Sales and marketing professionals often talk of putting the customer first. As HR professionals, we must ensure that we are putting employees first.

Yes, it is another post about engagement. There’s a reason that so much is written about engagement though; a company cannot experience sustained commercial success without having engaged employees.

Nita Clarke and David MacLeod, authors of the ‘Engaging for success’ report, are doing a great job of keeping engagement high on the business agenda. And business leaders are now clearer than ever on what engagement is and why it’s important.

It’s now time for action though with engagement scores reportedly falling. Companies must do more to engage employees. This could include:

·         Creating more regular dialogue with employees, involving them in the strategic direction of the business

·         Offering greater support – smaller teams and increased workload has caused added pressure for employees; managers must be flexible and help to ease this burden

·         Investing in employees through providing training and creating clear development paths

·         Actively encouraging better work-life balance.

Employees are, ultimately, a company’s biggest potential competitive advantage. They are a genuine point of difference. Make sure that it is an advantage that your company is harnessing.