Making the case for engagement

The first step for any organisation on the path to greater employee engagement is for management to recognise the need for it. This often has to start at the top. The business benefits of engagement are clear, from productivity and innovation, to reduced absenteeism and industrial action, better recruitment and retention to greater wellbeing. The IPA has collected a wealth of evidence on all these topics, which you can find in our research publications section, or in our collection of case studies, which can be valuable in helping you make the case internally for the importance of a greater focus on engagement.

However, organisational change is often difficult, no more so then when trying to change the culture of an entire organisation from top to bottom and move to a high-engagement style of working. Middle managers in particular, can often be afraid to 'let go' of the top-down, command and control approach to management, and replace it with the high involvement, high autonomy style of management needed for engagement to flourish. Without this crucial buy-in from managers themselves across the organisation, transformation of culture will not be possible.

The IPA can help in several ways. Our Director, Nita Clarke OBE, can deliver a personal speech to your organisation, either senior leadership, all management team, or the entire workforce, through which she will make a powerful case for greater employee engagement. See our speakers page for more details. We also offer in-depth diagnostic work, to help your organisation understand where specific, targeted improvements could be made to your working practices. The information about engagement on this page can also help you in putting together your own internal presentations on the subject. Finally the IPA offers a range of training packages to help managers at all levels transition their organisations to higher engagement working.

Latest

Global Equality and Diversity Annual Online Conference and Awards

What will the world look like as we come out of the COVID19 crisis? - The danger is that it will be a lot less equal. We know that minorities are over-represented in lower paid roles and in the hardest hit sectors. Gender pay reporting has been suspended for a year and race disparity reporting is not yet statutory. Which organisations will be able to look themselves in the mirror at the end of 2020 and say they behaved inclusively and with fairness and equality in the face of a crisis?
Does the IPA have a role Post Covid 19? Reflections from a former Director

Bryan Stevens, Director of the IPA in the 1990s, sets out his reflections on how the world of work has changed over the two decades since his retirement. He looks at how the IPA's purpose remains relevant today compared with the 1990s, how it may be shaped by the current COVID crisis and what role the IPA can play into the future.
Employment and rewards after the pandemic: investment or austerity, compassion or carnage?

Dr Duncan Brown writes about the revelations of poor employment practices in the Leicester garment industry, which are thought to have contributed to the spread of coronavirus in the city, and what lessons we can learn from this episode. He points to the importance of protections for casual workers and the need to continue to push the Good Work agenda started by Matthew Taylor forwards rather than see a return to the pre-COVID orthodoxy.
Confirmation bias and consultation

Jasmine Gartner discusses the problem that confirmation bias can pose for both managers and reps during workforce consultation, if both sides go into a consultation with preconceived assumptions about the beliefs and intentions of the other side. She points out the importance of ensuring the focus of consultation remains on the strategic narrative and the use of key questions to ask during consultation in order to challenge these biases.

Employee voice

Employee voice exists, whether you recognise it or not. The only question is – "are you listening?" The benefits of employee voice for organisations are explained and alternative forms of voice structures explored in this article, which also includes a look at what makes a system of employee voice effective.
Who are IPA?

The IPA is the UK's leading organisation delivering new ways of working based on employee participation, collaboration and trust.
Nita Clarke OBE

IPA Director
Working Well: Perspectives on Good Work and why it matters

To coincide with the government's response to the Taylor Review, the IPA have produced a report which draws together 16 expert perspectives on what Good Work means in modern Britain, why it is important and how to bring it about.
Employee engagement

This training programme focuses around how to use the four key enablers of employee engagement - a strong strategic narrative, engaging managers, employee voice and integrity - to move from a purely transactional approach to engagement to a genuinely transformational one.
Overview of services

Every workplace is different, so every project we undertake is individually developed by our professional and experienced team, and delivered based on the needs and circumstances of the client.
Engagement

Employee 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. Find out more about what engagement is, the four enablers of engagement, the work of Engage for Success and what the IPA can do to help your organisation boost the engagement of its employees.
Mind over Machines: New technology and employment relations

This report examines the relationship between the introduction of new technology into the workplace and employee wellbeing, autonomy, voice and engagement. IPA for Acas, 2017.
Working Well: preview of IPA publication on good work

On 8th February, IPA will be launching our report on Good Work, to coincide with the government's response to the Taylor Review. This publication draws together 16 expert perspectives on what good work means, why it matters and how to bring it about.
The real impact of the EU on UK employment law

The UK is set to have a referendum on 23 June on whether or not to remain a member of the European Union. In this article, Rachel Suff, Public Policy Advisor at CIPD discusses how ‘the world of work might be affected’ if the UK voted not to remain in the EU. She highlights that a large part of the UK employment law is derived from the EU and that a vote to leave the EU could allow the review or repeal of legislation that came out of EU directives.