Productivity = putting people first

By Denise Willett, senior director

With employee engagement and productivity lower in Britain than global averages, we have a real opportunity to change the dreaded “productivity in Britain” conversation with some fundamental shifts:

  • Listen
    Empower employees by giving them an avenue to provide feedback in real-time. Engagement is fluid and how we feel about work and our own success changes weekly, daily, even hourly. So why are we still measuring employee engagement as if it is static? Let’s try a new tactic and make employees part of the solution – in real-time, not quarterly or yearly.
  • Empower leaders to take action
    Pulse surveys allow us to collect a mountain of insightful data but unless we take action it’s just another survey that didn’t provide change, only creating more frustration. When we measure in real-time we must empower managers to take action in achievable bite-sized chunks. If we exercise once a year we know that doesn’t create change. The same goes for employee listening. When we measure in a fluid manner we need to empower our managers with the tools they need to join the conversation immediately.
  • Recognise
    This is the secret sauce. Let’s take those values off the wall and embed them in the everyday fabric of the employee experience. Amazing things happen within our organisations every single day. It’s time to highlight those actions in neon lights for everyone to see with peer to peer, visible, meaningful and frequent recognition. We know, what gets recognised gets repeated!

A culture of recognition and real-time action are game changers that will allow us to truly put employees first. To learn more, download our eBook Recognition Culture: The MVP of Employee Experience.