If you are an HR professional and haven’t read David MacLeod and Nita Clarke’s 2009 report ‘Engaging for Success’ you are missing out on some of the most important findings in support of proactive HR.

And at least the coalition government was quick to reinstate David MacLeod to lead a new employment engagement taskforce, and to carry on where he had left off in 2009.

So, to answer the question, does employee engagement work? The answer is emphatically yes. Organisations that engage their staff are more successful. They sell more, make more profit and have happier customers. Fact. Send for our two page summary of key research findings if you need convincing.

What is engagement?

There is no one definition for employee engagement, but the Institute of Employment Studies usefully classes engagement as “A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organisation and its values. An engaged employee is aware of the business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employee and employer.”

So what do I have to do to develop engagement?

Not much, according to the research. We’d highlight five behaviours you can build on from today:

Effective communication

• Communicate what the company’s vision and values are, and the strategy in order to achieve these
• Solicit ideas, opinions and suggestions
• Create a comfortable climate for raising concerns

Valuing and showing that you value all members of staff

If you send out employee surveys, then show that you are being proactive about using the results to make a difference

Be Energetic & Enthusiastic

Always display as much energy and enthusiasm as you can – even if it’s not your ‘normal’ state. Your people will mimic your mood and behaviour – it’s called mood contagion. Of course, the same applies if you’re miserable and lethargic

Be a Beacon of Positivity

Negativity is not motivating or engaging, it is highly contagious and corrosive. Positivity is not about failing to face up to reality it’s about recognising there is always something you can do. A ‘half full’, can do attitude will be reflected back to you.

Recognise the Greatness in Others

Recognition for good work – typically a bit of well timed praise and a thank you will go a million miles. (Apart from bankers and FTSE 100 directors of course, for whom only bonuses will do).

Build bit by bit

Establish clear objectives and milestones – achieving one success makes the next one much easier.

OK, just a few of our favourite statistics....

•        Hewitt reports that companies with a greater than 10 per cent profit growth had 39 per cent more engaged employees and 45 per cent fewer disengaged employees than those with less than 10 per cent growth.

•        PricewaterhouseCoopers, who use staff and customer engagement levels as one of their four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have found a strong correlation between highly engaged staff and client satisfaction:

•        Engaged employees in the UK take an average of 2.69 sick days per year; the disengaged take 6.19. The CBI reports that sickness absence costs the UK economy £13.4bn a year.

•        Seventy per cent of engaged employees indicate they have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs; only 17 per cent of non-engaged employees say the same.

David MacLeod and Nita Clarke

‘Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement’

Advice for employers

HR Advantage can help you achieve Employee Engagement. Please call us on 01494 451681 to speak to a member of our team.