The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has launched a review to examine new ways to boost the performance of employees and improve British business success.
David MacLeod, an expert on employee engagement, will lead the review and work alongside Nita Clarke, director of specialist workplace involvement body the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA). The review will publish its recommendations early in January.
The department will be tasked with considering whether Government and employers can work together to help businesses maximise their potential and boost the economy through harnessing the full potential of employees, and how best to go about it.
The review will look to identify and understand in practice how businesses can improve productivity by engaging with and investing in their employees, and examine the benefits of employee engagement and investment in terms of UK competitiveness and productivity and the effect on individuals’ career progression.
It will also identify whether there are barriers to business adopting good practice – including market failure and regulatory barriers – and make make recommendations to address any market failure, eliminate barriers and encourage wider adoption of good practice, in line with Better Regulation principles.
John Hutton, the business secretary, argued recently that employee engagement was not just a buzzword, but a key factor in increasing business success. He said: “Research suggests engaged employees perform better and stay in their jobs longer and that if a business invests in boosting skills and engagement, profits will increase.
“We need to better understand what drives some businesses to engage with their workforce and invest in their people more than others and look at how we can urge others to do the same.”
MacLeod said engagement was a vitally important tool for business success, adding: “The fact that only about 12% of the UK workforce can be considered as highly engaged shows that there is potential for huge gains for the economy if we can improve in this area.”
And Clarke added: “Genuinely engaging with employees at all levels brings huge benefits to the workplace.
“It is crucial for the well-being and personal development of employees, and it also addresses the key issues of increasing productivity and managing change, which are vital for businesses and services meeting the competitive challenges of today’s economy. n
