Category // Engagement
30th Jun 2008 @ 9.06am
As The Times publishes its Times Top 100 companies to work for, it comes as little surprise that the focus of this article by Sue Leonard is on the costs that can be saved by keeping your staff happy. And keeping your staff happy has as much to do with employee engagement and maintaining personal and career growth opportunities as it does paying them a good salary. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
17th Mar 2008 @ 2.49pm
Nice article in Personnel Today about Storytelling as a tool to create emotional buy-in for training and development departments. Well, we’re not exactly a ‘training company’, but they’re right in explaining why this approach is so powerful. This topic is becoming ever-more prevalent in business circles, and for good reason…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
14th Mar 2008 @ 6.39pm
Communications consultancy CHA has recently published a report which highlights some fairly worrying news about the disengagement of employees and why they don’t seem to find their work worthwhile or meaningful. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
22nd Jan 2008 @ 11.30am
My attention was recently drawn to a particular blog from the MD of Waitrose. Apart from being most entertaining, it was a great example of leadership role-modelling, not to mention an excellent tool to bring the MD closer to his employees and customers as well as providing a great platform for health and nutrition for both customers and employees alike. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
30th Nov 2007 @ 4.48pm
Great article from People Management this month on how Storytelling can be used to engage employees…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Stories, Engagement, Organisations
13th Nov 2007 @ 9.31am
While we talk about the importance of connectivity and alignment, let’s not lose sight of the use and power of stories in our work. Our proposition is to create the energy and commitment required to execute strategic change, by connecting people to the strategic journey, and storytelling is an important part of our solution. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Stories, Engagement, Organisations
26th Oct 2007 @ 1.00pm
I enjoyed Melcrum’s Strategic Communications Summit last week. Great to see some old friends, new faces and hear some excellent speakers.
One of the key themes that kept cropping up was the ongoing issue of how to get middle / front-line managers to get on board with a company’s strategy. They are the ones who hold the trust of their teams, not the senior leadership team, so engaging them successfully - to the point that they will make it their business to engage their own teams - is absolutely crucial. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
21st Aug 2007 @ 11.35am
I read with interest a recent blog by one of our Canadian partners, Nicky Fried (Strategic Connections), on the loyalty and respect given by immigrant workers. It reminded me of a client’s comment last week on their own issues regarding immigrant workers, and how often their lack of brand awareness can pose a concern of its own. Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
18th Jul 2007 @ 3.13pm
I have always disliked the term ‘human resources’. It implies that people are resources just like anything else at the company’s disposal. Yet people are the company. And whatever plans, strategies and missions may exist, it’s the people - the company - that will succeed or fail in those quests. Read more…
posted by Paul Honeywell
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
17th Jul 2007 @ 8.32am
There are so many definitions of this phrase Employee Engagement. It’s become a mini industry in itself, with a range of companies operating in this field. Web and intranet designers, event producers, pensions and benefits companies, survey companies, healthcare companies - you name it, a vast number of them view themelves as agents of employee engagement. Read more…
posted by Martin Clarkson
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
20th Apr 2007 @ 8.00am
And by the way, those words aren’t mine, guv. But I am compelled to celebrate some new research that dubs PowerPoint presentations a disaster, doing more to switch off the brain and bore people rigid than to inform, inspire and motivate them.
There’s no doubt that PowerPoint is an incredibly useful tool, used in the right proportions and in the right way. But as a spokesperson from Microsoft says, ‘there is no substitute for being a good communicator’. Indeed, successful employee engagement depends on it.
Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Misc, Engagement
12th Apr 2007 @ 8.35am
OK. We all know it. Creating true employee engagement in large organisations is no mean feat. True engagement (which doesn’t just come from a nice looking newsletter as we all know) depends on the combination and balance of many factors - leadership skills, communication, reward, development, culture and environment, line of sight, sustainability and so on….the list is a long one. Yet if an organisation gets it right - or as near to right as it can, profitability increases. I’ll say that slightly louder. PROFITABILITY INCREASES. By up to 20 per cent according to the Corporate Leadership Council. Which, unless we’re just here for the ride, is the whole point of an organisation’s existence (at least, in the private sector). Read more…
posted by Martin Clarkson
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
11th Dec 2006 @ 6.25pm
When it comes to successful cascading of information, all paths lead to leaders - how they role-model the actions and behaviours they expect from their teams, how they communicate down the line and how much interest they take in what’s going on at the coal-face. And that old chestnut ‘how to improve middle management communications’ keeps coming back time and time again.
It won’t come as a surprise to learn that people trust their line managers more than anyone else in the organisation - so, as we have said many times before, that layer of management is very powerful. But like dialogue, trust works both ways. Managers need to trust their teams too.
Think about it like a parent/child. If a parent constantly tells the child what to do, keeps the constraints tight and doesn’t allow the child to show he/she can be trusted to do the right thing, to explore the options and prove him/herself, the resulting attitude or behaviour will range from mere compliance to resentment and even rebellion.
