With the Credit Crunch in full swing and with more bad news being revealed each week, engaging your employees has to be a top priority for all organisations.
When things are tough people need to hear clear messages from the management team and understand what they need to do to get through it.
B&Q is a largely UK based DIY store that has recently won the Gallup Great Workplace award for employee engagement. Actually this is the 3rd time B&Q have won this award which is quite an achievement.
James K Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist of workplace management and well-being, said: “In good times, employee engagement is the difference between being good and being great and, in bad times, it’s the difference between surviving and not.
“In good times and bad, low engagement reduces performance and profit. And under the present circumstances, many companies can’t afford to let those drop.
It was interesting to note some of the 'tools' that B&Q used to increase employee engagement:
- They created a forum for meeting and sharing ideas with the CEO
- They created a consistent communication pack for managers to use with their employees
- They launched an internal TV station
- The CEO launched a blog
In earlier posts I have discussed a concept called the Commitment Curve. This is about how to move people to adopt change through a variety of interventions. Communication is certainly a key change lever and B&Q are a great example of this - well done to them.
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7 comments:
It's always nice to see concrete examples of companies that "get it" and are reaping the benefits of good leadership.
Thanks for sharing!
I like the photo of the employees. You can tell from their smiles that this is a workplace that "gets it."
Thanks for sharing this example.
Terry
How interesting that B&Q's employee engagement strategies revolve around communication, especially direct communication with the CEO. When you have a direct line to the top, it feels more like a family and employees become more attached. Furthermore, it is immensely frustrating to work for management that behaves in a manner inconsistent with stated company philosophies and goals, so the consistent communication pack is genius.
I think the most successful managers treat everyone with respect. A large part of this is communicating with people in the most appropriate way.
Managers that don't communicate create an environment of distrust and just widen the 'them and us' gap, even if it is unintentional.
Nice info. Keep posting such kind of information on уοur site. Employee engagement
Employee engagement is gaining much more important than ever before. They help build the powerhouse of any organization - Inspired & engaged employees
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