31st March 2010
This month the MacLeod Review launched a range of tools and advice for businesses to help them to engage their staff. Nita Clarke discusses the launch and how it can help your workplace
As
David and I went round the country researching our report Engaging for Success,
we were often told by employers and managers: 'I get engagement - so what do I
do on Monday.'
The
report itself, published last year, didn't set out to provide that kind of
practical support or guidance, but rather to find out what evidence there was
that engagement mattered. But one of our key recommendations to
government in the report was that a set of tools and techniques should be made
freely and nationally available, so that small and medium size organisations
without access to big HR or communications departments, in particular, could be
supported on the engagement journey. We know that in the coming months and
years these small and medium size businesses will be the ones driving job
creation, innovation and exports to help us recover from the recession.
Equipping them with the tools to engage their workforce is more important than
ever.
Working
with the large group of 'gurus' and practitioners established around the
report, and with the agency Fishburn Hedges, we developed a suite of practical
advice and guidance around the four key 'enablers' of engagement identified in
the report. These tools are now available free on the BIS Business Link
website.
Each
of the enablers - a strategic narrative giving every employee a line of sight
between their job and the objectives and direction of the organisation;
engaging managers who appreciate, coach and stretch; employee voice permeating
the organisation; and integrity so that values and behaviours match- is
explained, case studies are given, as well as filmed interviews, and a series
of practical 'how to' tools and templates. If visitors still aren’t sure
about engagement, they can watch business leaders such as Justin King of
Sainsbury, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell, CBI head Richard Lambert and
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber sharing their thoughts on the subject.
This
isn’t just warm words, there are real tools that businesses can start using
straight away. The section on developing employee voice, for example, has
sample employee surveys, guides for running employee focus groups, and holding
business update meetings.
The
site has already had a large number of hits - confirming that there is a huge
appetite for better employee engagement among UK businesses and organisations, as
surveys increasingly show. Hopefully, one of the barriers that David and I
identified - that people found it difficult to know where to start - is now
being addressed. But this is just the beginning. We’ve gathered tips and tools
from those with experience of engaging their workforces, but we want businesses
throughout the UK
to add their knowledge and experience of what works and share the resources
with colleagues and contacts.
Access the new tools and advice at www.businesslink.gov.uk/employeeengagement
To see Nita Clarke explaining
the four enablers of employee engagement visit http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=CAMPAIGN&itemId=1084756981&r.s=e&r.lc=en&r.i=1083721380&r.t=CAMPAIGN
Nita Clarke is director of the IPA
