Hear from Gordon Parkes, executive director people and culture at NIE Networks as he explains the steps the company took to boost its employee engagement by 34 per cent.
Assessing NIE Networks’ original engagement engagement score
In 2012 we decided to take a strategic approach to embed employee engagement within the business. We ran an employee engagement survey which gave an Engagement index of 37 per cent so we initially wanted to broaden our engagement offering beyond the traditional trade union approach.
Putting thought into action
We began by establishing a permanent Employee Engagement Board and through its work began to expand our listening opportunities by identifying key issues or areas.
This has since resulted in the establishment of:
- Partnership approach to Employee Relations Forums
- A 2050 Forum, involving those aged 35 and under
- An Employee Voice programme for professional and administration employees similar to the one for Craft employees
- An Innovation Hub
- A Vehicle Fleet Forum
- A Health & Wellbeing Forum
- A Diversity & Inclusion Forum
- A Facilities Group
- Our Safer Together Programme to guide our safety culture with learning becoming the primary goal.
These forums, along with employee surveys, focus groups and employee voice meetings, enable active listening and feedback, as well as action and accountability. There is a commitment to implement changes based on input received and the opportunity for confidentiality where necessary.
Importantly we have continually fed back on what we have been told and the action we have subsequently taken.
Seeing the results
In June of this year we were delighted to achieve our long-term goal when we were officially granted Investor in People Platinum Accreditation. Having held Investors in People Gold from 2014 we were determined to continually improve to achieve the highest level possible. It is a tremendous achievement for all of our employees and demonstrates our skills, experience and dedication.
Furthermore, results from our 2024 Employee Engagement Pulse Survey had an engagement index of 88 per cent – up from the original 37 per cent at the start of the programme. This, along with a response rate of 71 per cent led to the achievement of the Outstanding Workplace Award from People Insight.
It has been a long journey but continual engagement and improvement, extensive listening and respecting that all employees have a voice and want to be heard is central to our engagement process.
We are an organisation that likes to get things done but have learnt that time spent on meaningful employee engagement helps us arrive at better decisions, sounder long-term solutions and develop positive employee relations with a greater understanding of company rationale and joint ownership of decisions made.
To learn more, visit NIE Networks.