Employee engagement highlighted in Walk & Talk podcast

In the fifth episode of Walk & Talk, Cathy Brown, the Executive Director of Engage for Success, speaks to John Hamilton about the four common themes that enable successful employee engagement.

Engage for Success is a movement committed to the idea that there is a better way to work, a better way to enable personal growth, organisational growth and ultimately growth for Britain by releasing more of the capability and potential of people at work. The movement aims to grow awareness about the power and potential of employee engagement and provoke people to think and to learn more about it.

Ready for the off with @johnXhamilton #beckettsteps pic.twitter.com/UBHviy43k6

— Cathy Brown (@cathyab) June 11, 2015

Speaking about the episode, John said: “It was great to have such an engaging conversation with Cathy and talk in detail about employee engagement and elements of leadership and management.  As a University, we are part of the regional steering group for Engage for Success and are committed through initiatives such as the Lunchtime Walking Club to ensuring that engagement is at the heart of all we do.”

The crowds gathering - and such a great day for a lunchtime walk pic.twitter.com/ts3KbNuXlk

— Cathy Brown (@cathyab) June 11, 2015

Engage for Success provides evidence, case studies and points of view about how employee engagement drives performance and productivity to achieve growth, to make the case for action. They support people in the workplace with practical tools and ideas they need to take action, and we hope to inspire people to get involved in our movement by facilitating access to likeminded communities, experts and leaders.

The movement is widely supported across the UK, involving the public, private and third sectors in the belief they can learn a lot from each other. Organisations supporting the movement account for more than 2,000,000 people.

The following four enablers of engagement have proved to be useful lenses which can help organisations assess the effectiveness of their approaches.

• Visible, empowering leadership providing a strong strategic narrative about the organisation, where it’s come from and where it’s going.
• Engaging managers who focus their people and give them scope, treat their people as individuals and coach and stretch their people.
• There is employee voice throughout the organisations, for reinforcing and challenging views, between functions and externally, employees are seen as central to the solution.
• There is organisational integrity – the values on the wall are reflected in day to day behaviours. There is no ‘say –do’ gap.

The monthly Lunchtime Walk and Talk podcast sees John Hamilton, Head of Safety, Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Beckett, in conversation with experts from our University and beyond, as they take part in the University’s regular lunchtime walks.

In the first edition of the Lunchtime Walk & Talk podcast, John spoke to Ruth Cross, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett about her research interests and how she became an academic.

In the second edition, Professor Jim McKenna spoke with John about the importance of staying active in the workplace.

The third edition of the podcast saw Team GB Race Walker Tom Bosworth in conversation with John as they discussed the mechanics of walking, Tom’s journey to international athlete and his aspirations for the World Championships in Beijing and beyond.

Leeds Beckett researcher Penny Andrews spoke to John Hamilton in the fourth edition of the Lunchtime Walk and Talk about living and working with autism. Penny currently works on the Autism&Uni project, which aims to help students with autism succeed at university.

The Leeds Beckett Lunchtime Walking Club launched in March 2014 as part of the University’s Bright Ideas scheme.

Walks take place on a weekly basis, at City Campus on Tuesdays and Headingley Campus on Thursdays.

Each walk is around 40 minutes in duration and between 2 and 3 miles in length with a variety of routes from both campuses, suitable for all abilities.