In organisations, middle management behaviours so often reflect this ‘telling’ ethos - ‘this is what we need to do, now go away and do it’. Of course, training can be excellent for learning and development, but in some cases can itself also veer towards ‘telling’. Successful development and coaching of middle managers however is all about encouraging them to invite their teams to participate, explore, collaborate with ideas for better ways of working, share responsibility. It’s about involving them in the strategic planning (within a framework), inviting them to take the initiative, listening to their opinions, asking them for their input. This requires a different type of conversation - and it’s not a ‘telling’ kind of conversation, it’s an ‘inviting’ or ‘asking’ kind. Indeed, coaching and development needs to focus on showing managers HOW to go about having this kind of conversation. The ensuing sense of ownership and pride will be palpable, especially if it can be shared across the organisation. This approach will make a big difference to engagement.
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
10th Nov 2006 @ 8.18pm
…and to follow on from my last blog, here’s something that reinforces the issue!
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
8th Nov 2006 @ 2.01pm
Many organisations we work with see Trust as a critical factor in gaining competitive advantage. But to create a trusted organisation - if that is how you want to be perceived by your customers and external stakeholders - you have to begin with your employees.
Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement, Organisations
2nd Nov 2006 @ 10.02am
Get the organisation talking and you’ll find innovation. Innovation is what drives organisations forward. And an organisation of engaged employees is far more likely to be one that achieves innovation. What is an engaged employee? Read this…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
12th Oct 2006 @ 7.58am
We all inwardly groan when the PowerPoint turns out to be slide after slide of bullets. We all have experienced the workshops which end up with a stack of crumpled flip-chart paper filled with lists - which some poor soul has to type up and email to everyone, who don’t bother to read them.
Read more…
posted by Paul Honeywell
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filed under Engagement
18th Aug 2006 @ 8.04am
If you’re entertaining guests by letting them help with dinner preparations, make sure they know what you’re serving and where to find the pots, pans and utensils. Same thing applies to new employee induction. Give them an orientation that helps them be productive from Day One.
posted by Martin Clarkson
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filed under Engagement
4th Aug 2006 @ 10.35am
This from Engineer Live….
posted by Marcus Hayes
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filed under Engagement
4th Aug 2006 @ 9.28am
I went to see a company the other day where the head of employee engagement completely baffled me.
Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
27th Jun 2006 @ 11.41am
The latest report from ISR states clearly that engaged employees will result in improved business performance.
Read more…
posted by Paul Honeywell
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filed under Engagement
9th Jun 2006 @ 8.17am
This article on engaging a virtual workforce is interesting. We read an impressive - and increasing - amount of material from India on the subject of employee engagement. With the rapid growth that countries such as India and China are experiencing, it’s not surprising that the subject of employee engagement is taken seriously. We might take a leaf out of their book…..
posted by Marcus Hayes
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filed under Engagement
3rd May 2006 @ 9.10am
Interesting news in the media this morning about what makes people happy. Less TV, less focus on money, more socialising with friends and participating in community activities where people feel involved and that they are contributing. A particular canton in Switzerland is the happiest, apparently, where a lot of this goes on!
Read more…
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
28th Apr 2006 @ 10.06am
This from Canada. I thought it was quite a good read!
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
5th Mar 2006 @ 6.42pm
According to a new report, only a third of employees in the USA ‘walk the talk’. Interesting reading this, and good to see that storytelling is mentioned of a way to help that engagement process.
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
23rd Jan 2006 @ 5.20pm
Dan Bobinski points out the importance of allowing employees to have some input into important decisions to avoid apathy and grudging compliance. We go along wholeheartedly with this - managers need to be human, make allowances, recognise true commitment and give back accordingly when flexibility is needed if they are to get the best out of their employees.
posted by Paul Honeywell
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filed under Engagement
19th Jan 2006 @ 11.08am
What’s this? A new survey has been published which finds that two thirds of British workers feel their boss is a good leader, and three quarters say they are proud to work for their organisation.
Read more…
posted by Martin Clarkson
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filed under Engagement
17th Nov 2005 @ 10.34am
Consultants Towers Perrin have released the results of a new study which finds that a quarter of employees are actively disengaged - but much of this is down to their leaders….
posted by Alison Esse
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filed under Engagement
10th Nov 2005 @ 10.56am
Not sure about the idea of teepees in carparks , but we certainly go along with Daniel Allen’s views on employee engagement today in the Times…
posted by Marcus Hayes
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filed under Engagement
31st Oct 2005 @ 6.18pm
I read recently that the 12 Safest Companies in America all have one thing in common - a passion for safety. Question: How do you instil that passion? Answer: Employee engagement. Of course, it stands to reason that employees must be engaged when it comes to safety, but a clear message is being sent out here.
Read more…
posted by Marcus Hayes
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filed under Engagement
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