Keeping younger employees engaged

One of the most important assets a business can have is an engaged workforce. Especially when the economy has gone to the dogs and that business needs all the help it can get. Gfk Custom Research has just conducted a study of over 30,000 employees across 29 countries and found that workers between the ages [...]

The secret to creating engaged employees

It’s no secret that an engaged employee is a more productive and profitable one. Researchers have analysed the impact that engaged employees have on a business and found that active engagement is a strong factor in driving innovation and building solid customer relationships. As with many aspects of business, once a need is identified, ‘experts’ [...]

Employee engagement: does it really make a difference?

I’ve just read a study which reported that in the later half of 2011 fewer than one in three employees worldwide were engaged in their jobs, while almost one in five classed themselves as disengaged. The report, by BlessingWhite, revealed which working environments were more likely to foster engaged employees. It found that engaged employees [...]

The Audi series part one: interview with Paul Sansom, Audi UK

Driving business improvements for Audi Audi has seen phenomenal growth in the past two years, reporting record sales in 2010, and competing in new market segments with models such as the Audi A1 (Which Car? ‘Car of the Year’ 2011). It has ambitious plans: 13 new models are planned for launch in 2011. Insight Exchange [...]

Driving business improvements for Audi: Insight Exchange and Audi UK

Audi has seen phenomenal growth in the past two years, despite a tough economic environment. The company reported record sales in 2010, and has plans to launch 13 new models in 2011. It has entered and is competing in new market segments with models such as the Audi A1 (Which Car? ‘Car of the Year’ [...]

Employee relations: is your workforce engaged?

Coming swiftly after the announcement of the government’s new ‘Employee Engagement Taskforce’,   the CIPD’s Employee Relations Survey reveals some interesting statistics about current attitudes to employee engagement. It found that 65 per cent of employers surveyed viewed employee engagement as the most likely focus for developing ongoing employment relationships, while 59 per cent also said [...]

Banking on Customer Service

The Guardian this week reported that improving customer service (or, more specifically, reducing customer complaints) is a priority for incoming CEO of Lloyds, António Horta-Osório. He has his work cut out. The financial services sector (with notable exceptions of one or two companies) performs poorly when it comes to customer service. And at least Lloyds [...]

Engaged employees: a strategy for growth

The UK government announced this week that it is backing the creation of an ‘Employee Engagement Taskforce’, specifically designed to look at the issue of how to engage and motivate employees as to harness them as a force for growth (reported in HR Magazine by David Woods). The taskforce is the result of recommendations made [...]

Good morning, may I read my script?

We have all felt the frustration of having to work our way through an automated phone system while trying to deal with a bank, utility or IT company. In fact the top four reasons for poor service from the customer’s point of view are being ‘trapped’ on an automated self-service phone line; waiting too long [...]

Becoming customer-centric through collaborative culture

It is common practice for businesses to define customers by the transaction, viewing them as important only because they are the end of the supply chain. Because getting them to spend as much money as possible with your businesses is the ultimate aim, right? Well, no, not if your aim is to create long-term customer [...]