Where are the best countries to work? Scandinavian countries are often viewed as the ultimate place to work, but there is plenty of debate and many lists.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting member countries to measure the happiness and well-being of their people. In 2017, the top countries were Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and Finland. Sweden was 9th, the UK 19th and USA 18th. When reviewing many of these studies and lists, an effective way to measure job satisfaction and competent employees is employee engagement. It embodies company culture, and engaged employees are likely to support the organisation.

Aon’s detailed report into Global Trends in Employee Engagement provides the following thought:

“People are also emotional and fickle. They want to be won over. That is why employee engagement can be an organisation’s great differentiator in times of stability or in times of rapid change. When you have a Culture of Engagement, your competitors had better take notice.”

So how can you improve employee engagement, improve employee and company performance and move the UK up the list! Coppice HR recommends the following:

• A well-planned induction is important. Recognition should start before the new employee walks through the door. If the new recruit feels welcome and part of the organisation from the very first hour there is not a need to try and rectify this on day two!
• Ensure that all employees are in the right role in the organisation. This is key in recruitment, development and retention. It is hard to fit a ‘square peg in a round hole’, but often look at the skills they offer and how can these be utilised.
• Provide training and development opportunities. Do not promise that everyone will be CEO but ensure obstacles that prevent progression are removed.
• Employees need to understand their role in the organisation. The “Why?” question. It must be clear where an individual’s job fits in the organisation and how the tasks make a difference in achieving the mission, objectives and targets for the Company. Clarity of goals and responsibilities is critical.
• Managers need to provide feedback on how the employee is performing regularly. It can’t be left to the annual Performance Review! Weekly short and informal conversations often work well.
• Consider flexibility in the workplace. Employees appreciate they are accountable for their performance but remove micromanagement and provide an element of leeway. Remember that they are (often) professional adults who want to do their best.

I am confident that many organisations in Scandinavian countries have good employee engagement, but why can’t your organisation too? Coppice HR is a strong believer that engaged employees will improve organisation performance, reduce recruitment and absence rates, while reducing the time, stress and costs of the negative aspects of HR, namely grievances and disciplinaries! You don’t need to be Scandinavian or a large organisation to benefit. Contact us on 07814 008478 or paul@coppicehr.com so we can discuss and provide engagement tools and ideas for your organisation.

Inspired by: Forbes – Employee Engagement 2017 and AON Report on Employee Engagement