Countless research cases will state that Employee Engagement doesn’t belong with HR and it infact belongs with the business, on the front line and the accountability sits with the whole organisation. True Engage for Success style we want to showcase all instances of good practices and therefore the below case study contradicts that research and in fact demonstrates how employee engagement can be increased via the HR manager.Increasing employee engagement through HRM
A Harrods case study
Harrods is a brand that is recognised all over the world. Its Knightsbridge store has 1 million square feet of selling space with over 330 different departments. Its global reputation and prestige is instilled through its brand values. Brand values represent what an organisation stands for. Harrods values are – British; Luxury; Service; Innovation and Sensation.
Harrods has been in business for over 160 years. It employs 4000 employees with an additional 3,500 agency and concession employees. In 2010 Qatar Holdings purchased Harrods from Mohamed Al-Fayed. The new owners are strongly committed to all of Harrods’ employees. They recognise that engaged employees are essential to the continuing success of the business. Such employees are likely to be happy and consistently high performers who want to progress their careers with Harrods. Managing employee relationships is the role of the Human Resources department.
Harrods carried out its first comprehensive employee survey to find out what they thought about working at Harrods. The employee survey has now become an integral aspect of Harrods’ Human Resource Management programme. The survey results were used to create strategic plans for change focused on improving employee engagement and trust. The four main elements were:
- Changing Organisational Structure
- Changing Leadership
- Improved communications
- Living brand values
Find out how the human resource management ensured these elements were implemented in the full case study.
There have now been four employee surveys. Each survey has seen a higher return from employees and an improvement in the indicators of employee engagement as a result of the actions the HRM team took. Significantly, 91% of employees have stated in the most recent survey that they are proud to work for Harrods and employee turnover has halved in the last five years.
This content is not owned by Engage for Success. And you can download a pdf of the report Employee Engagement at Harrods – Engage for success 2012.
