David Cameron has launched a new Employee Engagement Taskforce. Part of the aim is to contribute to improved growth and UK productivity. Do you think government has a useful role to play in nudging less well-managed organisations to raise their game?

Organisations that are able to truly engage their employees, to create a common shared purpose and sense of direction, and a dynamic innovative culture will have the competitive advantage over the coming years. People really are many company’s only asset and HR should be (and good HR is) at the centre of finding new ways to individually engage our people - to let them take control of our direction and our services.It is the competitive advantage that engagement creates that will drive businesses into these changes and not a task force or government report. Good employers already get this, poor ones never will preferring to focus on outdated or misguided approaches to efficiency or motivation and no number of reports or working parties will change this. Perhaps the Governments efforts could be better directed at rewarding the good employers out there who live and breathe this positive message rather than another committee of the great and the good producing a report few will read and that will preach to the converted.      

Employee engagement is often considered an enigma, I hope that this taskforce helps steer businesses in the right direction with good clear sound advice. However, the 'less well-managed organisations' are unlikely to be seeking this sort of advice and it remains to be seen just how widespread the impact of the taskforce will be.      

Yes. It is an issue for public and private sector alike and the Government of course has an interest as a major employer in its own right. Beyond this, as the Prime Minister made clear on the day of the launch, the Taskforce brings together two top government priorities: delivering sustainable growth across the UK and helping improve people’s wellbeing. While the primary responsibility for engagement of course lies with each organisation, it seems inarguable that Government has a legitimate interest in productivity and performance in the economy generally, and engagement correlates closely to this. Engaged employees will be key to growth in the private sector so the Taskforce being industry led and Government sponsored seems to me to strike just the right balance. Government interest in engagement is healthy and will undoubtedly help to raise consciousness about, and the profile of, an issue of great importance.      

Engagement is integral to the success of an organisation.  The opportunity to share good practice and access support is an excellent idea in principle.  I believe, however, that companies are struggling just to survive at present.  An Employee Engagement Taskforce and associated projects would require significant investment of time and resource.  This may be better introduced at a later stage, once UK Plc is well on the way to economic recovery.  Sustainable growth is dependent on the wider arena and current global events suggest we are experiencing a time of crisis.  We need to prioritise achieving stability on a national level before we heavily invest in engaging our workforce.      

Employee engagement isn't about ticking boxes, but more about embedding a culture. One that is conducive to ensuring, as David Macleod puts it, "that employees are committed to their organisation's goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being".The coalition's growth agenda is looking to SMEs and new enterprises to kick-start the economy. To survive and prosper businesses will need not only a competitive edge, but the means to sustain any advantage they establish. This is where employee engagement scores highly, for it enables the organisation to develop its human resources from within, focusing on its own particular vision and delivering increased productivity.Acas has years of experience in helping organisations to develop engaged workplaces and we know engagement is not a quick fix or simply achieved by regulation; this suggests that the nudge approach to encouraging and rewarding engaging behaviours could be both a cost-effective and feasible strategy for government to adopt.