Employee engagement is essential for public sector, says expert

Employee engagement is pivotal to the future of the public sector, it has been suggested.

That is the opinion of Richard Lambert, director-general at the Confederation of British Industry, who said that the public sector must be able to rely on employee engagement in the coming years if it is to survive the fallout of the recession.

He said that a number of lessons could be learned from private sector experiences, particularly with regards to the changing landscape of employment relations.

Mr Lambert said: "One of the greatest challenges over the next decade will be leading, engaging and developing the workforce in the face of financial restrictions and limited resources.

"This is especially true for the public sector, which faces an unprecedented spending squeeze."

He went on to say that it had been pleasing to see a number of cases where private sector employers and staff had worked together to "find ways to cut costs and safeguard jobs" rather that opt for industrial action.