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In troubled times - Investment in people is the key to staff engagement

In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever that organisations are able to recruit the best people as well as motivating and inspiring their people to use their skills and ability productively.

Research has suggested that on average only a third of British staff are fully engaged at work, it is clear that many organisations have a long way to go if they are to head off the damage disengagement inflicts.

This is a signal that the recruitment of top quality people and retention has become a top priority for many employers.

Good leadership

Employee engagement is directly linked not only to the organisation's brand, but also to the effectiveness of its chief executive and senior management team.

Leadership needs to be strong especially when some companies are forced to restructure or make redundancies as a result of the credit crunch. By communicating as quickly as possible - outlining the options and seeking feedback from workers - clear leadership can avoid the situation where colleagues are unclear and stressed.

Listening leadership is crucial to staff engagement, and the most successful companies appear to have learned this lesson

Retention

Often the first casualty of any economic downturn is the training and development budget. However, with skills shortages at all levels and a declining number of graduates in the talent pool, our figures show that development opportunities are a priority for staff retention rates.

Employees are no longer primarily motivated by financial rewards, in fact, pay and perks have largely been replaced by flexibility and work-life balance as key motivators.

Indicators of success

So how will you know whether you've got all this right? One clear sign will be that staff turnover will fall.

What's more, your employees will start to become advocates for your organisation and personal recommendations will increase, this can be seen as the best advertisement for the organisation.

In a nutshell, acknowledging the link between staff engagement and the bottom line is just the start. Organisations that really want to reap the benefits know that this means investing in their people, their personal development and their role within the company. Crucially, this means making the effort to find out how your employees feel about you as an employer, and then acting on that feedback.

For a confidential discussion regarding any of these issues please call Dale Perrett, Director at Novo on 01275 375588 or email dale.perrett@novoexec.com.