British Business Future Lies With Engaging Its Employees
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Involving employees fully in the future of the firms they work for will be a key step if businesses are to innovate and take advantage of new
opportunities, an independent review announced today.
The MacLeod Review of employee engagement has recommended government
support and more cooperation by UK businesses both large and small, to make
sure the relationship between employees and employers is at the centre of
successful business plans.
Led by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, the review was commissioned in
September to make recommendations on promoting employee engagement.
David MacLeod said:
“This is about unleashing the potential of people at work and enabling them
to be the best they can be. Whether we are in a downturn or in better economic
times, engagement is a key to innovation and competitiveness.
“Engagement is increasingly recognised as vital by senior figures in the
public sector, the private sector and trades unions. We are delighted that if
our recommendations are accepted, a distinguished sponsor group has already
agreed to work with us to raise awareness and understanding.
“Employers in all parts of the economy can make a success of employee
engagement through culture change, rather than investing significant financial
resources.”
Nita Clarke said:
“Our recommendations set out a road-map for government to offer help and
support, and for businesses and employee groups to help each other.
“By respecting the contribution employees can make and ensuring they are
fully involved in developing their organisation’s future, employers can help
unlock their full potential. If workplaces up and down the UK learn from the
best standards that are already in place, the whole country will benefit.
“When done well, employee engagement is a win for the organisation, a win
for the individual and therefore a win for the country as a whole.”
The MacLeod Review has recommended:
The government should work to raise awareness of employee engagement
benefits and techniques.A senior sponsor group bringing together
representatives from business, the public sector, not-for-profit organisations
and unions, should be set up to boost understanding of this vital topic – many
leading figures leaders have already agreed to be part of this group.The
government and its agencies should work together to ensure their support is
aligned and tailored to the needs of different organisations in different
sectors of the economy seeking to enhance levels of employee engagement.A
range of more practical support for organisations who want to raise levels of
employee engagement should be made available by March 2010. This support
should be designed in consultation with businesses and other organisations to
ensure it is tailored to their needs.
Contributors to the review included some of the biggest names in British
business, as well as smaller firms and public sector bodies.
“”Supportive quotes from sponsors, sourced by Press Office and Review
Team
1. The MacLeod Review began its work in September 2008.
2. The full report to government is attached.
3. Review contributors included Sainsbury’s UBS Group, Standard Chartered,
HSBC, Financial Times Group, Connect Union, Institute of Directors, USDAW and
the Work Foundation.
4. Leading figures who have agreed to be part of the sponsor group include:
Adrian Askew – General Secretary, Connect Union
Richard Baker – Non Executive Chairman, Virgin Active
Brendan Barber – General Secretary, TUC
Sir Michael Bichard – Director, Institute for Government
Dame Carol Black – Director, UK Government’s Health and Work Programme
Stephen Bubb – Chief Executive, Acevo
Mike Carr – RDA Enterprise Director
Clare Chapman – Director General of Workforce, Department of Health
Cary Cooper – Professor, Lancaster University Management School & UK
Government Foresight Programme
Rona Fairhead – CEO, Financial Times Group
Gordon Frazer – UK Managing Director, Microsoft
John Hannett – General Secretary, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied
Workers (USDAW)
Chris Humphries – Chief Executive, UK Commission for Education & Skills (UKCES)
Will Hutton – Executive Vice Chair, Work Foundation
Justin King – CEO, Sainsbury’s
Sir Alan Jones – Chairman Emeritus, Toyota UK
Richard Lambert – Director General, CBI
Leigh Lewis – Permanent Secretary, Department of Work & Pensions (DWP)
Tim Melville-Ross – Chairman, Higher Education Funding Council for England
(HEFCE) & DTZ
John M Neill CBE – Group Chief Executive, Unipart Group
Sir Gus O’Donnell – Cabinet Secretary & Head of the Home Civil Service
Jackie Orme – Chief Executive, CIPD
Sir Eric Peacock – Current or former Chairman/leader of 10 SMEs
Chris Pilling – Head of Direct Banking, HSBC
Peter Sands – CEO, Standard Chartered Bank
Sir Martin Sorrell – CEO, WPP
Ruth Spellman OBE – Chief Executive, Chartered Management Institute
John Taylor – Chief Executive, Acas
Miles Templeman – Director General, Institute of Directors (IoD)
Alex Wilmot-Sitwell – Co-CEO, UBS Investment Bank
John Wright – National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
5. David MacLeod has a portfolio of responsibilities which include being a
Non Exec Director of the Department for International Development, Non Exec
Director of the Ministry of Justice, Fellow of the Sunningdale Institute,
Senior Associate of Towers Perrin and Visiting Professor of the Cass Business
School. He is also a Fellow of the RSA, Institute of Marketing and Ashridge
Business School.
6. David has led private sector organisations through major programmes of
change and worked at the Cabinet Office as Senior Adviser on Change and
Performance. He has also worked at Towers Perrin as Senior Adviser supporting
chief executives in both the public and private sectors to implement change in
order to enhance performance. He has co-authored a book called “The Extra
Mile” on the theme of how to fully engage employees.
7. Nita Clarke is the Director of the Involvement and Participation
Association (IPA). She was formerly the adviser on trade unions to Prime
Minister Tony Blair, working as assistant political secretary in the Political
Office at 10 Downing Street from January 2001 to June 2007. Her role included
liaison with individual unions and the TUC, developing national policy in
areas such as the two-tier workforce and work-life balance, supporting
ministers by trouble-shooting in industrial disputes.
About the Author
© Crown Copyright. Material taken from the
BERR- Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform replacing DTI -
Department for Trade and Industry. Reproduced under the terms and conditions of
the Click-Use Licence.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2009-07-17 12:20:14 in Employee Articles
