Engaged employees aren’t just happier in their job – they do better in their roles and want to contribute to business success.
Yet it’s a gloomy picture for employee engagement across UK workplaces. A new report by Gallup reveals only 10% of British workers are engaged in their jobs. Amid this downward trend, some businesses are holding their own and even improving their culture of engagement. Yep, that’s us – we’re putting our hands up here!
We’re buzzing from employee engagement day events we held at Robert Hopkins Environmental this Autumn. All colleagues attended a session, enabling them to mix with colleagues from different teams.
- Brilliant to see the business growth so far and also the continuing development happening. Ellie-Mae, Assistant Accountant
- Really enjoyed the group activities and interacting with others I wouldn’t normally see on a day-to-day basis. Gurpal, Laboratory Manager
- Helped me understand the customer perspective better and listen more on how they may want things done. Ryan, Transport Admin
- Being included in the details of business plans shows we’re cared about and valued as employees. Louis, Graduate Chemist
- Helped me to continue to give our customers the best support that I can, whilst trying to gain more business. Jill, Sales Manager
- Great to put faces to names in a different setting and interact with people I wouldn’t usually. Leigh, Chemist Manager
- Enjoyable way to gain a greater insight into the business goals and reflect on how I can improve in my role. Georgie, Technical Assessor
Customer experience was the theme for the engagement days, coupled with a celebration of what we’ve achieved during three years of rapid growth.
We kicked off with a business update and shared plans for the next year, encouraging suggestions and gaining plenty of input on how to realise our ambitions.
Things got knotty – but were soon untangled! – with The Human Knot team building game. A game of Word Hurdle had everyone focused on handling customer requests to reduce waste in creative ways. Who knew an empty ice cream tub could prompt so much fun discussion when used to illustrate the capacity of a site skip?
We launched our new long service rewards and gave recognition to colleague champions. The session also included the ‘premiere’ of our corporate video.
“Last time, our employee engagement day was a reset for a new era with enhanced site operations and business organisation,” explains our Director, Gavin Hopkins. “This year it was more outward looking – about what it means to live our values at Robert Hopkins and to always consider our customers’ perspective in everything we do.”
He added: “Employee engagement is not a one-time initiative for us – it’s an ongoing commitment to clear communication, useful feedback, and a genuine willingness to listen and act. We talked a lot about early careers, colleague development and training linked to our elevated ISO-accreditation goals. After an exceptionally busy period, it was also a chance to stop – breathe! – and reflect on what we’ve achieved together.”
Not long after the events, our Continuous Improvement Manager, Siobhan Hopkins, saw the impact of the employee engagement day in action. “I spotted a new, office-based colleague go out onto the yard and not just say hello to colleagues from another team, but really have a good work chat. Both sides benefited from the exchange: she felt more settled and informed, and they felt able to engage easily and share the right information. Dissolving barriers like that – it’s worth its weight in gold.”
