The Working Week 15: Andy Parsley on Employee Engagement
In this week’s meander around the world of work, Wayne talks to employee engagement guru, Andy Parsley. They discuss whether we’re at the dawn of an era in which competitive advantage will be driven by people, rather than process or information – and what this means for dinosaur management.
00:43: First up, there’s some friendly rivalry for the Working Week in the shape of a new Management-Issues podcast series, Naked Strategy.
Bringing together the unique talents of UK-based Management-Issues columnist and business guru, Max McKeown and, from California, writer, speaker, and management consultant, Laurence Haughton, the show is a bi-monthly x-ray for business leaders that sets out to shine a spotlight on the strategic issues behind the business news headlines.
01:19: Legislation in the UK to boost maternity rights for women has apparently resulted in women becoming less employable - especially where SMEs are concerned. Research by Citrix Online has found that more than half of employers believe the new rules are making some firms think twice when it comes to recruiting women.
01:50: Lest we forget, business runs on people skills, not just Blackberries. Whilst American workers have embraced wireless and remote communications technology, face-to-face, people-centred communication is still the key to building a successful business, according to workplace consultancy Randstad.
02:49:Finally, Wayne mentions the latest piece by Robert Heller, who asks a basic but rather fundamental question – what are companies for?
03:12: Wayne introduces this week’s guest, Andy Parsley of employee engagement consultancy, Green Lion.
03:15:Andy starts off by talking about Des Dearlove’s interview with Professor Niall Ferguson of Harvard Business School which explores what business people can learn from the discipline of history.
04:00:Citing the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Andy says that the world is changing so fast we need to have an idea of what the future is going to look like “because we are going to have to live there - probably next week”.
Thus we need to have some sort of a sense of where we are going – which is what he has been trying to do with his understanding of the workplace.
05:29: He tracks back to the industrial revolution and starts the workplace journey at a time where getting technology from machines was the key source of competitive advantage. Then we entered a period in which the production line meant that process provided competitive advantage. Now, we live in an era where competitive advantage is gained primarily through information and technology.
06:37:Andy argues that managers are now moving into the next phase, an age in which competitive advantage will be driven by people.
07:36:Wayne wonders why do some managers still not seem to understand this.
07:20:Andy believes that one key issue is the lack of trust at work. He refers to an article on the site about how
managers are still suspicious of remote working despite the fact that people are generally more productive working from home.
He points to a comment by UK politician Boris Johnson, currently standing for Mayor of London, who believes that “our species yearns for the office”….and implies that working from home is the lazy option. Andy believes that this embodies dinosaur management thinking.
08:22:This point is highlighted by the fact that research shows that workers these days
don’t just automatically follow the rules. They rely on each other to get things done. Managers really must start to trust their people argues Andy as that’s the future of the workplace. This sums up people power over dinosaur managers, he believes.
09:21:Wayne asks about Andy Parsley’s forthcoming book on employee engagement which takes a holistic view on how to release people potential in the workplace.
