Essay Summary of Employee engagement

“The best companies now know, without a doubt, where productivity—real and limitless productivity—comes from. It comes from challenged, empowered, excited, rewarded teams of people. It comes from engaging every single mind in the organization, making everyone part of the action, and allowing everyone to have a voice—a role—in the success of the enterprise. Doing so raises productivity not incrementally, but by multiples.

Introduction:

It is the need of the hour that, Organizations should increasingly convert from traditionalism to the contemporary learning and individualized corporations. With growing opportunity and greater flow of information, employees today want to be in the best workplaces handling the best suited responsibilities and enjoy greater autonomy.

Therefore, engaging the employees to the work as per their competency level must occupy the centre stage not only for the HR department but also for the immediate bosses. The extent that an employee believes in the mission, purpose and values of an organization and demonstrates that commitment through their actions and their attitude towards the employer (both internal & external) will determine the employee satisfaction towards his/her work. Employee engagement is high when the statements and conversations held reflect a natural enthusiasm for the company, its employees and the products or services provided. Employee engagement is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization.

Employee engagement:

In other words, employee engagement can be described as: “The degree to which an employee is emotionally bonded to his/her organisation and is passionate about the work that really matters”. The organization must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee.

Thus, employee engagement is a barometer that determines the association of a person within the organization. Engagement can also be defined as “the extent to which people enjoy and believe in what they do and feel valued for doing it. ” Enjoyment, Engagement, Belief, Value, Employee commitment and engagement is measured by three primary behaviours:

• Say.
• Stay.
• Strive.

‘Say’ is evidently achieved if the employee consistently speaks positively about the organisation to co-workers and refers potential employees and customers. ‘Stay’ refers to the employee’s intensive desire to be a member of the organisation, despite opportunities to work elsewhere. Strive’ indicates an extra effort and behaviours that contribute to business success. As organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to provide them with an “organizational identity”.

Employee engagement plays a greater role in the current era where every contribution by each of the employee counts. Employee engagement programs throw light into the success of the company in engaging its employees in the productive activities. Employee engagement is not just the process of engaging the employees productively. It also expects the organization to pave the way to ensure that the employees are motivated to put in their best efforts for the wealth maximization. This requires building loyalty which can inject commitment in doing quality work. The mission must be well defined and supported by well set organizational plans and policies for its attainment. The management is also to provide with the set of tools and material that are necessary for performing the task effectively.

What does an engaged employee think, feel & do?

I understand how my role in the organization is related to the organization’s goals, objectives & direction. I understand how my unit/ department contributes to the success of the organization cognitive think. I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond what is normally expected to help my organization to succeed I would recommend my organization to a friend as a good place to work.

Behavioural act affective feel

I am personally motivated to help my organization to be successful am proud to tell others that I work for my organization Various researches have been conducted in the past and all of them have one thing in common that if an organization wants to sustain in the long run then it is really essential for it to have an engaged workforce. Employees feel engaged when they find personal meaning and motivation in their work, receive positive interpersonal support, and operate in an efficient work environment. All efforts are made on maximizing employee output and making the most of organizational resources. An engaged workforce takes an organization to great heights.

Levels of engagement

Engaged

• Work with passion
• Feel connected to work, employer
• Drive innovation

Not engaged

• Checked out or retired on the job
• Putting in their time, not their energy

Actively disengaged engaged

• Interfere with others productivity

Engaged behaviour

• High levels of effort
• Persistence at difficult tasks
• Providing assistance to others
• Going “above and beyond”
• Making recommendations
• Expanding personal
• Adapting to change

Categories of employee engagement

According to the Gallup, the Consulting organization there is there are different types of people:

I. Engaged: “Engaged” employees are builders.

They want to know the desired expectations for their role so that they can meet and exceed them. They are naturally curious about their company and their place in it. They perform at consistently high levels. They want to use their talents and strengths at work every day. They work with passion and they drive innovation and move their organization forward.

II. Not engaged: “Not-engaged” employees tend to concentrate on tasks rather than the goals and outcomes they are expected to accomplish.

They want to be told what to do just so they can do it and say they have finished. They focus on accomplishing tasks vs. achieving an outcome. Employees who are not-engaged tend to feel their contributions are being overlooked, and their potential is not being tapped. They often feel this way because they don’t have productive relationships with their managers or with their coworkers.

