Better employee communication for business success - has UK plc got the message?

May 9, 2011 - PRLog -- How do you improve communication with employees to achieve greater business success?

David MacLeod, the head of the government-backed task force aimed at improving levels of employee engagement in the UK, will be providing his insights on this topic at the Institute of Internal Communication’s (IoIC) annual conference in Bournemouth on 13th May.

Employee engagement is about ensuring that staff feel fully involved in and enthusiastic about their work. This helps the employer achieve desired business objectives, and also enhances the motivation and well-being of employees.

It is hard to dispute the logic of this, and there is a growing body of evidence that high employee engagement improves results in a whole raft of areas, including innovation, profitability, staff turnover and levels of sick leave.

However, it also takes effort to achieve and there is considerable disparity in organisations’ performance in this area.

The Employee Engagement Task Force, launched at the end of March at 10 Downing Street, is led by MacLeod and Nita Clarke, who have been asked to build on their 2009 report ‘Engaging for Success’ which was commissioned by the last government to explore the business case for improving workforce engagement. The Task Force will concentrate on sharing good practice with employers, as well as stimulating discussion and debate on key engagement issues and passing on advice via a new website.

David MacLeod will be sharing his thoughts at the Bournemouth conference on how the employee engagement agenda has progressed over the last two years. He will also be discussing what he believes are the key factors in creating high levels of employee engagement.

Speaking on developments to date, MacLeod comments: “I have stood on hundreds of podiums and attended hundreds of events around the country and there is general acceptance that engagement produces results.

“Organisations are taking it on board but there is still a wide spectrum in how they are doing it. Some are fairly neutral, some pay lip service and some really embrace it and are powering down the road. The challenge is to get more to power down the road.”

On the occasion of the Task Force launch, MacLeod said: “If employee engagement and the principles that lie behind it were more widely understood and shared we could see a step change in productivity and performance across the UK and a rise in levels of employee well-being and motivation. Engaged employees will be key to growth in the private sector and ‘better for less’ in the public sector.”

Further information is available at www.ioic.org.uk

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The Institute of Internal Communication is the UK professional body for internal communication professionals. It offers professional development, promotes the importance of internal communications, develops industry knowledge, provides a strong network.