Putting people first!

We were asked to speak at a CIPD event last month on employee engagement, a topic very close to our hearts and something of which we are truly passionate about. But let’s face it, this isn’t a new area and as someone pointed out, it’s something we’ve been talking about for over a decade. Their question was “why is engagement not improving?”. Great question, and one which raised a great discussion within the group.

Some of the thoughts from the group were that business owners and leaders do not have enough time to focus on this. They are too busy and not making time. Others, that business leaders do not see the importance and are more focussed on the bottom line of the business. One HR professional shared that he felt the issue was down to HR not challenging business leaders enough. That HR are often been asked to undertake and implement changes which were not in the interest of people and that without challenging this more, the problem is magnified.

Our thoughts from what we are finding discussing this topic, is that it is a mindset shift. The key is to help businesses understand the positive impact such an investment will have on both people and the bottom line. And that is the key, thinking of engagement as an investment not a cost. With the cost of replacing talent now being equated to 12-18 months of a person’s salary, an investment into employee engagement will often be a fraction of this and is something that will positively impact on everyone.

The great news is, we have been running lots of employee engagement/colleague surveys with businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber so there are many companies that are putting people first and are keen to understand what they can do to help make their business a great place to work. And here are the outcomes they are finding from running a survey with us:-

• Encouraging open and honest communication with their teams

• Building trust and engagement by listening to what their people have to say

• Showing that the business cares about their people and wants to make a difference to them

• Highlighting what their strengths are as a company and building on these

• Identifying the gaps and creating a plan to address these

• Supporting employee wellbeing and improved mental health

• Improving overall productivity and profit by identifying what is getting in the way

So, if you would like to know more about employee engagement, why not come along to one of our events on the 1st May or 18th June or click here to read more about our approach to employee engagement.