Employee engagement 'more vital than ever in present climate'

The pressures of the current financial climate have made it more important than ever for managers to properly engage with staff.

This is the view of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which is preparing to stage a conference on the subject of employee engagement in London in January 2012.

According to Ben Wilmott, head of public policy for the organisation, many workers are currently feeling a sense of job insecurity, which is coupled with pay freezes and rising living costs.

It is therefore important that those with responsibility for leading people offer support and help to improve their wellbeing, as this is key to getting the best out of them and enhancing productivity.

"Just a small improvement in leadership and management capability - and therefore employee engagement - would have a significant impact on increasing output, improving service delivery and boosting innovation," he observed.

This comes after a report from the CIPD last month suggested that too many companies are delegating the vital task of employee engagement to under-qualified line managers, instead of treating it seriously.

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