The evidence indicates that for it to be successful, leaders have to champion and line managers have to lead engagement. But the HR profession and HR practitioners have a vital role to play. As Jackie Orme, the Chief Executive of CIPD emphasised to us, a key challenge for the profession was to ensure that employee engagement ‘gets put on the table’ in companies and organisations.
“HR can’t manufacture engagement, but we have a key role in helping companies develop the kind of organisational culture where engagement can thrive, and ensuring that managers have the skills to make engagement a reality.” According to CIPD’s recent discussion paper An HR Director’s Guide to Employee Engagement (June 2009) HR professionals needed both to recognise the importance of engagement and ensure access to a wide range of tools and techniques to facilitate line management effectiveness at engagement.
At the same time, engagement underlines the importance of HR engaging with business strategy and goals, as well as ensuring that wider HR policies and practices which impact on engagement, such as training and development, are in place. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, there is a danger that HR can get separated from people issues such as engagement. “When business executives talk about HR, they focus on things like reward and benefits, performance evaluations, and HR operating efficiency. But when these same executives talk about people issues, they focus on strategic challenges such as talent management, workforce productivity and leadership development.”134
Many respondents to this review pointed to the strategic opportunity that employee engagement represented for HR to re-establish the profession at the heart of business and organisational success, rather than being viewed as a cost centre or administrative function.
“HR can’t manufacture engagement, but we have a key role in helping companies develop the kind of organisational culture where engagement can thrive, and ensuring that managers have the skills to make engagement a reality.” According to CIPD’s recent discussion paper An HR Director’s Guide to Employee Engagement (June 2009) HR professionals needed both to recognise the importance of engagement and ensure access to a wide range of tools and techniques to facilitate line management effectiveness at engagement.
At the same time, engagement underlines the importance of HR engaging with business strategy and goals, as well as ensuring that wider HR policies and practices which impact on engagement, such as training and development, are in place. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, there is a danger that HR can get separated from people issues such as engagement. “When business executives talk about HR, they focus on things like reward and benefits, performance evaluations, and HR operating efficiency. But when these same executives talk about people issues, they focus on strategic challenges such as talent management, workforce productivity and leadership development.”134
Many respondents to this review pointed to the strategic opportunity that employee engagement represented for HR to re-establish the profession at the heart of business and organisational success, rather than being viewed as a cost centre or administrative function.