HR Managers focusing on employee engagement

East Anglian HR Managers and staff are seemingly more concerned about the issue of employee engagement than about other potentially topical staff matters according to a straw poll taken at an employment conference hosted by Ashtons Legal and global recruiters Hays.

78% of attendees indicated that this issue concerned them more than Brexit, Gender Pay Gap reporting and the Gig Economy. Brexit and issues surrounding staffing and immigration was the second highest cause for concern.

Ashtons’ HR Director Antony Sloan said: “The reason for HR focusing on engagement is largely due to it being in the here and now. As we know from research that has been carried out, an engaged workforce can lead to enhancing the bottom line of a business, but the question remains – how do you get an engaged workforce?”

He adds: “Many people feel there is an art to creating an engaged workforce, however there is not. It is all to do with listening to your employees and understanding the style of the business to create the type of culture needed for the engaged worker to flourish. Certainly the type of engagement we have at Ashtons is vastly different to the engagement I would have created in some of the other ‘blue chip’ businesses I have worked in.”

The event was held at CenterParcs in Elvedon near Thetford and welcomed 100 mainly HR professionals from companies all over East Anglia.

The guest speakers at the event were Doug Field, Joint Chief Executive of the East of England Co-op and David Reade QC who worked on the recent case involving Uber.Delegates also heard presentations from Ashtons’ HR Director Antony Sloan on the firm’s Paid Time Off Policy and Flexible Working, plus solicitors Claire Sleep and Jess Piper who joined Hays’ Yvonne Smith to talk about the duties employers now face regarding Gender Pay Gap reporting.

Feedback from delegates showed most delegates were interested in the talks around Ashtons’ Paid Time Off Policy, the Gig Economy and the issue of Culture and Engagement within organisations.

Pictured: Ashtons’ Employment Law and HR Team