Over the past 30 years, human resources (HR) has evolved from playing a purely transactional role within an organisation – scheduling rosters and annual leave – into a strategic driver of organisational performance. Underpinning this new model is a focus on what has become known as “the five Cs of employee engagement” – communication, connection, culture, contribution, and career development.
While this may sound like a collection of buzzwords, market director of CIPD Ireland Alison Hodgson is keen to emphasise how the five Cs clearly articulate the changing role of HR and the essential value it brings to an organisation.
“We have shifted from servicing the needs of an organisation to delivering value creation,” she says. The HR function now has a much more strategic role and needs to partner with every part of an organisation. “And because humans are still at the centre of every organisation, unless HR has a handle on connection and career planning and the five Cs ultimately, then we are not fulfilling the needs of the business.”
Rather than focusing solely on policies and processes, modern HR is now responsible for shaping workforce strategy, driving transformation, and enabling growth through skills, data and technology, adds Rebecca McCann, senior manager in workforce consulting, PwC Ireland. “Its remit has expanded from supporting the organisation to shaping its direction – aligning workforce strategy with organisation strategy, leveraging data and technology, and shaping how organisations attract, develop and deploy talent.”
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McCann notes that a heightened focus on improving employee engagement reflects a deeper shift towards a “more holistic, experience-led” model of HR. “The five Cs, a framework that organisations can use, are factors that shape how people feel at work, how engaged they are and whether they choose to stay and grow with an organisation.”
HR expert Louise Meehan of Woodview HRM highlights the importance of communication. “Most employees will say they either don’t get enough information or don’t feel their employer is transparent,” she says. “Too often HR communicates at employees rather than with them. There are times when a clear top-down message is necessary, but genuine engagement comes from two-way dialogue.”
Contribution is another area where Meehan says organisations often underestimate the importance of patience and consistency. “Around 18 months ago, I helped establish a staff forum in an organisation,” she says. Initially, employee representatives attended meetings but rarely contributed. “It would have been easy to abandon the process, but by consistently showing up and creating space for honest discussion, trust gradually developed.” Today, she notes, employees are driving the agenda themselves, with a visible impact on culture.
In an era of intense competition for talent, McCann says HR is tasked with building the conditions for trust, retention and performance. “Framing HR’s role around these dimensions elevates it from process owner to experience architect, ensuring that workforce strategy addresses not just what work gets done, but how people feel, grow, develop and align with the organisation,” she says.
Indeed, the evidence shows that focusing on employee engagement in a strategic way also helps the bottom line.
“Evidence suggests that stronger employee engagement, built through factors such as communication, connection, culture, contribution, and career development, is linked to better business outcomes,” McCann says. “Measured outcomes included improved profitability, productivity, customer loyalty, retention, safety, wellbeing and lower levels of absenteeism.” This reinforces that investing in employee engagement is performance-led, she adds.
Research consistently shows that organisations with a strong sense of purpose and higher engagement levels can see productivity and innovation increase by as much as 30 per cent, Meehan adds. “In my experience, you can see that impact every day in workplaces; engaged employees perform differently. They contribute more, collaborate better, have less absenteeism or disciplinary issues, positive working relationships and take greater ownership of their work.”
Despite this, Gallup’s 2026 research shows employee engagement levels in Europe, including here in Ireland, sitting at just 12 per cent, behind the global average of 20 per cent. Meehan acknowledges there is significant room for improvement.
“Very few business initiatives have the potential to improve performance at that level through other avenues, which is why focusing on the five Cs of engagement is such an important investment for organisations.” Investing in culture this year might not impact the bottom line for a couple of years, however. “You need to have sticking power and the belief that it will work even if you can’t see the changes for a while.”
While it may sound oversimplified, the five Cs is a means of capturing and articulating both the sophistication and multifaceted nature of HR, Hodgson adds. “There is no other function in organisations that has such a centrality of impact than the HR function. We show up at every part of the business and every activity every day.”
McCann agrees. “In practice, the five Cs mean HR is now central to building agile, future-ready organisations and improving the overall employee experience.”
