Best Companies identify and measure against eight key engagement factors:

1. My manager - how employees feel about and communicate with their direct manager
2. Leadership - how employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior managers and the organisation's values and principles
3. My company - the level of engagement employees have for their job and the organisation
4. Personal growth - what employees feel about training and their future prospects
5. My team - employees' feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how they work well together
6. Giving something back - the extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society
7. Fair deal - how happy employees are with pay and Benefits
8. Wellbeing - how employees feel about stress, pressure at work and work life balance.

Of these key engagement factors, the public sector did particularly well in the Fair Deal factor related to pay and Benefits, and the Giving Something Back factor that relates to social responsibility.

Public sector employees go to work because they want to do good things and have a positive influence on the community.

The Best Companies’ survey shows that their employers help them achieve this goal, and that they feel their organisation makes a positive difference to the world we live in.

Leadership is the most important factor influencing employee engagement in public sector. Interestingly, it’s even more important than in the private sector, where line managers became the crucial influencers of engagement for the first time this year.

But leadership is also the main area where the public sector needs to improve, in comparison to the private sector. Senior managers at private sector companies are still better at inspiring their teams and truly living the values of their organisations. Their employees have more confidence in the leadership skills of the senior management teams and are excited about where the organisation is going.

Leadership is a critical factor in engaging employees in the public sector, and key Lessons need to be learnt from the likes of ACPO Criminal Records Office, Robert Clack School and Central Office of Information, which have all placed highly in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the Public Sector ranking this year.  

Approachability seems to be the most common theme when describing leaders in the top ranked organisations. They regularly meet with teams for lunch to obtain direct feedback and ideas that staff may have. They take the time to walk the floor and talk both about work as well as social topics.

It’s about being visible at work and during out-of-hours activities. Having an open door policy, allowing all employees to approach leaders around any issue, seems to be crucial. If the CEO has a blog, it has to be interactive and employees’ questions need to be personally addressed and suggestions considered.

If we look at the best practice in public sector, leaders are seen as inspiring and charismatic, while their management style is described as empowering.

They focus on values and praise, and take the time to mentor and coach staff at all levels to develop them to their full potential.

An engaged workforce will prove essential in 2010.

Our data shows the public sector still has some way to go in engaging staff ahead of a potentially difficult year, but is already getting close to the high standard set by the best of British business.

• www.bestcompanies.co.uk