Employee engagement initiatives are casualties of spending cuts
David Woods, 07 September 2009
7
7 comment's on this article.The recession is leading to cuts in spending on increasing employee engagement, new research reveals.
Although 99% of CEOs and HR directors believe greater engagement leads to improved company performance, 22% have delayed their engagement surveys this year due to the economic climate.
But the poll of 150 business leaders representing one million employees in the UK by engagement survey provider ETS found 70% said they would use engagement surveys to make major changes to their business.
Commenting on the findings, ahead of the Business Leaders conference on Thursday, Betsy Travis, senior consultant at ETS, said: "The rise in indices of business confidence suggests companies will start investing in engagement activities again, which is key to re-starting growth,"
Angela Williams, group HR director of Land Securities, who will be speaking at the conference, added: "We firmly believe our people are our strongest asset and like all assets they need to be invested in to maximise performance. Engagement is a key part of that investment and can really make the difference."
Practical support for companies is also expected to be available by March 2010.
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Jane Sunley - 07 September 2009
Happy, motivated and productive people are the key to customer satisfaction, business success and growth. With many employees facing the prospect of pay freezes, cuts or even working longer discretionary hours, engagement is now more important than ever.
The key to tackling employee engagement is understanding your employees; what makes them tick; how they view the company; and what they think? Research shows good communication is essential in achieving high levels of employee engagement and retention – this doesn't have to cost a huge amount of money it is more a case of investing the time to ensure communication is effective.
Case studies have proved that employee consultation with well actioned outcomes can significantly enhance the bottom line. Because of this we have designed an employee engagement survey which employers can access for free at www.learnpurple.com. It is completely confidential and automated and can help harness employees opinions and ideas, finding out exactly what can be done to improve the working environment.
Article 10 - 08 September 2009
Employee engagement has been neglected. The importance of keeping employees up to scratch with company developments is not realised by many. If employees do not feel involved they can begin to feel unappreciated.
A well educated workforce is key to the success of a business. Therefore, focusing on effective communication delivery is something that every management team should be making a priority, particularly in the current economic climate. It is the key to improving productivity and improving services.
Communication and engagement strategies should have in place regular and effective presentations to show employees how their efforts and hard work are having an impact.
Interactive presentations can make training more effective in a time when it is more important than ever.
www.article10.com
rob fox - 08 September 2009
For practical tools and ideas that help inspire higher employee engagement and change, readers might wish to visit:
www.engagingideas.co.uk
Thank you.
Rob.
John Durrant - 09 September 2009
Do employee engagement initiatives create a genuine alliance between the values of the employee and the company, or do they merely con the employee into believing they have influence & purpose at work, when in reality they're are seen by the company as expendable foot soldiers...?
I'm sure that employee engagement initiatives implemented with genuine care for the employees needs can reap rewards for both employee & employer, but sadly I suspect that the majority of such initiatives are empty gestures...
John
rob fox - 09 September 2009
Yes John, this is a danger indeed.
The way through this is via co-creation and collaboration on engagement interventions by people themselves versus yet another corporate dictact.
After all you can't command people to be engaged. It is a question of choice, and the way through is to help people become engaged on the question of engagement and so come to self directed, and so more robust, decisions about it.
Best,
Rob
www.engagingideas.co.uk
John Durrant - 09 September 2009
I agree Rob, arguably co-creation, collaboration & agreement in every area of work is preferable to autocratic approaches to engagement.
On a slight tangent, how many employees are truly 'engaged' with their lives outside of work when slobbing out in front of the TV with a takeaway is such an attractive after work activity? Perhaps true engagement is only achievable with 'engaging' people... - Just a thought.
John
www.take15.co.uk
rob fox - 10 September 2009
John,
Maybe the disengagement people feel with work or other aspects of their life is more accurately a disengagement with their sense of self?
Best,
R.
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