Are Companies Familiar With Employee Engagement And The Benefits It Can Bring When Introduced Correctly?

As is the case with almost all new concepts in the human resources function the proving ground tends to be the large global businesses that are happy to fund external research programmes or to test theories within their own workforces if the scope of the sample number of workers being surveyed will be big enough to give credence to the data obtained. The risk and reward scenario is patently more pertinent at that level of business as even a 0.01% cost saving or efficiency improvement across a multi-billion pound turnover will add millions to the bottom line at the end of the year. While the major goal for those businesses is to raise their own efficiency and profit margins they are also providing smaller businesses with proof that a particular concept genuinely works and it might be worth trying to implement it at their level.

Employee Engagement is involved with providing the best possible conditions that will permit workers to work as effectively as possible for the firm. Providing the proper equipment for workers to do their jobs has always been a standard requirement whether it is the latest communication technology for an Internet Business whose workers mainly Work From Home doing Online Jobs or the best wheelbarrow for a labourer on a building site. Employee engagement takes this a step further and encompasses every aspect of the worker’s contact with the business. Various surveys have pinpointed the areas which workers will appreciate when they assess their relationship with their employer and which will generate positive employee engagement. These include

• having the opportunity to propose ideas for improving the business and being assured that they will be considered seriously
• being made aware of events within the firm as a whole and not operating in isolation
• being involved in the decision-making process on topics which will affect them
• having the option to develop both their position and themselves within the company structure
• feeling that the firm is sincerely concerned for their safety and general well being
• knowing that their line manager and senior executives are committed to the firm.

In order to consider the possible application of employee engagement techniques within any firm then the existing attitude of workers needs to be established. A survey ought to be carried out which would encompass all elements of the employee’s work including pay, working hours, benefits, environment, management methods, opportunities for further training, promotion prospects and their overall work-life balance. While every individual company’s results will vary, some guidance can be taken from the Chartered Institute of Personnel And Development (CIPD) who commissioned a national survey which discovered that:

• over a third of workers feel engaged with their firm
• more women than men do so
• about 25 per cent of under-35s and two-fifths of over-35s feel engaged
• about half of managers feel engaged with their firm , but less than thirty three per cent of non-managers.

Once a business has confirmed its current position it will be aware of the size of the task it faces to achieve an engaged workforce and benefit from raised performance levels, lower staff turnover with welcome cost savings and a more harmonious working relationship. The concept is more involved with creating a psychological bond with the workers that goes beyond the more tangible issues such as pay and conditions, although these are also crucial. There will be many difficulties to be overcome in many businesses. For example, how does a firm engage those who Work From Home? It is possible, as the CIPD survey pointed out that workers on flexible working contracts are more likely to feel engaged, to speak positively about their employer and to feel more satisfied with their work than those on non-flexible contracts. They are also less likely to move on from their roles which saves the company recruitment and re-training costs and makes sure that it retains a motivated, experienced and skilled employee. Also, the large firms mentioned earlier will carry out a lot of Internet Business and those workers doing Online Jobs in those firms will have formed part of successful employee engagement programmes.