Time was when 'staff satisfaction' was the catchphrase on the lips of every human resources specialist. Later, it became 'staff commitment', and most recently it has been replaced by 'staff engagement'.
According to Raymond Cheng Wai-man, principal consultant with Hong Kong Productivity Council's (HKPC) Total Enterprise Management Consultancy, staff engagement implies a stronger sense of affiliation with the organisation compared with the other two terms, and is an especially topical concept for employers facing the challenge of talent retention caused by fierce competition in the manpower market.
'Satisfied staff speak for the company. Committed staff go further and are willing to stay with the company. But engaged staff do not just stay with the company they strive their best for the company. Given limited resources, employers should give priority to engaging their most competent staff,' Mr Cheng said at a recent seminar organised jointly by HKPC and Classified Post to introduce the former's SmarTalent Development Programme as a tool for engaging outstanding talent.
The programme equips an organisation with a comprehensive process for systematically identifying, selecting, assessing and developing its best talent, and planning for their succession to senior management positions.
It helps an organisation project an image of valuing talent and shows the capable aspirants it hires a clear avenue for career advancement. It enables the organisation to attract and retain competent employees, thereby building a solid talent pool to support the achievement of strategic objectives and facilitate longer-term leadership succession.
It also helps an employer in a volatile labour market retain and attract talent with less pressure for raising salaries or outbidding other material rewards offered by competitors.
'SmarTalent stands for systematic management approach to retain talent. It recognises that organisations face resource limitations and champions the focused use of finite resources for breeding the most promising talent,' Mr Cheng said.