TORC

Adapted from: Predictions for 2015, Bersin by Deloitte.

Engagement

Yet again Engagement is almost centre-stage. Recent research* shows that engagement is the number two issue on the minds of HR leaders – preceded only by leadership.

Low engagement today is a significant business risk. In today’s transparent job market, employment brand and employee engagement have become synonymous. If people are unhappy at work, then they are telling others – making it even harder to recruit new people.

If you think about it logically, engagement is all a company really has. We can build great leadership, hire top people, train people well and coach them expertly – but, if they don’t like their jobs or career development prospects or the mission of the organisation, they will not deliver with quality.

Leaders report that issues of engagement and building an enduring culture are business-critical.

Complexity

In many big companies, complexity is part of the problem. Bersin studied global HR trends and found that “the overwhelmed employee” is a big challenge. People are flooded with emails, meetings, conference calls; they check their mobile device constantly during the day; and they have demands on a 24/7 basis from colleagues around the world. Consequently people are finding work and the workplace more difficult than ever.

One response to this is the growing prevalence of seminars on mindfulness, boundary management, self awareness and relaxation techniques.

Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion, unconscious bias, and gender issues are becoming problems (or maybe opportunities!). Recent research shows that highly diverse teams outperform their non-diverse counterparts by as much as 80%.

Culture

If we understand our culture well, we can hire people who fit well and we can use our culture to drive performance and alignment. Conversely if we have a disparate, unclear, or unhealthy culture, then we need to measure it and take steps to make it better.

If your leadership team has not tried to “write down” or “describe” your culture clearly, you may be missing an important opportunity.

Engagement Framework

Bersin’s ‘Simply Irresistible Framework’ (shown above) brings together many areas of research and shows how expansive the nature of engagement has become. The framework identifies five major elements of engagement and 20 important strategies – most of which are in the HR arena. These should impact how we hire, how we develop people and give them career growth, and how our organisation works.

Adapted from: Predictions for 2015, Bersin by Deloitte.

PS. For tips on engagement and career planning, please click on the appropriate article here:

1. Engaging Generation Y *
2. Let’s Get Engaged ….
3. Time for Engagement?
4. Do You Know Where You’re Going To?

PPS. For related Torc services, please click on the following link:

1. Health & Wellbeing