Engage your people for growth… the case for business learning

The G word seems to be getting a lot of press at the moment as the UK economy stubbornly refuses to gain any momentum and grow. There are obviously many reasons for this and as we know only too well the nation’s economists do not agree about exactly what they are.

At Be More Effective we believe that some of the clues are to be found in a report that was commissioned by the last government but completed for and presented to the current one. It was titled, Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement – A report to Government by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke. The report makes compelling if lengthy reading and you can download it here.

The report indicates that organisations with higher levels of engagement produce better financial results and have lower rates of sickness levels and staff turnover. The report also makes it quite clear that there are many organisations in the UK both in the private and the public sector that have excellent levels of engagement. But it also provides compelling evidence from a variety of trustworthy sources that this is generally not the case and that a great deal more needs to be done to improve levels overall and that there is no room for complacency even at the best.

So what actually makes the difference?

Ah we can hear you saying so it is pretty clear that there is a problem but what about the solution. It is possible to conclude from the report is that those organisations that have developed high levels of engagement have realised that this is the product of high levels of involvement. By this we mean that they have discovered that there is a relationship between the degree to which their people actually feel involved in the business and the degree to which they are really engaged in it. And it is this degree of engagement that is the critical success factor, by which we mean the one that actually makes the difference in performance terms.

What do we mean by involvement?

The best way to describe involvement is as follows.

•  Aligning everyone around shared priorities – with a common understanding of the way forward

But this type of transformation cannot be achieved without inputs that help to move forward people’s habitual mindsets, behaviors and practices and we understand that the keys to successful engagement are:

• Creating a common frame of reference – a mental model of how the business works
• Exploring and discovering the key value drivers – the main levers and their relative impact
• Identifying the potentials for improvements – and creating the desire to make a difference

In the modern economy value is created in the network of relationships that exist both within and outside the business. It is also important to recognize that in the modern complex business changes in one area will inevitably have an impact on another.

How can business learning help?

Achieving growth is not possible without learning either at a personal level or at company level as it is critical to moving forward and being able to do new things. Learning is all about getting that Aha! Moment. The point where we say to ourselves oh I get it now, I understand, that’s what they mean or that’s how it works. This is the point at which what we have learned becomes useful and we can use it to do the new things that will add value in our roles and so contribute to the growth of the business.

Next time we will look in more detail at the first of the keys to successful engagement – Creating a common frame of reference. In the meantime if you would like to explore how we can help you to improve your levels of engagement please call us on - 0845 003 7282 or email by clicking here