|
|
 |
Projects
Research - Current projects - Employee engagement
The critical steps to a highly engaged workforceEmployee engagement is seen by a growing number of organisations as a key issue in measuring employee attitudes, managing the behaviours of management, developing operational and human resource policies, and establishing a strong employer brand.
New project
The IPA in cooperation with engagement experts Cerus Consulting and supported by UKWON and the European Social Fund, are currently working on a programme to help organisations develop their own approach to engaging employees.
What is employee engagement?
Some commentators emphasise the similarity of employee engagement with concepts like the ‘psychological contract’ or ‘high commitment management’, which seek to understand how bundles of operational and people management practices influence individual employee’s attitudes and behaviours and improve business performance.
Others, focus on the practical surveying techniques developed to measure the key drivers of employee engagement and establish an alignment between the day to day experience of individuals and something that captures the personality of an organisation. Referred to as the ‘employment proposition’ or ‘employer brand’ the idea is that organisations need to offer the same degree of focus, care and coherence in managing the experience of employees at work as they do in managing the customer’s experience of its brand.
A further group might also compare the concept of employee engagement with more established concepts like employee involvement, consultation and partnership. This is supported by its emphasis on a two-way relationship between employees and management and commitment to mutual benefits.
Role of management
What resonates through all these interpretations is the vital role of management. Senior managers have a top level responsibility as the principal role models in the workplace, but line management also have a critical role in delivering the content of both the big picture policy agenda and implementing local practices.
Steering group
The IPA and Cerus have established a steering group to guide the design and development of a package of research and resource materials aimed at practitioners that are starting out, or looking to improve the measurement and impact of employee engagement.
Getting involved
The research phase of the project began with a survey of the current state of employee engagement within the UK economy. This was completed in December 2006 and will be followed by a series of in-depth case study examples, company visits and on-line resources.
Contact Robert Stevens to find out more about the project.
|
|