Staff Engagement

Today we are going to cover….. Who are you? What is staff engagement? Why do it? What makes a healthy organisation? How to engage with staff?

What is staff engagement? David McLeod & Nina Clarke ‘Engaging for Success’ Some views: ‘HR is fundamental but HR strategies alone won’t deliver’ ‘Staff engagement is when the business values the staff and the staff values the business’ ‘Engagement matters because people matter – they are your only competitive edge. It is people and not machines that will make the difference’.

Definitions “Engagement is about creating opportunities for staff to connect with their colleagues, managers and wider organisation. It is also about creating an environment where staff are motivated to want to connect with their work and really care about doing a good job…It is a concept that places flexibility, change and continuous improvement at the heart of what it means to be a member of staff and an employer in a twenty-first century workplace.” (Professor Katie Truss)

Definitions “A positive attitude held by the staff towards the organisation and its values. An engaged staff 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 staff and employer.” (Institute of Employment Studies)

Definitions “You sort of smell it, don’t you, that engagement of people as people. What goes on in meetings, how people talk to each other. You get the sense of energy, engagement, commitment, belief in what the organisation stands for,” is how Lord Currie, former Chair of the Office of Communications (Ofcom)

Your definition Ask much more than you tell I disagree, but I will support you Do it, own it, improve it Engagement is your choice and responsibility Shut your mouth, open your ears

Six words Exercise: Using 6 words write your definition of what staff engagement means to you

Why do it? Engaged staff are: More productive Less prone to absenteeism Better with customers, service users Less likely to leave Responsible for improved quality of service

Benefits Research shows that engaged staff are: 12% more productive 12% more profitable 27% less prone to absenteeism 12% better at engaging with customers, service users

Benefits 51% less likely to be a source of theft 62% less likely to be involved in job accidents 51% less likely to leave (low turnover organisations) 31% less likely to leave (high turnover organisations) (Gallup research in Human Sigma)

Disengaged Staff Undermine the effectiveness of new policies and initiatives (actively or passively) Will react negatively to financial pressures (consent and evade) Will leave as soon as they can Will not act as advocates May even join outside protests

Effective Engagement “The Civil Service faces unprecedented challenges tackling complex policy issues every day. In order to meet these challenges we must harness the talents of all our staff to the full. Our staff engagement programme enables us to do this by understanding and improving civil servants’ experience of work, helping to ensure that they have access to the opportunities they need to achieve success in their roles. This, in turn, supports our drive to deliver improved public services and better outcomes for citizens.” Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service.

Effective Engagement Effective engagement IS effective engagement whoever you are engaging with

The National Principles for Public Engagement Organisations that want to effectively engage with the public and their service users need to engage effectively with staff Your staff are your greatest asset in public engagement The Principles for Public Engagement can be applied to staff engagement

Effective Staff Engagement Key enablers: 1.Strategic narrative 2.Enabling managers 3.Staff Voice 4.Integrity

3. Staff Voice There is an informed staff voice throughout the organisation, for reinforcing and challenging views; between functions & externally; staff are seen as part of the solution – not the problem.

4. Integrity The Values on the wall are reflected in day to day behaviours

Your organisation What shape are you in?

Engaging questions In pairs discuss these questions and be prepared to feedback some of your thoughts When it comes to your organisation what are the stories that come to staff’s minds? How are voices of members of staff heard in your organisation? What one new thing could you choose to do continuously that would foster better staff engagement?

A healthy organisation 1.Clear purpose (the BIG idea) that all staff can relate to 2.Atmosphere of confidence where people are interested in each other 3.Staff who respect each other and work well together 4.Staff ‘go the extra mile’ 5.Opportunities for personal growth 6.Personally driven staff

Engaging Leaders CEO’s: Chief Engagement Officers Look at the attributes of an effective engaging leader and ask yourselves the question on a score of 1 (Low) – 10 (high) how effective am I as a leader or manager

Tools and Techniques Engagement is a process and NOT an event It needs to be part of everyone’s job There are tools to enable engagement to happen but remember ‘No one ever got a pig fat by weighing it!’

Tools and Techniques Ways to gauge engagement…. Satisfaction surveys Forums Focus groups Annual conference Regular meetings Updates Exit surveys Temperature check surveys Suggestion schemes Union partnership agreements

3 key elements Attitude OutcomeBehaviour

3 key elements An attitude: An employee feeling a sense of pride and loyalty in the place they work A behaviour: be a great advocate of their organisation to clients / service users, or go the extra mile to finish a piece of work An outcome: lower accident rates, higher productivity, fewer conflicts, more innovation, lower numbers leaving and reduced sickness rates