So far, we’ve discussed the technical components of Business Excellence, including the design of the management system, strategic management, operational management and operational processes.
Today, we’ll begin exploring the social system which underpins business excellence, and in particular the importance of leading, managing and developing people.
Enhancing engagement is one of the highest-leverage ways to improve results and is an integral part of Business Excellence.
But, in practical terms, what does engagement mean?
Defining engagement
In an excellence culture, engagement includes, but goes beyond, ‘employee satisfaction’. It implies that people feel active commitment to their role, to the aims of the organisation, and to pursuing excellence and continuous improvement, both personally and for the business.
From the business’s perspective, the ultimate aim is to create a culture that actively unlocks and develops people’s potential and deploys it such that they can collaborate in improving the business.
The foundations of a high-engagement culture
Excellent engagement is built on effective people-management processes that:
- Consistently provide the information, resources, skills and support that people need to succeed and feel good about their work
- Set high standards for attitude and behaviour and hold people accountable through consistent, constructive dialogue (with these standards being set first and foremost for leaders and managers)
- Give people responsibility and the chance to grow by tackling real problems
- Provide reasonable latitude and support for people to take managed risks as they strive to develop and improve things for themselves, customers and the company
- Provide ongoing coaching, and the opportunity for people to continually develop their capabilities and learn new skills
The ultimate aim is to create a culture that actively unlocks and develops people’s potential and deploys it such that they can collaborate in improving the business
Why engagement matters
Effective people management is of strategic importance for organisations aspiring to excellence. High-value-adding people working in a collaborative culture is not a luxury, but a necessity, for delivering the excellent operational performance and the ongoing strategic improvement required to remain relevant and competitive in complex and dynamic mid-21st-century business environments.
Questions to consider:
How much of your team’s potential is consistently unlocked and deployed?
In what ways could you enhance your people-management strategy to increase the value-creating potential of your people?
Let’s get to work
Over 27 years of practice, we have developed a comprehensive, time-tested and field-proven business-improvement model and toolkit. We partner with ambitious businesses to identify strategic breakthrough opportunities in capability, performance and results, and we provide the tools, support, training and coaching to complement their existing expertise and help them achieve these.
If you’re aiming to build or optimise a business system using sound principles, values and standards to deliver consistently excellent and continuously improving results, we can help you develop and implement a strategy to accelerate progress and amplify the impact of your journey.
To get in touch, contact us here to book a free consultation.
Discover more of our tools and methodology in our book Toward Excellence.
