Employee Benefits Connect 2017: Organisations need to create a working environment that engages employees in order for the business to grow.
Addressing delegates in the conference session ‘Putting people first: The importance of being human’ at Employee Benefits Connect 2017, Rachel Clacher (pictured), co-founder and director at Moneypenny, explained how the switchboard and telephone answering service has developed its own employee engagement approach.
Moneypenny, which was ranked fourth in the Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies List 2017, engages employees with two mantras that it ingrains into its everyday working life. The first mantra is to treat others as you want to be treated yourself, and ‘Moneypenny love’ which is about doing what is right, a concept that grew organically in the organisation, rather than one that was purposefully introduced.
Clacher said: “Engaged employees means engaged customers, which means businesses can thrive and grow.”
Moneypenny also has its own fully-licenced pub in its office, the Dog and Bone, which is operated voluntarily by employees.
The second mantra is to recruit for attitude, not just aptitude, to ensure that employees are the right fit for the organisation.
Clacher said: “HR is about finding the right people, not just with the right skills but with the right attitude."
Moneypenny also recognises that the key to employee engagement is the involvement of line managers; those who have the most impact on employees’ day-to-day lives at work.
Those managers should believe in the success of the business, provide clarity to employees about what ‘good’ looks like to the organisation, and be trusted to do the right thing for their people in order for that talent to grow, said Clacher.
Clacher added: “If we want talent to join, and to stay and grow within our organisation and realise their potential, we need to make sure that they have the right managers. Mangers who themselves are engaged."
