Employee engagement is a hot topic among managers

Mon, 10 Jan 2011

Employee engagement is a hot topic among managers

Several top FTSE 100 firms are beginning to invest in employee engagement in order to improve morale.

BT is one of the major advocates of this method of staff retention and investment and has been keeping a very close eye on its corporate social responsibility over the past five years. The firm came out top in the Observer’s Good Companies Guide for employee engagement.

The investment has come in the form of the collection of employee feedback. Each manager must report back on their team’s feedback and are then expected to work alongside their team to improve engagement. Staff may be requesting better staff training schemes or more flexible working hours and BT will endeavour to respond to these requests.

BT’s head of employee engagement, Sharon Darwent, explained, "Our current survey closes this Wednesday. Ten days later, we'll deliver the results to the board and to every manager whose team has responded. We'll be looking at what actions have had the most impact on engagement and what we can replicate elsewhere."

Sainsbury’s takes a slightly different approach in that it allows staff members to put their questions and suggestions directly to the firm’s Chief Executive, and guarantees a reply. The supermarket’s 'Tell Justin' scheme allows staff to comment on anything from their working hours to the quality of training for employees.

As a result of this successful scheme, staff feel that their suggestions are valued, boosting employee engagement and ensuring the firm retains its ranking as one of the top companies for this style of management.

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