Engaging employeeson sustainability

G r e e n B u s i n e s s C o n f e r e n c e R o u n d t a b l e D i s c u s s i o n

To n b r i d g e , 1 9 t h N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 3

Monika MaciejewskaSustainability & CSR Strategist

Agen

da UK workplace engagement ratio Defining engagement Towards sustainable engagement

World-class engaged business are ...

More productive (↑18%) Absenteeism ↓37%

More profitable (↑16% ) Safer (Incidents ↓49% )

Source: Gallup, Employee Engagement, What’s your engagement ratio?

UK engagement ratio 17% engaged employees in the UK *

57% not engaged employees in the UK*

£50 bn eliminating active disengagement would add to the UK’s economy *

9.1 days average sickness days taken by UK employee

3.5 days less sick days taken by engaged employees

* Gallup, State of the Global Workplace Report 2013

Employee engagement

“Being positively present during the performance of

work by willingly contributing intellectual

effort, experiencing positive emotions and meaningful

connections to other”CIPD

Types of engagement

Engaged – loyal, psychologically committed to the organization, more productive, more likely to stay with their company for at least a year, less likely to have accidents on the job, and less likely to steal, have most of their performance-related workplace needs met

Not engaged - may be productive but they are not psychologically connected to their company, more likely to miss workdays and more likely to leave, have their performance-related workplace needs met but have many needs unmet

Actively disengaged - physically present but psychologically absent, unhappy with their work situation and insist on sharing that unhappiness with their colleagues, have most of their performance-related workplace needs unmet

“To win in the marketplace you must

first win in the workplace.”Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup

Sustainability

Sustainable Development - development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs”UN & Brundtland Report

3 pillars of sustainability Environment (Planet)

Example initiatives: reduction of use of water, heat and electricity, CO2 (travel), waste minimisation

Social (People ) Example initiatives: charity fundraisers,

volunteering in the community, apprenticeship programmes, skills enhancement, development programmes, community outreach

Economic (Profit) Innovation, Resource efficiency, Risk

management, sustainable sourcing policies, human rights

Journey towards engagement

Sustainability is a journey

Preliminary stage

•Ad-hoc projects •Driven by key people within an organisation, often with a personal interest in the topic

•Not repeatable or scalable

Need for change

•Market opportunity•Business risk e.g. Social, supply chain •Financial gains e.g. Savings, new revenue streams•Social and cultural change

Strategy & Vision

• Establishing a sustainability leadership team•Creating sustainability vision•Developing sustainability strategies , setting goals and measureable targets

Journey towards engagement

Awareness &

Knowledge

•Employees feel fully informed about Company’s sustainability goals and understand the reasoning behind it

•Sustainability leadership team is the role model for the expected behaviour and attitude - leadership by example

•Employees share Company’s vision and values•Employees have sufficient knowledge about sustainability

Connection •Employees are starting to relate to the topic at home and at work •Key business processes and sustainability objectives are being aligned•Short-term wins are becoming visible and provide sense of achievement •Time to reward people who made the wins possible

Commitment

• Employees show interest & initiative in sustainability• Sustainable innovation is being fostered•Eliminating processes, structures and policies that don’t fit with the vision • Time to identify develop, promote, nominate sustainability champions (change agents)• Injection of fresh energy into the strategy by starting new projects and forming theme focused working groups

Action•Employees are actively participating in sustainability related activities and initiatives•Mid and long -term objectives are being met•Time to engage clients and suppliers on sustainability agenda• Celebrate successes & think about progression•Leadership development

Why new initiatives fail

Lack of visionLack of leadershipWrong people for the job –

sustainability championsInsufficient communicationFailing to create short-term

winsLack of praise and

recognition

Summary

Develop a sustainability vision – what are you

trying to achieve

Get people involved in defining sustainability

strategy

Summary

Talk to your team about sustainability

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION of VISIONSimple

Explain what & why Frequent

Use examples Multiple forums

Two way

Summary

Training & Passing on knowledge is important

but not enough to create lasting change

Leadership (!)Lead by example

Motivate

Summary

Indentify your champions Look beyond roles & job functions

Search for passion and real interest

Summary

Recognise achievements Always praise is public

Summary

Ensure high standard&

Think about progression

Summary

Keep it interesting Sustainability can be fun!

About us

Our Mission

To provide our clients with a peace of mind allowing them to

grow their businesses in an ethical way

Contact us

Monika MaciejewskaSustainability & CSR Strategist

e: info@monikamaciejewska.comw: www.monikamaciejewska.comt: @majooskiin: www.linkedin.com/in/mmaciejewska