Employee engagement strategies just not delivering

UK employee engagement remains low because employers are focusing on the wrong things, claim a new Training Foundation white paper which recommends three golden ‘rules of engagement’ to get things right

David Macleod, author of the far reaching and influential Macleod Report to Government on Employee Engagement welcomed the white paper: He says "Employee engagement continues to be at the top of the strategic agenda for UK employers across all sectors.

“Initiatives that increase the focus on this vital subject are to be welcomed. The Rules of Engagement white paper offers some thought-provoking insights to employers, well worth considering in the light of their current engagement strategies."  Some key messages from the white paper include: 

• The CBI has told the Government that engaging better with employees is the biggest challenge facing employers.
• Employers' engagement strategies primarily focus on work/life balance and pay and reward systems. This is making little impression on the problem because it misses the point. By far the biggest factor determining engagement is the employee's relationship with their immediate manager, reflected in the day-to-day workplace atmosphere.
• Despite this, less than 20% of managers have received awareness and skills training in engagement and how to bring out the best in their people. This should now be an urgent priority for all employers seeking to improve engagement.
• Employers are not generally addressing this key issue for two reasons, either because it goes unnoticed, or because it is seen as too difficult to fix. When things were going well, it was easier to ignore the problems caused by disengaging managers. That is no longer tenable. A new approach is needed.

The white paper recommends employers to base their engagement strategies on three underpinning facts: 'The Rules of Engagement'.

Rule 1 Engagement is founded on Trust
Employers are having to make decisions to deal with the recession that have weakened employee trust. That trust needs to be rebuilt before there can be any significant improvement in employee engagement.

Rule 2 Engagement is driven by emotions
Recent discoveries from neuroscience and genetics supports extensive research by occupational psychologists that has emphasized the importance of emotions to decision-making. Six key emotional drivers have been identified. Employers are generally paying insufficient attention to the role of emotions in people's decisions to engage or not.

Rule 3 Engagement is 20% culture, 80% climate
Most employers are focusing their engagement strategy on organisational initiatives such as flexible working. This is not producing significant improvements. By far the most important influencer is the employee's relationship with their immediate manager which accounts for around 8 out of 10 decisions to engage or not. People join companies, they leave managers. Yet, less than 20% of managers have received awareness and skills training in engagement and how to bring out the best in their people.

Nick Mitchell, author of the white paper and Chief Executive of the Foundation, commented: "Improving engagement is by far the most important thing that any employer can do. Disengaged workers impose an intolerable financial penalty, inhibit change, and prevent customer advocacy. The vast majority of employers who have a problem are aware of it; they just don't know how to solve it. The evidence, however, is now compelling. We have been working with clients to improve their engagement metrics for some years and the Engagement Project Team is confident that these three fundamental insights hold the key to a solution."

Employee Engagement in the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe according to annual surveys by the Gallup Organisation. This is seriously impacting the UK's international competitiveness.

In May 2010, the CBI surveyed 666 firms, employing more than 10% of the UK workforce. Firms overwhelmingly told the CBI that their priority going forward was engagement, with 67% citing this as their focus. Seven out of 10 said employee engagement would play a vital role in their business' recovery. www.trainingfoundation.com