THE role played by leaders in improving workforce engagement was the subject of a conference and panel discussion stage in Huddersfield.
Engaging Leadership was organised by Partners in Management and held at the Media Centre.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics survey found that output per hour in the UK was 15 percentage points below the average for the rest of the G7 industrialised nations and on an output per worker basis UK productivity was 20 percentage points lower than the rest of the G7.
The meeting was held as part of the Employee Engagement Task Force, backed by Prime Minister David Cameron and the Department for Business Innovation & Skills to help deliver sustainable growth for the UK and a better way to work, a better way to enable personal growth, organisational growth and ultimately growth for Britain by releasing more of the capability and potential of people at work.
The movement is widely supported across the UK, involving the public, private and third sectors in the belief they can learn a lot from each other.
David Broadhead, academic entrepreneur and founder of Partners in Management, said: ‘There is a proven correlation between employee engagement and high organisational productivity and performance, across all sectors of the economy.
“This event was organised specifically to allow employers to discuss with academics and task force members how engaging leadership can sustain high performance through an engaged and entrepreneurial workforce with a view to increasing productivity.
“It was wonderful to see delegates from Plymouth, Kent, Peterborough and the North East coming to Huddersfield for this event, the first of its type to be held outside of London.
“Given it’s success we are planning a follow up event later in the year to coincide with Kirklees Business Week and continue to build Huddersfield’s reputation as a centre of entrepreneurial excellence.”
