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22 November 2019 / Catherine Calder
Issue: 7865 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Rules of engagement

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Are your set’s employees ‘fully engaged’ or are they simply ‘coming to work’? Catherine Calder of Serjeants’ Inn lays down some ground rules for running a successful & happy chambers

How engaged is your set’s staff team? The ADP Research Institute’s ‘Global Study of Engagement 2018’ concluded from a sample of 19,346 employees across 19 countries that only 15.9% were ‘fully engaged’, with the rest simply ‘coming to work’. Similarly, the ‘2018 State of the Global Workplace Report’ from Gallup found that 85% of employees were either ‘not engaged or actively disengaged’ at work.

Employee engagement is defined by the CIPD as ‘emphasis[ing] both employees’ well-being and performance… offer[ing] a mutual gains view of the employment relationship, seeking the good of employees and the organisation in tandem’. Its benefits are well established. While we may be understandably wary of some of the theory—terminology such as ‘enculturation trajectory’ and ‘neuro-linguistic programmes’ are unlikely ever to be bandied about at the Bar—it’s hard to ignore the results. A University of Bath School of Management 2012

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