A COMPANY specialising in employee engagement is helping businesses to spot potential risks of losing talent due to Covid-19.

Pro-Development has developed a tool to quickly give bosses insights into what is working and what needs adjusting.

Their research found that leaders responded quickly to the pandemic, but a lack of communication with team members was now impacting on staff engagement and wellbeing.

Pro-Development’s Michelle Mook believes many businesses may lose key talent and is particularly concerned about furloughed workers.

She said: “We are already hearing of people who feel their company has not managed this process well, and that the limited communication and seeming lack of concern is leaving people feeling undervalued and disconnected from their team.

"The transition involved in bringing furloughed workers back into either a virtual or physical workspace along with those who have been working at home for many weeks now cannot be underestimated.

“Without consistent communication and engagement, along with the sense of belonging and purpose we get from being part of a team, some people are already looking at alternative options for the future which could lead to more disruption and further impacts and cost to businesses.”

Michelle, who is also Chair of York Professionals, is keen to support businesses by helping to develop a plan to ensure leaders are considering the next steps, both physically and emotionally.

Pro-Development have helped several companies in recent weeks to make changes and can already see the difference it is making.

One client, Ardent, a financial services business in York, have a mix of people working from home and furloughed. They have worked hard over the last few years to engage their team and were keen to understand how everyone was feeling.

Managing director, Gary O’Brien, said: “I would recommend this process to every business owner. It’s amazing how much insight we got from a questionnaire which literally took each team member about two minutes to complete.

"The feedback is very clear, easily understood and massively impactful.

“On digesting the findings, I went through a range of emotions but quickly realised how valuable and important it is to understand exactly how your team is feeling during these very unusual and, for some, frightening and stressful times.

“Michelle’s findings have instantly become the foundation of our communication plan with our team. We will still be using the knowledge we gained long after the current crisis ends.”

Pro-Development are running a number of short 30-minute online sessions to share their findings and approach. For details, email info@pro-development.co.uk.