Engaging for the Future: A one day conference

“The difference that makes a difference”

TJ recently co-hosted a conference on one of the hottest topics around – engagement. Elizabeth Eyre went along to find out how to make people your competitive advantage

It’s become something of a mantra over the past year – your people are the key to surviving hard times. It seems to have worked for L&D – a focus on ROI seems to have replaced the wanton budget slashing of previous recessions –but has it worked for engagement? “

More engaged people will be happier and make the business more profitable – it seems obvious but it’s not obvious to everybody,” said journalist and author John McCarthy last month. He was chairing a one-day conference on engagement, co-hosted last month by TJ, Steps Drama Learning Development and Room 54.

The event combined keynote speakers, case studies, drama and facilitated discussions to provide an interactive, engaging look at the benefits of engagement. Among the speakers were David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, the authors of last year’s Engaging for Success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement report to government. Mark Moorton, director of HR, international at Specsavers, described how he developed and delivered an engagement strategy. Katie Truss, professor of HRM and director of the Centre for Research in Employment, Skills and Society at Kingston Business School, presented the results of research with the Kingston Employee Engagement Consortium.

And McCarthy demonstrated how destructive a lack of engagement can be with an account of his time spent as a captive in the Lebanon, after being kidnapped by Islamic Jihad in the 80s. “I was kept in the dark both literally and metaphorically by the ‘organisation’. Engagement was way off the agenda,” he told his audience wryly.

Actors from Steps Drama played out several scenes during the day to stimulate discussion and also facilitated an exercise in which participants suggested courses of action for their characters. There were also a number of group tasks, from table discussions to small presentations on the day’s key themes, to get participants engaged and talking to each other. McCarthy said: “Engagement is about people being respected and being made to feel that they are appreciated. We’ve got David MacLeod and Nita Clarke here today to explain why engagement is ‘the difference that makes a difference’.

“A recent study by the CMI has showed that more people have left their jobs in the last year compared to the previous 12 months. It’s a serious matter now.” In his presentation, MacLeod quoted Professor David Guest who described engagement as “a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success and able at the same time to enhance their own sense of wellbeing”. That definition was one of more than 50 that MacLeod uncovered while he was researching the Engaging for Success report but organisations that he talked to that were successful in engaging their employees told him ‘you know it when you see it’. Wellbeing was an “intrinsic” part of engagement: “Engagement has to be accompanied by employee wellbeing otherwise it’s not sustainable. It’s just manipulation.” Engaged employees felt that they were being listened to and were able to make a contribution to the organisation; as a result they felt valued and made an even greater contribution during their working day. www.trainingjournal.com  

Date: Wednesday, 10th March 2010

Place: Dexter House, Royal Mint Court, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4QN

Title: Engaging for the future: Making people your competitive advantage

Researchers who think that employees are the key to business survival will discuss studies which have rocked the training world at a probing and exhilarating one day conference chaired by celebrated public speaker, writer and broadcaster John McCarthy.  Supported by Training Journal, Room54 speaker agency and Steps Drama Learning Development, this exhilarating unique event features the authors of the government backed MacLeod Report 2009, who will explain why they think workplace engagement is the 'difference that makes the difference' to businesses faced with global financial meltdown and fierce commercial competition.

Equally, as the public sector squares up to the realisation that they are facing an extended period of under-investment it is clear that service levels and morale are only going to be maintained through the commitment and motivation of its people.

The challenge now, say the report's authors, is to help people to 'get it' - that is understand the importance of engagement to their individual and organisational goals - and then ‘do it'.

They will learn exactly how to create perfect harmony at work with practical demonstrations from the exciting Steps Drama company who will show how management can promote the right blend of well being, motivation and leadership.  

As a leading provider of drama-based learning solutions, Steps know their special presentation will have impact at the event alongside Peer-to-Peer discussion carefully facilitated by John McCarthy encouraging thoughtful exploration of thoughts, ideas and feelings. No doubt he will dig deep into his own personal experiences which includes surviving the terrible ordeal of lengthy kidnap and the roller coaster of emotions experienced on his return from imprisonment by terrorists and the joy of being a survivor against great odds.  

Confirmed speakers to date will be:  

• David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, authors of the MacLeod Report
• Emma Whittaker, Global Academy Head, HSBC Global Private Bank
• Mark Moorton, International Director of HR, Specsavers Optical Group

Background
David MacLeod and Nita Clarke were commissioned by the Department for Business (BIS) to take an in-depth look at employee engagement and to report on its potential benefits for organisations and employees. The Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, encouraged the independent reviewers to examine whether a wider take up of engagement approaches could impact positively on UK competitiveness and performance, and meet the challenges of increased global competition.

The independent reviewers’ answer is an unequivocal yes. Since Autumn 2008 they have seen many examples of companies and organisations where performance and profitability have been transformed by employee engagement; they have met many employees who are only too keen to explain how their working lives have been transformed; and have read many studies which show a clear correlation between engagement and performance – and most importantly between improving engagement and improving performance.

The price to attend this workshop is £449 plus VAT – this fee covers attendance at the event, refreshments and lunch. You can book online or by contacting Debbie Carter at debbiecarter@trainingjournal.com or ring + 44 (0) 1353 865340. See www.trainingjournal.com 

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