JULY/AUGUST 2019 ENGAGEMENT
Key considerations from the report
Great Job has identified a set of tangible changes that all firms can
make to improve how they lead, engage and develop their people:
1Make good people practice a shared business priority
Organisational transformations are more than four times more likely
to succeed when leaders role-model the practices and behaviours that
need to change.
2Put people management on a par with commercial targets
All line managers should have people management objectives with
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and these should be given equal weight
to commercial objectives when assessing their performance.
3Establish a shared purpose for the business – and recognise people’s
contribution towards it Firms which have the highest employee
engagement see absenteeism 41% lower and profits 22% higher than those
with the lowest.
4 Put people’s skills and competencies at the heart of your company’s
recruitment process
Recruiting high performers has been found to generate 40% higher
productivity in operational roles, 49% higher profit in management roles.
5 Provide high-quality on-the-job development and support
Businesses that develop their staff’s strengths have been found to reduce
employee turnover by up to 72%.
6 Assess how your business is performing compared to others
A quarter of UK managers say their business improved its people practices
because it compared them to other businesses.
7 Be open about how your business is performing on people practices
Over two-thirds (69%) of the public believe that treating staff well is the
primary way to improve a business’ reputation. Therefore, businesses that share
how they develop and engage staff could see a boost to their reputations.
“Technology advances are creating new ways to
improve business performance. As vital as new tech
and R&D are to improving productivity, firms should
not lose sight of the human dimension. The reality
is that many UK businesses have the chance to
enhance their working and management practices
to enable their people to perform at their very best.”
A reputation to protect
One of the points made in the report explains how
good people management is not only good for the
economy, but also makes reputational sense. It
states: “A business’ reputation is their license to
operate, and trust in business is the mainstay of
responsible capitalism. Yet less than half of the
British public trust UK business or think that the
way it works today is good for society.
“In this context, businesses that talk about how
they treat staff and enable people to give their best
do better, with 69% of the public believing that
treating staff well is the primary way to improve
UK business’ reputation. This has increased by 9%
since 2017.”
The way businesses lead, engage and develop
people is similarly fundamental to how staff
perceive their employer’s reputation, the report
continues. “Supporting staff’s health and wellbeing
and investing in training and career development
are the top three issues people want their employer
to focus on. Separate research has found that over
three-quarters of employees expect their employer
to offer development opportunities and almost
two-thirds expect their workplace to have a sense
of shared values.”
Getting the help needed
CBI made three recommendations in the report
in answer to the question ‘what can business and
government do to accelerate progress?’:
1 The government should back locally delivered
business forums through the UK Shared
Prosperity Fund that enable firms to benchmark
and share what works to improve how they lead,
engage and develop their people.
2The government should work with business
to create a race to the top which incentivises
businesses to adopt effective people practices and
celebrates their achievements.
3The government and business should better
understand the current landscape for offering
employees a financial stake and ensure there
are sufficient incentives and information for
businesses to adopt such measures in time for the
2019 Autumn Budget.
Nobody likes to be told that they’re not doing
as well as they think they are. However, this isn’t
about ego, its about how happy workers make a
better business. You have a bigger impact than
you know, so let people know you appreciate them
whenever you can.
GDP per hour worked in the UK compared to other nations
2007
112
110
108
106
104
102
100
98
96
94
92
90
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Germany
GDP per hour worked
UK US G7exc. UK
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