A lack of engagement
I recently heard an HR director talk about her struggle to get the board to understand that the HR strategy – and engagement in particular – are the keys to driving performance, and that the ‘people agenda’ should fit coherently with the business strategy. Her view was that HR is not taken seriously enough, being seen instead as “pink and fluffy”; the ‘soft stuff’. That’s something we hear a lot in our work.
Clients often talk about the need for more adult-to-adult conversations where the leaders treat employees with respect and listen to and value their views and concerns. Time and again, however, engagement surveys tell us that this just isn’t happening. ‘Soft stuff’? Hardly. In my experience the ability to have these kinds of difficult conversations is the ‘hard stuff’.
This picture reminds me that the engagement gap is also between HR and the rest of the board. How can HR leaders engage with other leaders diferently?
What do you think?
Comments
One Response to “A lack of engagement”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] well-rehearsed comments by HR reps, such as those referred to at this article http://www.delta7.com/a-lack-of-engagement/ on employee engagement, betray an HR demeanour which can be paraphrased as: ‘Those other [...]