So if David my HR guy isn’t accountable for the engagement of my people….

“OK….”  Jason was thinking this through.  “So if David my HR guy isn’t accountable for the engagement of my people because their managers are…..”

I raised my eyebrows and nodded to keep the thoughts coming.

“….then what do I need David for?”.

“Good question” I replied.  “Not as in ‘good rhetorical question’, but genuinely….good question.  So what’s the answer…why do you need David?”.

“Well like I said, I want David to create an environment where staff are engaged.  But we’ve just said he can’t do that because he’s not accountable for the people he needs to get engaged.”

I nodded.  “True.  So answer this for me….are your managers in their jobs because they are specialists in staff engagement?”

“Well maybe Max”  Jason responded.  “He’s always been able to get a group of people switched on.  But as for Jenny and Kristy, Jenny’s there because she knows exactly how to set up a sales team and drive performance, and Kristy has always been great at the technical knowledge which works because her team is about quality and resolution”.

“So tell me this….if you inform Jenny and Kristy that you’re expecting a 15% bump in engagement next time the staff survey is run….how are they going to react”.

“I’ve chatted to them before about this.  They both feel that they’ve maxed out given the nature of their teams and their other goals.”

“So if you’re serious about raising staff engagement, and if they’re the ones accountable for it…..they’re going to need some help?”  I nodded along with Jason…”Would you happen to know anyone?”

Jason smiled.  “I think it’s about time I reintroduced them to their new best friend….David”.