Milton Keynes businesses focus on measuring workplace happiness

Milton Keynes businesses now have the tools to establish how happy their workforce is with their work and their employer. Once they have established this, they can then make improvements, increase employee engagement and boost performance, says a new PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

The increasingly recognised link between high levels of employee commitment and bottom line results means business leaders all over the world are exploring engagement metrics and measures.

They can be used to enhance the image of the company as a responsible employer, or improve employee retention in fast-developing markets where staff turnover is high due to a buoyant labour market.

Rapid economic change and uncertainty in many markets makes such measures more relevant than ever. Levels of engagement are even beginning to be perceived by some investors as an important indicator of a company’s financial health and sustainability.

The report shows how companies can plot levels of engagement for an entire work force by looking at data relating to resignation levels, absence rates, employee attitudes, training hours per full-time employee (FTE), performance related pay and incidence of grievance. These range from the high levels of engagement that produce positive behaviours such as flexibility and innovation to the other end of the scale where companies experience resignations, absence, pilfering, theft, oppositional solidarity, even sabotage.

The report, ‘Managing People in a Changing World’, also looks in detail at financial performance, productivity, outsourcing, leadership, innovation, talent management, diversity, work/life balance and the growing concept of work place wellness, all through the lens of PricewaterhouseCoopers extensive human capital (HC) database, Saratoga. The report is published every two years.

Andy Groves, senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Milton Keynes, said:

“Businesses in the region are increasingly aware of the value of their employees and as a result we are seeing greater demand for evidence-based metrics. Using these tools, companies can now find out how they are performing in previously uncharted areas such as succession planning, innovation and talent management as well as using the ‘harder’ metrics, such as return on investment per worker, to determine overall business performance.

“This is an exciting opportunity for business managers. More and more companies are working hard to be perceived as responsible employers, to build attractive employer brands and fulfil their reputation as a responsible company. Human capital metrics are helping them to achieve this.”

The report reveals a further development in the area of talent management. The traditional focus on high performers and ‘high flyers’ is shifting to those employees that are expected to create value and add to the success of the business. They can range from the receptionist to the sales director and the contribution of these people has a disproportionate impact on determining both the success of an organisation and its sustainability.

Andy Groves concludes:

“In the past, business leaders have concentrated on finding ways to fast-track talented workers. This remains important, but businesses in the region are also aware that key workers at any level – who play a critical or highly-valued role in business activities - also need to be nurtured.”

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Email: Kate Snell
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