The engagement of our employees is fundamental to the success of our business. We measure engagement in a high level of detail and then act to improve on the feedback. Particular focus is on how our people think about the business, whether they understand its direction and where they fit in; how they feel in terms of pride and attachment to the company; and how they act and are motivated to go above and beyond the norm.
External research partners are used to ask our employees their views about working for UU. We run an annual employee survey in February and a smaller temperature check ‘pulse survey’ half way through the year that helps us review the progress we are making.
A record number of employees had their say in the 2008/09 survey, with a response rate of 93%. We achieved an employee engagement score of 76% - exceeding our target of 70% and building towards our target of 85% engagement by 2010.
The data we collect allows us to understand and chart our progress and, most importantly, it allows us to compare our performance with a number of external benchmarks.
All our leaders are accountable for their results and for driving action planning to improve engagement in their area.