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Engaging for success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement
be met, and goals achieved, whether it be improved patient care, higher quality
production, or more satisfied customers.
7 Of course a sustainable business strategy and access to cash are vital, just as good
policy and planning are for successful public services. But in a world where most
factors of production are increasingly standardised, where a production line or the
goods on a supermarket shelf are much the same the world over, employee
engagement is the difference that makes the difference – and could make all the
difference as we face the realities of globalised competition and of the millions of
graduates and even more skilled and committed workers that China, India and other
economies are producing each year.
8 As our public services face the reality of an end to the years of rapid growth in
investment, it is hard to see how the quality of service we all aspire to see –
employees and citizens alike – can be achieved without putting the enthusiasm,
commitment and knowledge of public service employees at the forefront of delivery
strategies.
9 Nor is employee engagement only relevant in retail, where customers expect a
cheerful face on the till, rather than a languid hand waving them to a far-off aisle in
response to a query about the availability of marmalade, and where employees’
attitudes demonstrably and immediately impact on customer satisfaction. As Sir
Alan Jones, Chairman Emeritus of Toyota UK told us: “Wherever you work, your job
as a manager is to make your people be the best they can be – and usually they don’t
know just how good they could be. It’s individuals that make the difference”. For
Toyota, this approach is not based on altruism – though it is based on a profound
respect for its members. It is predicated on the firm belief that the most valuable
asset the company has is its people, and that enabling them to have an intellectual
and emotional relationship with their work, as well as a financial stake in the
success of the company, is the key to continuous product and productivity
improvement from the shop floor to the boardroom. Toyota’s people are their
competitive advantage.
10 The way employee engagement operates can take many forms – that is one of the
most fascinating aspects of the topic – and the best models are those which have
been custom-developed for the institution. As everyone knows, John Lewis
Partnership is a company owned by its employees – but the company is clear that
its model of shop-floor voice and engagement, which is such a critical factor in its
continued success, is not simply a function of its ownership structure, but stems
from a profound belief, first articulated by its founder, that people working in the
business are central to its success.
11 Many company leaders described to us the ‘light-bulb moment’ when an
understanding of the full potential significance of employee engagement dawned.
Tesco Chief Executive Terry Leahy has recorded his reaction when he realised that
the company knew more about its customers than it did about its employees, and
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