Employee Engagement gets thumbs up from Branson

The UK’s favourite business leader Virgin chief Richard Branson has stressed the importance of employee motivation and appreciation within any business.

 In an article published on Open Forum, the businessman said that to "realise employees are the business" was one of his top five rules for succeeding as an entrepreneur.

 "The best designed business plan will come to nothing if it is not carried out by an enthusiastic and passionate staff," he stated. Another one of Branson's rules was to encourage employee motivation by always looking for something to praise in people’s performances.

He accepted that mistakes would be made but stressed the need to see them as learning experiences. Branson said that if something had clearly gone wrong, staff would be able to see it and it would not help to belabour the point too much.

The businessman initially started Virgin to be a mail order record company, but the brand now reaches into many fields, including travel, telecoms and media.