In the summer of 2018, Engage for Success reached an agreement for incorporation within the CIPD.
Why could EfS not continue under its previous governance arrangements?
All organisations move through different stages in their development which are appropriate to what they have achieved and the opportunities that present themselves.
EfS had done much to raise the profile of Employee Engagement and in order to help drive our message from the ‘choir to the congregation’ we believed we needed to harness more resource with a wider reach.
The EFS Board concluded, after an extensive evaluation of all the options, that the best way forward without the distraction of raising significant extra funds, would be to work more closely with CIPD who share our aims and very much value what we have achieved. We had built up much trust with CIPD over the previous 18 months when they became our prime funder and it made sense to take this very positive relationship to the next stage.
The alliance saw CIPD taking full ownership of Engage for Success and responsibility for its ongoing operations from 1st July 2018.
This has provided a stable and sustainable source for EfS to continue to further the aims and objectives of the Movement in promoting employee engagement as a better way to work that benefits individual employees, teams, and whole organisations.
Why the CIPD?
There is strong alignment between the aims of EfS as a movement committed to promoting employee engagement as a better way to work and the CIPD as an organisation championing better work and working lives.
EfS began a partnership with CIPD in 2016 as our principal sponsor and these arrangements worked well, to the extent that we felt CIPD is both a trusted and sustainable organisation for EfS to be incorporated within.
The EfS Board and CIPD have been certain to ensure that incorporation does not endanger either the Engage for Success vision and aims, nor its now well-recognised brand. The Board transitioned into an advisory board within CIPD, and meet regularly, to safeguard the continued operation of EfS’s aims within CIPD, including its brand. This is also the responsibility of every movement member.
We believe there are some real synergies between both organisations as you will hear in this panel discussion recorded at the time the changes were made. Peter Cheese CEO CIPD, Brad Taylor HRD CIPD and Faran Johnson Former MD EFS, hosted by Tom Morrell London TAG Lead, explained more about the beginnings of our ongoing relationship.
Who is the EfS Advisory Board?
The Advisory Board comprises senior directors appointed for their expertise and experience in employee engagement. It is also constituted in a way which properly reflects the diversity of the organisations represented across the EfS spectrum of private, public and third sector organisations, and both large and small businesses.
The Board has been chaired since April 2016 by Peter Cheese, CEO of CIPD. The full list of the Advisory Board is here.
What happened to David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, EfS’s Founders?
David and Nita stepped back from the day-to-day running of Engage for Success over time as they have increasingly handed over to the wide network of volunteers which promotes and speaks on behalf of the Movement.
Both remain very much involved and both are members of the EFS advisory board. They play an important role as co-founders and ‘cheerleaders’ for the movement and both remain committed and very involved.