Leading industry practitioners speaking at last week’s STEP Employer Partnership Programme (EPP) Summer Forum discussed how to understand employee engagement, and put new ideas into practice. Particular topics for discussion included flexibility in the workplace, and understanding gender diversity and inclusion. The day was chaired by STEP CEO, Mark Walley and hosted by RSM at its London office. 

Feedback forms and focus groups

Janine Mayor noted employees can easily become disengaged or disillusioned with their roles, and that employers need to find a way to ensure that their people ‘walk into work each day wanting to give their best, and connect with the goals and values of their organisation.’

Key questions should include, ‘What are the relationships like in my organisation? Do people buy into where the company is going? and, Are they engaged with the business and recognised for their achievements?’ Janine recommended employee feedback surveys to understand their needs and wishes, noting that while managers cannot provide everything employees want, through training and good communication, they can effectively respond.

A clear and regular internal communications programme in place will let individuals know they are listened to, supported and recognised. In turn, they will feel part of, and engaged with, an organisation’s journey and goals.

Lorraine Wheeler TEP gave a case study of how her company is putting such steps into practice. She particularly highlighted the use of focus groups.

‘The views of the staff are the key benchmark for what needs to change in any company, and senior staff need to buy in to those views and the changes suggested,’ she said. ‘Focus groups bring inclusivity and also showcase cross-sections of the workforce, and the different needs of different employee demographics.’

Employees must have a ‘safe space’ in which to raise concerns, she added, and management needs to address them. ‘To engage them, they have to be involved, listened to, and taken seriously,’ she said, adding, ‘and then they need to see the results.’

Flexibility and gender diversity

The gender diversity conversation is more important than ever in 2019, as Bonnie Steiner TEP and Rina Goldenberg Lynch stressed in their discussion of workforce inclusion.

They discussed the unconscious bias still existing against women: assumptions that they can’t lead effectively, aren’t ambitious, or will abandon their careers once they have had children.

‘Gender diversity policies are vital to promote change, not just from the ethical perspective, but from the business perspective,’ Bonnie explained.

Aside from the moral implications of a bias against women in the workplace, as well as the possibility of legal complaints against gender non-compliance, the two presented the business case for companies promoting women to boards, from recruitment and retention, to business development and attracting new clients.

Moreover, a balanced male-female board will always show improved decision-making and corporate governance through the different perspectives brought to the table. 

Caroline McCague discussed the importance of increased flexibility: not just for women in the workplace, but for all employees striving to find a work/life balance, noting that too many organisations focus on the physical presence of employees in the office, rather than their goals and productivity.

‘Flexibility should be a strategic tool to supplement engagement, productivity, performance and cultural change,’ she said. ‘Creating a supportive working environment is about helping people to work in different ways as they all work towards the same organisational goals.’

Reviewing the day, Mark Walley said: ‘the Employer Partnership Programme is really important to us at STEP, as it reinforces the relationship between us and the employers of our professional members. We have a shared commitment to the professional standards that we develop, to the training and education undertaken to reach those standards and to the professionalism that is required to become and remain a member of STEP. Together, those elements provide consumers the confidence they seek and is why they come to STEP members for their advice.

‘Events such as the Summer Forum are a fabulous opportunity for EPP partners to come together, share best practice, discuss the issues that they are dealing with and take away actions they can implement right away. The levels of engagement were huge: thank you to all that joined the discussion.’

Helen Swire is News Editor at STEP.