Wellbeing The message for leaders is clear.
You need to step back and re-evaluate your business culture and in particular how your values translate into employee engagement, when you find yourself doing the following: l helping out with day-to-day tasks because employees are not getting through as much work as they once did
l mediating between employees who are having open disagreements
l spending time replacing staff as employee turnover soars
l looking for emergency cover in the face of rising sickness levels
l managing an escalating budget as wastage increases
l dealing with complaints about the level of care provided.
Engagement So what is employee engagement? There are many different definitions, but the one I have chosen comes from Engage for Success. That is: “Employee engagement is a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organisation to give of their best each day, committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, with an enhanced sense of their own wellbeing.” Supported by the Department for
Business Innovation and Skills, Engage for Success is an independent task force that aims to promote discussion around engagement across the private, public and third sectors. It was set up in 2011 following the publication of a report to the government that highlighted the importance of engagement in delivering
not only business success but also contributing to the overall success of the country. What it advocates is helping your
staff to move away from mechanically following some sort of tick box job culture, instead actively looking to deliver the strategy, aims and values of the organisation because they want to. In the process, this takes activities away from the purely routine as people constantly look to do more and deliver more. So how do we switch on employee
engagement? Well according to Engage for Success there are four enablers of engagement, and I would suggest that these can then be translated into everyday actions through a pathway that is known as the 4Es of engagement. Step one requires the leadership to
look again at the organisation and to draw up a strong strategic narrative that will underpin engagement efforts. This would involve looking at your history and your purpose, why you continue to exist and what you are trying to achieve. It is not enough to simply say that you are a care home or a care provider; anyone can say that, but what you are trying to define is something that will act as a hook to attract the best staff, to help you to stand
out and to deliver the most outstanding levels of care. This isn’t an exercise that can be
undertaken lightly but it is one that will define the future of your organisation. It may involve a lot of soul searching as you determine your vision, mission and values, but without this work you are never going to be able to deliver an engaged workforce within a strong culture of care. When you are working out your
organisation’s values and bringing them to life through staff behaviour, the key to success is to involve them in the process as much and as often as possible. They are on the front line dealing with residents on a daily basis, and if you open up the way they will come up with valuable suggestions that you may not have thought of. If you keep your story to yourself then you will never engage hearts and minds in acting it out. Step two is to take the narrative and
break it down for your staff, finding ways to help them take the story to their hearts. This was always an important element of engagement, but it is becoming increasingly so as the Millennials and Generation Z have an increasing role in the workforce. These individuals have been identified
as being more ethical, caring and concerned about social good than previous generations. If you want them to buy into your vision, to work for you,
and to be engaged, then you have to create the right conditions for them. So it’s up to you as a manager to look at communications, mentoring, coaching and training; all with a view to helping your staff to assimilate the values, behaviours and practices that will deliver engagement. Engagement is a two way street, so if
you are sincere then you have to take action to give your employees a voice. That means not simply listening to their concerns, views or ideas, it means engaging in a shared dialogue. It also means shifting responsibility for engagement into the hands of your staff, an area that we will consider later.
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www.thecarehomeenvi ronment .com • January 2017
When you are working out your organisation’s values and bringing them to life through staff behaviour, the key to success is to involve them in the process as much and as often as possible
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