IDS HR Study 846, May 2007

Employee Engagement

There is a growing body of research showing a correlation between employee engagement and business performance. Put simply, organisations perform better with highly engaged employees. This is because individuals who are engaged are more productive; more willing to ‘go the extra mile’ and to apply discretionary effort in the interests of their organisation; and more likely to be brand ‘advocates’ who, for example, will recommend their employer, its products and its services to others. Not surprisingly, then, engagement is considered by many as a key element of any successful people management strategy; and interventions by HR are increasingly being directed towards the goal of improving levels of workforce engagement.

This IDS HR Update:

• explores some of the ways that employers are seeking to understand the drivers of engagement
• looks at how organisations foster higher engagement through HR interventions
• includes seven detailed company case studies discussing the engagement initiatives introduced by a range of employers.

Features

While employers accept that engagement is a positive thing, some organisations are now seeking to establish tangible links between high levels of engagement and improved business performance. Drawing on the latest initiatives at two of the leading players in this field, we show how employee engagement has been identified as one of the key ‘human capital drivers’ that can make a measurable difference to the bottom line.

Case studies

• The Co-operative Group makes engagement a strategic priority
• BT provides a ‘voice’ to staff with innovative ideas to share
• The Royal Bank of Scotland Group links employee engagement to improved business performance
• Employee commitment the key to success at Nationwide Building Society
• Deloitte sets up new employee brand team to drive engagement
• Building the employer brand at Cabot Financial
• GlaxoSmithKline looks to build engagement through health interventions