A new employee engagement service is proving popular with employers during the recession.

The distinct offering, which combines internal communications and people management advice, has been launched by two of the region’s leading businesswomen, Di Burton and Barbara Paterson.

The pair are working with a number of high-profile organisations in the North including the Leeds office of Grant Thornton, the Government Office North East as well as nuclear decommissioning contractor Magnox South Limited.

Their work develops robust and flexible management teams that are committed to leading their employees through periods of change, increasing levels of engagement and shifting perception and behaviour.

Di said: “Effective internal communications and employee engagement has a direct impact on the bottom line. Getting the right messages quickly to front line employees is critical, especially when they are receiving a barrage of messages from outside the company, information which may well need to be corrected or explained in a wider context.

“Maintaining the emotional engagement and commitment of staff is particularly important during the recession when employment protection plans, such as pay cuts and enforced holidays, are being put in place.

“There are a variety of ways to keep employees engaged with internal communications playing a vital role. It costs far less than having to recruit new talent once the recession is over.”

Barbara added: “By maintaining an engaged workforce during these turbulent times, businesses will be well prepared to face the eventual upturn with resilient people and robust teams.

“An important part of our job is to help business leaders realise how crucial their role is in communicating with their staff and keeping them motivated and confident.”

An experienced internal communications practitioner, Di Burton is founder and managing director of Harrogate-based Cicada Communications. Di regularly advises at board level on internal and external communication strategy.

Barbara Paterson is founder and managing director of Paterson Consultancy, a people and organisational development company based in Wakefield. Barbara specialises in leadership development, executive coaching and change management.

The employee engagement service is completely bespoke and can therefore be tailored to organisations of all sizes.

Managing partner at Grant Thornton’s Leeds office, Jonathan Riley, said:

"Raising employee engagement levels helps to create an open and transparent environment in which employees want to do their best work. Investing in leadership communication and communication infrastructure delivers results and has clear benefits in terms of alignment, productivity, improved morale and customer retention."

Magnox South Limited’s public relations officer, Steven Payne, said:

“The Berkeley Nuclear Site is going through a large scale change programme which involves difficult messages for employees.  Organisational change often leads to communication issues and Di and Barbara were brought on board to carry out a thorough review of the site's internal communications and employee engagement activities.”