Hello Engage for Success! We’ve known each other for a while, but the nature of our relationship has just changed…
I’m Cathy Brown, the new Exec Director for EFS. I want to introduce myself & share with you some of my thoughts on the future of the movement.
I have been involved with EFS since the start in 2011, initially as one of the first secondees along with Amber Kelly from Serco. I set up the original website, helped to start the practitioner network and many other activities. We didn’t increase the central team until over a year later, so Amber and I both remember that first year as a very busy and exciting roller coaster of a ride!
My secondment ended after the launch of the current website in November 2012 and I went back into BT (working on social media and the roll out of a new set of values). I then left to set up my own business as Capability Brown ( a real adventure!) and last year was asked to come back into Engage for Success as the Interim Programme Director, while recruitment was undertaken for the Exec Director role.
The twofold purpose of Engage for Success, to raise awareness of engagement & it’s benefits and making accessible practical ways to use that knowledge, is still clear and true. We have many things happening this year, launches of new material, redevelopment of the website and a conference amongst them. To keep our movement dynamic and growing, we will need to change our approaches and in the video here I’ve given my take on some of the areas I think we need to look at. That can only happen with the input of the people in the movement itself so please let me know what you think, whether that’s online, through one of our groups or if we meet at an event.
Like most of us, through my career I’ve experienced great working experiences that have me bouncing into work with a spring in my step and a grin on my face, and awful, energy sucking work experiences that have left me dreading Mondays.
I passionately believe that engagement isn’t something that we do TO people, it’s a way of being (as a person or an organisation) that builds healthy, happy, high performing workplaces, and well, fulfilled and committed people.
So please come and say hello – you can find me on Yammer, Twitter & LinkedIn. Although I do warn Twitter followers that I don ‘t just tweet engagement – there’s a lot of Morris dancing, cake and trains too!
