HR OLYMPICS SPECIAL Adrian’s Olympic tips


Adrian Moorhouse, MD, Lane 4 Consulting, won a gold medal for swimming in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Here are his top tips for employee engagement: n Geography is a red herring. The majority of people will watch it on television


n Don’t bury your head in the sand. Get actively involved


n Don’t assume inspirational messages alone will turn the business around. They don’t change behaviour


n London based? You’d better have contingency plans for transport


n Employees will get wrapped up in the celebration itself. Once people tap into that, they will be engaged


n See the Olympics as an opportunity to help people perform well by creating a line of sight for the employee to a meaningful goal


n Productivity can be increased if people are inspired. So focus the inspiration into something meaningful


n Plan for adults, not schoolchildren. Engagement works better if you treat people like adults


n Consider the timing. The majority of medals tend to be decided late afternoon, early evening


increases productivity. And it can mean serious savings. “Employers should realise their business will be affected by the Olympics and should start preparing for that now. Look at the timetable for the Games. Will these timings allow staff to travel earlier or later? Or can you move some of your staff around flexibly, for example, three hours’ work in one place, two hours at home? This is very much an opportunity. It is a good time for organisations to use the opportunity to visit clients outside London, for instance. That is one solution. “Cap Gemini is reducing its staff ’s non-essential travel and


is working with clients to agree what travel is really necessary during the Games. If it’s not necessary, staff will be working remotely using technology. It is advising the Metropolitan Police on how to work effectively, even though easy travel will be reduced in London,” says Svab. “Businesses have no excuse not to be prepared – and to put


in place a process that will benefit them for many years” says Keith Tilley, UK managing director for consultancy SunGard Availability Services. Tilley says employers should focus on the practical issues.


“Reassess your flexible working policies,” he advises. “Extending existing home-working policies could have enormous benefits. Staff will certainly thank you for letting them avoid a crowded commute.


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n Identify specifi c skills demonstrated by the Olympic role models everyone will be watching. That will give you legacy


n When it comes to watching the games at work, there’s an etiquette in most fi rms around social time. Maintain that Create a TV room for more fl exible breaks, but expect people to come back and do their normal job outside this


“Work closely with your IT department: they should be at


the heart of your flexible working procedures. They can help allow employees to access email on their own devices – while ensuring that vital company data remains secure. Solutions exist to enable homeworkers to be productive in the event of disaster. It is not too late to be looking into this,” says Tilley. Clear communication, so everyone is aware of productivity


objectives throughout the games, and getting everyone up to speed with any new or temporary flexible working procedures should be every employer’s priority, wherever they are. And engagement itself will reap big rewards. As McMath puts it: “The more you get individuals to engage, the less it becomes a company diktat.” HR


HR March 2012 15


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