DIY retailer’s employees rated ‘most engaged in the world’ as B&Q scoops Gallup Great Workplace Award.
The only UK business to receive the prestigious award this year, B&Q is one of eight organisations worldwide to win the Gallup Great Workplace Award.
It is the third time the home improvement retailer has received the accolade in as many years and means its employees have been rated among the most engaged in the world.
After launching a plan to improve staff engagement levels as a means of improving customer service, the retailer is currently enjoying its highest employee engagement levels to date – scoring an average of 4.23 in the Gallup survey against a top score of 5.0.
B&Q feels that its strengthened leadership, which includes ceo Euan Sutherland, has been instrumental in its high rating, stating that the team has made it a priority to focus on maintaining and improving engagement levels.
The retailer has also introduced new measures to improve how it communicates internally, including 'Tell Euan About' – a forum for people across the business to meet and share ideas with Mr Sutherland, '2sDay Newsday', internal TV station 'B&Q reel' and the newly launched 'Euan's blog'.
Of the award Mr Sutherland said: “I’m immensely proud that B&Q has scooped this prestigious accolade for the third consecutive year. Our people are the lifeblood of our business, and they are the real driver for our long-term success in the UK. I’m a big believer that engaged staff create great customer service and a healthy businesses, and that is why we invest so much time and effort on maintaining and improving staff morale.”
Speaking about the importance of engagement, James K. Harter, Ph.D., Gallup's chief scientist of workplace management and well-being, explains: "In good times, employee engagement is the difference between being good and being great... Low engagement reduces performance and profit. And under the current circumstances, many companies can't afford to let those drop."
The Gallup Great Workplace Award is based on rigorous workplace research. Applicants' results are compared across Gallup's renowned workplace research database composed of millions of work teams in more than 150 countries.
The awards will be presented at the Gallup Summit 2009, which will take place April 28-30, 2009 in Omaha, Nebraska.