Employee Engagement Examples of Excellence

In a world that feels “heavier and harder”, what makes people choose to stay? In this panel from the Engage Employee Summit, Megan Yawor, Head of Talent Management and Development at Knight Frank, and Caroline Jellyman, Head of Learning and Organisational Development at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, discuss how talent and retention have changed in the last five years. They explain why “squiggly” careers are replacing the traditional career ladder, and how to get people to own their own development instead of waiting for it to be done to them. They also talk about what happens when managers hoard talent or decide someone is “too good to lose”. Caroline shares how Battersea is preparing new starters for the realities behind a joyful brand, and Megan explains why transparency, fairness and no “exception culture” are the shifts that will matter most. Listen for honest, practical ideas on giving people clarity at a time when they need it most, and why retention will always be about people, whatever the technology.

Around 70% of JD Sports’ 90,000-plus colleagues are under 30, and most of them work on the shop floor. How do you get messages to land with them when an hour-long town hall won’t? In this session from the Engage Employee Summit, Becca DuPont, Group Head of People Experience at JD Sports, talks to Georgie Scott, VP Brand at Blink, about building a culture for the Gen Z workforce without alienating the other four generations. Becca explains how a mobile-first approach, 45-second CEO videos shot on an iPhone and leaders willing to show their human side led to a 4% rise in communication scores in UK and ROI retail. She also shares how colleagues took over the platform with TikTok trends, Indiana Jones-themed product launches and a home-grown careers podcast, which took one store team member all the way to meeting Prince William. Listen for practical lessons on why the future of communication is led by culture, not by comms.

Why do two employees on the same benefits package see it so differently? One thinks it’s excellent, and the other thinks there’s nothing in it for them. In this panel from the Engage Employee Summit, Mona Parikh, Associate Director of Reward at Coventry University, Laurie Eggleston, Employee Benefits Consultant at Grant Thornton, and Polly Banwell of AAG Financial Education explain why personalisation is key to the future of reward and benefits. They cover why “salary sacrifice” might be the worst-named benefit in HR, and why a session explaining payslips was one provider’s most popular webinar ever. They also discuss how reward teams are moving from spreadsheets to roadshows to sell their benefits. Listen for practical ideas on closing the gap between what employers offer and what employees value, from clearer language and manager signposting to the balance of AI, self-service and face-to-face support.

At JLR, inclusion isn’t treated as a bolt-on programme. It’s designed into every policy, process and everyday moment of the employee experience. In this session from the Engage Employee Summit, Claire Parker, Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, describes the three-year journey that took the share of employees who see JLR as an inclusive employer from 62% to 83% across a workforce of more than 40,000. She explains how the company connected 25,000 manufacturing colleagues who previously had no access to company communications, and why it extended equal pay to adoption and surrogacy leave and introduced inclusive workwear. She also covers how 14 employee network groups now reverse-mentor senior leaders. Listen for practical advice on getting the board on board, measuring what matters and staying committed to inclusion when others are pulling back.

How do you keep an employee experience working across a 24/7 operation that runs from the boardroom to the runway?At Europe’s busiest airport, the infrastructure everyone sees depends on a complex human engine behind it. In this podcast-style session at the Engage Employee Summit, Paul Johnston, Senior Employee Experience Manager at Heathrow, explains how they’ve built an employee experience that works for every part of the operation. He’ll cover how Heathrow gets a pulse survey response rate of more than 90%, why they’ve given more power to local teams, and what changed when they moved their focus from engagement to employee experience. Expect practical lessons you can use in your own organisation, however large or complex it is.

What does it take to make sure you’re not the dinosaur in the room? In this episode, recorded live on stage at the Engage Employee Summit, Nestlé shares a candid personal story of change. It starts with a presentation about companies like Nokia and Kodak that failed to see the future coming. That moment sparked a determination to get ahead: building new skills, getting closer to the business and helping colleagues embrace AI with confidence. Expect practical lessons on driving adoption through champions and ambassadors, measuring real business impact, and making the shift from support function to strategic partner. The message is simple: you don’t need permission to lead change, just curiosity.

Work is being redesigned in real time. AI is reshaping roles, automating tasks and creating capabilities that didn’t exist five years ago — and organisations are only beginning to understand what that means for their people, their culture and their talent strategies. But the future of work isn’t just a technology story. It’s a human one.How do you build a workforce that is genuinely ready for what’s next? How do you redesign roles without losing the people inside them? How do you balance the efficiency gains of AI with the human skills — creativity, empathy, judgement — that no algorithm can replace?This episode brings together people, talent and transformation leaders who are actively shaping the workforce of tomorrow to explore what the future of work really looks like, what it demands of leaders, and how organisations can prepare their people for a world that is changing faster than most strategies can keep up with.

AI tops the CEO agenda, yet nearly half of employees have never used generative AI at work. So how do you bring your people on the journey? In this episode, Rob McCargow, Technology Impact Leader at PwC, and Nicole Knott, Partner in PwC’s Workforce Transformation team, share what they’ve learned from rolling out AI skills to PwC’s 350,000 people worldwide. Drawing on PwC’s global research, they explain why culture, not technology, is the biggest driver of AI adoption. They also cover why leaders need to “walk the talk”, and how reverse mentoring is helping senior teams learn from younger colleagues. Packed with practical ideas, from starting every meeting with an “AI moment” to Nicole’s vision of using AI to create healthier, more sustainable work, it’s essential listening for anyone trying to turn workforce anxiety into real adoption.

With 80% of its workforce working from aircraft rather than an office, how does easyJet make sure its frontline people are truly heard? In this episode, Kate Marks, Head of People Insight and Employee Listening at easyJet, shares how the airline rebuilt trust with its crew and pilots by rethinking how it listens. Kate explains why the link between employee and customer satisfaction becomes three times stronger on disrupted flights. She also covers how easyJet co-designed its new “Airwaves” survey with crew, and how a 30-day commitment made sure every employee heard the results quickly. It’s packed with practical lessons for anyone trying to engage a dispersed or frontline workforce, from bringing middle managers on board to listening in your people’s own words.

Discover how Alzheimer’s Society is putting AI into practice to strengthen internal communications and employee engagement. In this Engage Employee Summit podcast, hear the lessons learned from its AI journey so far, including practical ideas for getting started, approaches that can make a meaningful difference, and the key watch-outs to consider as you introduce AI into your own communications strategy.