The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 2: Winter 2016/17 | Page 16

HUMAN RESOURCES EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT LETS GET IT RIGHT. by Jo Kangurs, KeystoneHR In this, my first article for The Business Exchange magazine, I want to jump straight in with some top tips on how to ensure you have an engaged, happy, motivated and productive workforce in 2017. Everyone talks about the importance of having engaged employees and there is strong evidence to support the business case for focusing on employee engagement but the key is making it part of the culture of your business and not just the latest HR initiative. With this in mind here are my top tips: 1) Have a strong set of values which employees can relate to and which reflect what is important in your business; how people treat one another, how clients are treated and how the business will, in turn, treat its employees. Ensure these values are articulated, shared and echoed in everything you do - from how you recruit new employees to how you reward and promote high performers. 2) Undertake some research – use a well-constructed, anonymous survey to understand what your people think; what they love about working for you and what frustrates them. Once you have listened to their views, don’t forget to act on the feedback received otherwise people will lose faith in the process. 3) Invest in ensuring your managers are well trained. Employee engagement in not just an HR exercise, it needs to involve everyone especially those in leadership roles. Good managers are able to give feedback in a way which is motivating, they recognise strengths and ensure tasks are delegated in a way which plays to these strengths, they identify potential and foster talent. All of which are crucial ingredients for having an engaged workforce. 4) Don’t forget the little things. A thank you to employees for a job well done goes a long way. A card on their birthday or chocolate eggs at Easter all help make employees feel valued and positive. It is these small things that often have the biggest impact, are easy to do and are usually inexpensive. Recognised for their efforts as an apprentice employer Bath College has awarded Bath’s European Student Placement Agency (ESPA UK) as Business Employer of the Year at the College’s Celebrating Success Awards. The Bath firm provides six-month work placements for EU undergraduates, linking them with corporate companies and independent businesses throughout the UK. They placed two Bath College Level 2 business administration apprentices, Lauren Sproson and Lauren Atwell. Making use of their international links, ESPA UK have secured a four-week work experience programme in Austria for the students before their apprenticeships come to an end. We met with Tom and Lauren to find out more about their apprenticeship journey. Before starting at ESPA UK Lauren worked in a travel shop in Canterbury. She had already decided university wasn’t for her and wanted to find an apprenticeship placement to gain work experience and a qualification at the same time. Tom had dabbled in a couple of industries before securing the placement, including working in a nursery and for an engineering firm. In their roles at ESPA UK both Tom and Lauren have been managing student registrations, making welcome packs for students coming to do internships and uploading internship vacancies online. As well 16 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2016 as answering calls, emails and other general admin tasks. Lauren said: “I didn’t know what to expect when I started here, but from the first interview I knew they were genuinely nice people. ESPA UK owners Colin and Madeline have lived up to that reputation, making it easy for us to grow and develop. If you looked at me a year ago, I was a different person. I’ve developed my confidence and ability to communicate. Before I used to be anxious, even when speaking on the phone and in meetings. I can’t thank them enough, my apprenticeship has been a really positive experience.” Tom added: “I’ve taken on new responsibilities and learned how to listen to feedback. Communication is very important in this environment. I’ve learnt how to work with colleagues ensuring we’re all on track and not overlapping on jobs.” Both apprentices are excited to be travelling to Austria for the final leg of their placements. Tom said: “It will give us a real insight into the way ESPA works. I will be challenging myself, learning from a new experience and gaining new skills. It’s going to be very different, we’re going to be working in a country where they don’t speak English. I’ve never done anything like this before, but this is what ESPA is all about.” If you would like a chat about employee engagement or how to improve employee engagement in your business, please get in touch e: [email protected] For more info: www.keystonehr.co.uk @keystone_hr