I was not surprised to see that the recent, and much documented, corporate scandals in the UK may have further dampened employee engagement. If you missed the story, please see the attached link:

https://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/23/07/2012/58674/corporate-scandals-damaging-employee-engagement.htm

Yet it may be just too convenient to lay the reduction in engagement just on corporate malpractice alone. It’s possible that UK engagement levels may have been slipping for a little while now.

In the teeth of the financial crisis a few years ago, just being in a position to hold onto a job was probably motivating and engaging enough for most employees. Many of these survivors subsequently found themselves delivering much more for their employers, but at the same (or lower) income levels.

Now this was only intended to be a temporary position, and corrective action was expected as soon as the economy recovered. But today’s figures show that the economy remains well and truly in a rut, and the promise of “jam tomorrow” may be starting to wear thin for the long suffering employee.

So engagement might well be income linked. But the more you look into this subject, the more evident it is that the subject is about much more than just cash remuneration. It’s about the employer’s relationship with the employee, and there is lots and lots of anecdotal evidence to suggest that a more engaged workforce is more motivated, and therefore more productive and profitable also.

So engagement is important. Employee benefits do of course have a key role to play here, but so do other factors such as effective two way communications, praise and recognition, line manager relationships, and senior management drivers. It’s an interesting topic, and one that I will add to over the coming months, and which is sure to feature in our Autumn events.

In the meantime, if you are interested in more information on the topic, here is a link to a (somewhat hefty) report from a couple of years ago on the subject:

https://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file52215.pdf

Be warned, it’s a long document. You might want to clear your diary, and get a cup of tea, before you start reading!

Best regards

Steve