1. Engaging Our People NUS Services Convention 2014
Sarah McIntosh (HR Consultant, NUS)
Graham Atkinson (Head of People, NUS)

2. Objectives of the Session
To discuss the concept of employee engagement within a Student Movement context
To give you an overview of how engaged our people are in the Student Movement
For you to share what you do to engage employees in some different areas
To shine the spotlight on some great examples from students’ unions and inaugural Employee Engagement Awards

3. Facts and Figures Over 22,000 employees (3% of the voluntary sector)
5,000+ career staff and approx. 17,000 student staff
2/3 of our staff are women… But only 1/3 of our CXs (compared to 44% within voluntary sector)
Our ‘People Power’ extends beyond our staff:
- 60k+ volunteers in community projects
- 40k+ volunteers involved in RAG
- 60k+ course, school and faculty reps
41% have IiP Status (v 44% of voluntary sector)

4. What is employee engagement?

5. Lord Currie, Dean Cass Business School
What is it?
“Employee Engagement is when the organisation values the employees and when the employees value the organisation.”
Anon
“You sort of smell it – what goes on in meetings, how people talk to each other. You get a sense of energy, commitment, belief in what the organisation stands for.”
Lord Currie, Dean Cass Business School

6. Autonomy Mastery Purpose Daniel Pink
The Keys to Engagement
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose
Daniel Pink

7. Business case
Research shows that employee engagement correlates strongly with performance. (McLeod 2009)
Benefits for organisations:
Higher individual performance/productivity
Better customer service
Advocacy by employees – seen as an employer of choice
Pre-requisite for innovation
Higher retention
Lower absence
Benefits for employees:
better psychological well-being
positive emotional experiences

8. Student Experience & Employee Engagement

9. Employee Engagement & Student Experience
Correlation score = 0.61

10. The National Employee
Engagement Survey 2014

11. What is it?
Measures employee engagement and satisfaction – 80 questions
Enables benchmarking against:
- A chosen peer group
- SU movement
- Third sector
2014 survey gathered views of around 2000 staff across 27 SUs

12. Employee Engagement SU Benchmark TS Benchmark
Employee Engagement Index
83.3%
82.1%
Pride
84.5%
Advocacy
77.8%
72.8%
Extra Effort
88.9%

13. Trends Across SUs

14. Trends across SUs The organisation values diversity
My work contributes to the organisations performance
I would willingly put in extra effort
I trust and respect my manager
Proud to tell people I work here
Prompt acknowledgement and recognition
Good prospects for promotion
I am kept informed of what is happening
I am rewarded fairly in comparison with others in the organisation
I receive regular timely feedback

15. How do we compare to the
Third Sector?

16. I often work longer than my contracted hours SUs 32.8% TS 53.5%
We’re ahead on…
I often work longer than my contracted hours
SUs 32.8% TS 53.5%

17. The leadership group leads by example SUs 65.5% TS 46%
We’re ahead on…
The leadership group leads by example
SUs 65.5% TS 46%

18. Colleagues trust and respect each other SUs 86.2% TS 76.1%
We’re ahead on…
Colleagues trust and respect each other
SUs 86.2% TS 76.1%

19. We’re ahead on…
This organisation strives to help employees to achieve a meaningful work life balance
SUs 69.4% TS 55.9%

20. We’re behind on…
I receive regular, timely feedback that helps me improve my performance
SUs 54.1% TS 65%

21. I am kept informed of what is happening elsewhere in the organisation
We’re behind on…
I am kept informed of what is happening elsewhere in the organisation
SUs 49.3% TS 59.3%

22. I feel that I make a positive impact through the work that I do
We’re behind on…
I feel that I make a positive impact through the work that I do
SUs 81.9% TS 90.4%

23. The work that I do gives me a feeling of personal achievement
We’re behind on…
The work that I do gives me a feeling of personal achievement
SUs 76.1% TS 85.2%

24. My manager emphasises the positives when reviewing my performance
We’re behind on…
My manager emphasises the positives when reviewing my performance
SUs 70.2% TS 78.5%

25. Examples of Good Practice

26. Liverpool SU

27. UCLAN SU

28. University of Strathclyde Students’ Association

29. Take Home Messages
Some of results are excellent – how do we fully harness that?
Think about joining the national staff engagement survey.
Talk to one of the students’ unions doing great work in this area.
Reflect on the key drivers of engagement – autonomy, mastery, purpose.