Adam Gordon is co-founder and CEO of talent pipeline automation company Candidate.ID. Previously he was managing director of Social Media Search, in recruitment marketing at Havas and in human resource services at PwC. He mostly splits his time between Glasgow and London. In his spare time, he plays squash, attends the soft play with his kids and enjoys telling people why he thinks most employers are failing at recruitment.
What does employee engagement mean to you?
To me, employee engagement is the way in which employees are communicated to, inspired and motivated by their employer. In an ideal world, employee engagement shouldn’t be a ‘thing’ because employees should be engaged naturally through the company’s culture and practices. In reality, though, it’s very useful to put in place a framework which helps shape the way people are engaged.
How to measure employee engagement?
Employee retention used to be a useful measurement for engagement but nowadays this is becoming less important as workers progressively reject the concept of full time, permanent employment in favor of contracting and other ways of earning money. Surveying your people is the best way to measure employee engagement and I prefer an evergreen pulse check type of survey.
What are the common causes of employee disengagement?
From my experience in employee communications at Havas and PwC as well as a business owner, it’s all about communication. If people are over-burdened with communication, receive the wrong messages in the wrong channels and leadership style is inconsistent, problems arise.
What are the drivers of employee engagement in today’s fast-moving world?
If people know their employer’s mission and the part they should play in that mission, they will be engaged.
What makes a really effective employee engagement programme? Any best practices to share?
Ensure all business leaders and managers are trained in effective team communication so messages are cascaded consistently. Create guidelines around which channels should be used for which messages.
