distinct construct, consists of six factors representing the different hierarchical levels of the organisation. Originality/value of this paper includes that it is one of the first studies to validate a scale measuring engagement concurrently at the individual and organisational levels in a diverse, multi-cultural context, building on existing research, thus advancing understanding of the construct.