Are Your Employees Fully Engaged?

Thursday, 25^th May 2017

By, GBS Corporate Training

#EmployeeEngagement #Leadership #Talent @gbscorporate

This week, the world’s most prestigious flower show takes place at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea from 23^rd to 27^th May 2017. The Chelsea Flower Show has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea every year since 1913, apart from gaps during the two World Wars.

The show is all about nurturing young growth, perfecting development and optimising the delivery of plants for this specific time of the year. The Telegraph reports how plant suppliers have come close to perfecting the art of growing and the standard of competition is so high that there is no room for anything but brilliance.

There seem to be so many parallels here with how businesses need to grow their talent, and engage with staff in way that they can optimise their productivity and delivery.

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” Audrey Hepburn

The show even presents parallels with working in a VUCA world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) as The Guardian reports that this year there will be just eight show gardens (down from at least 14 last year) as some long-term supporters have pulled out due to the unstable economic climate. Even the show’s main backer M&G, which has sponsored Chelsea for the past eight years, has also said it would step down. No replacement has been confirmed for 2018.

In this blog we discuss why it is so important for companies to nurture new talent and to optimise their engagement.

Nurturing new talent and engaging your workforce

Research by Glint, reports that after recruiting top performers, building exceptional products, and gaining customers, many organisations are surprised to find that winning the war for talent doesn’t protect them against engagement and retention challenges.

Deloitte research shows that 79% of CEO's believe they have a significant retention and engagement problem and Forrester research shows that only 30% of employees are engaged, 52% are not engaged and 18% are actively disengaged. A report by the Hay Group revealed that low employee engagement is costing the UK £340bn per year.

According to Human Resources Today, millennials value different things when it comes to their careers. What they want and what they look for — things like being recognised and making an immediate impact — have created a strong demand for employee engagement and recognition platforms that many leading companies are now adopting.

So – in the ‘sowing stage’ - that very early stage of finding and the nurturing their new talent, companies are recognising that the key new differentiator for attracting new talent is their organisational culture. They must provide employees with autonomy, flexibility, and the chance to make an impact.

The best conditions for growth are in creating engaged employees who are happier and more productive, and who will ultimately create a more resilient organisation. HR Gazette reports that companies with more highly engaged employees fared better as the economy began to recover in 2009 when compared to companies with less engaged employees. In other words, highly engaged employees are a competitive advantage, reaching their optimum productivity at the point of rebound from tough economic times.

A 2016 report by Aon Hewitt revealed that among 250 International organisations, those that reported the highest levels of employee engagement demonstrated a 58% higher return for shareholders. With results like this, employee engagement seems to be the key to a successful company.

Like the suppliers at the Chelsea Flower show, those companies who create the environment to nurture their talent, and provide the necessary stimuli and environment for them to grow will ensure that their productivity blooms at just the right time.

So how can companies nurture and engage their workforce?

With nearly a quarter of UK employees feeling as though they are ‘coasting’ at work, how do managers create a workplace where staff actually want to work?

Aon Hewitt identified that top companies achieve this by building and sustaining a culture of engagement, led by CEO's who understand that employee engagement is critical to achieving business results. Leaders in these elite organisations also understand that employee engagement is primarily their responsibility.

“Senior leadership involvement demonstrates the organisation’s commitment and brings to life initiatives that drive employee engagement.” Aon Hewitt

Inspiring leaders who engage others is not just a nice to have—it is the key ingredient to creating a culture of engagement that sustains business results in an ever-changing and complex global environment, and drives successful financial performance.

High-performing companies see the link between leadership and engagement, and it makes all the difference.