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Chapter 4: Enablers of Engagement – What has to happen to make engagement work
In order to increase the levels of engagement, the company decided to design
a narrative graphic outlining the organisation’s journey, mission and vision that
would be relevant to everyone irrespective of their position in the organisation.
The graphic stimulated discussion of the business goals and values, change
factors and achievements to date, as well as hopes for the future. It allowed all
staff to feel ownership of the company’s vision and the strategy required to
achieve it. Following on from this exercise, the business management created a
business plan which was specifically written in a common language so that
every individual would be able to visualise exactly where they contributed to
the success of the organisation. Managers and team leaders were challenged
individually to identify which high level objectives were most pertinent to their
teams and in what ways. A number of Departments created their own ‘mini
business plan’ to contextualise objectives for their people at a local level.
Tangible benefits that have been attributed, at least in part, to various
engagement activities include a reduction of 30 per cent in sickness absence
between 2005 & 2009 and a 50 per cent reduction in reportable accidents
from 18 to nine between 2007/08 and 2008/09. Project performance has
significantly improved, resulting in overall project performance going from a
48 per cent overrun to less than three per cent. BMC’s approach to
engagement is summed up by the current Managing Director, Craig Lockhart
who says “our people have delivered and I am confident that they will continue
to deliver, so long as we are all clear on the expectations we have of each other”.
“Three years ago, Warner Bros. UK began work on a staff research project that
would eventually grow into a multi-layered employee engagement programme
that remains at the heart of the company’s commitment to being a best-in-class
organisation. The results of that investigation were critical to the successful
construction of a robust route map to better employee engagement.
Thanks to the efforts of four staff-led project groups, we have implemented over
50 high impact – and in many cases low cost – initiatives since the end of 2007.
Most if not all continue to this day and many have dramatically changed the
landscape of working life here at Warner Bros. UK.
The bottom line here is that employee engagement never stops; it is a key
business objective for Warner Bros. UK, now and in the future, and its continued
success is based on the ongoing allocation of time and resource.”
Josh Burger, President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK
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