On Wednesday 11 June 2014, Professor Yannis Georgellis chaired the ‘Employee Engagement: Driving Productivity and Performance’ forum at the Arlington Conference Centre in central London.
The event was convened by Policy Knowledge, a government-run organisation providing in-depth, policy-led briefings and forums for the public, private and third sectors. The forum was well-attended by representatives from companies such as Nestlé, Balfour Beatty Investments, NHS Employers and others working to deliver an engaged, productive and motivated workforce.
Professor Yannis Georgellis focused on incentives for performance and discussed whether engaged employees are actually more productive. He also considered whether models of employee engagement and wellbeing have the potential to be a viable alternative to the standard profit maximising business model.
“Individuals are not necessarily engaged with their day to day work and are often more likely to do so with the people in their workplace, or even something outside of work altogether. Individual differences can create many challenges when implementing HR practices as a single approach may never suit everyone. One way to address this is through matching talents with what individuals really care about, ensuring employees gain both motivation and satisfaction through the work they complete.” Professor Yannis Georgellis, Kent Business School
Other speakers included Wendy Leedham, former Programme Director at Engage for Success and Professor John Purcell from Bath University School of Management.
As a result of lively debate, a number of outstanding questions surrounding employee engagement were answered and many current issues and doubts being faced in practice were addressed. The overall outcomes of the day were deemed very successful.
Enhancing and developing understanding of employee engagement, and how to utilise it most appropriately, forms a key part of current Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in organisations today and continues to create much discussion amongst academics and industry specialists. We are delighted to see Professor Georgellis represent Kent Business School at this event and share his expertise in such a significant and contemporary area of HRM.
In addition to chairing this event, Professor Georgellis will also be organising the 2014 Humanistic Management Conference on ‘Well-being and Business’ which takes place in November at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Headquarters in Paris.