III. Actively disengaged : The “Actively Disengaged” employees are the “cave dwellers.

” They are “Consistently against Virtually Everything. ” They’re not just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. They sow seeds of negativity at every opportunity. Every day, actively disengaged workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish. As workers increasingly rely on each other to generate products and services, the problems and tensions that are fostered by actively disengaged workers can cause great damage to an organization’s functioning.

Importance of engagement:

An organization’s capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its ability to achieve high performance levels and superior business results. Some of the advantages of Engaged employees are:

• Engaged employees will stay with the company, be an advocate of the company products and services, and contribute to the bottom line of the business success.
• They will normally perform better and are Self-Motivated. There is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability. They form an emotional connection with the company. This impacts their attitude towards the company’s clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and service levels. It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organization’s strategies and goals Increases employees’ trust in the organization Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment Provides a high-energy working environment Boosts business growth Makes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the company.
• A highly engaged employee will consistently deliver beyond expectations. Employee Engagement Begins From Day 1: Research has proved that employee engagement begins from day one repairing employees for their new roles and communicating how they can help the firm meets its goals can go a long way toward determining whether new employees ultimately succeed. The main requirement is to focus on improving communication, both to managers who do hiring and to employee’s themselves.
• Thus for this there should be structured inductions. Organizations seeking ways to build a motivated, satisfied and engaged workforce should start by putting in place structured and well-planned orientation programs for their new employees. Difference between Satisfied Workforce and Engaged Workforce. A person who is engaged may not be satisfied while a person who is satisfied may not be engaged. There’s lot of difference between an employee being satisfied and employee being engaged. An employee may be satisfied with the facilities that he is getting and that would be sufficient enough to continue with the organization. On the other hand an employee may be 100% engaged to his work yet may not be satisfied one of the reasons could be that he does not have a supportive boss.

Attrition, Productivity & Profitability:

Engagement Is Linked To Three Essential Forces In The Organization.

Attrition is the number of people leaving the organization and it’s a well-known fact that is one of the major problem being faced by the organizations be it any sector. An engaged workforce definitely has less chances of leaving the organization, a person who is engaged in his work is likely to stick to the company as he offers his best and as result of which the organizations takes due care of him in the form of hike in salary by way of incentives and bonus. Attrition is likely to come down in the organization, which have engaged workforce and this will get in the likely benefits for the organization. Productivity is the output of the workers in the form of work done by them it’s not the quantity that matters it’s the quality that is of importance for the organization. An engaged workforce has an understanding of what is expected of them at work so thus they are able to carry on their task effectively and efficiently thus adding to the productivity of the organization and thus adding to the growth and success of the organization. Profitability is the ability of a company to earn a profit. It is a relative measure of success for a business.

Research has proved that an engaged workforce is likely to result in an increase in the profitability of the concern as they have complete dedication and commitment to their work and thus this is likely to result in an increase in the profit of the concern and thus ensuring the success of the organization. The organizations now days take all reasonable steps to ensure that they have engaged workforce like organizing birthday bashes, talent shows, sports activities and many other things. They want their employees to be committed to their work fully besides all the above activities they also make sure that the employees have role clarity, get all the material and equipment they require to perform their work efficiently etc.

Determining engagement

The employee must feel that there is somebody in the organizations who cares for him and wants his success and growth. In all this we referring to the 12 questions that Gallup uses for studying the engagement level of employees in the organization. Gallup is an organization that studies the engagement level of the employees.

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Thus if you want the success of your organization and see it reaching great heights all you need is an engaged workforce, i. e. all you need is justifiable answers to the above 12 questions. Most organizations have today realized that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the best employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an Engaged Employee who is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization who feels passionate about its goals and is committed towards its values thus he goes the extra mile beyond the basic job.

Factors affecting employee engagement

1. Workplace Culture
2. Organizational Communication
3. Managerial Styles
4. Leadership Company
5. Reputation
6. Access to Training & Career Opportunities
7. Work/ life Balance
8. Personal Empowerment

Dimensions related to employee engagement

1. Physical dimension
2. Levels of energy or effort
3. Persistence

2. Emotional dimension

• Enthusiasm and inspiration
• Sense of significance, pride, and challenge
• Feelings about job, supervisor, management, organization

3.Intellectual dimension

• Mental focus
• Level of concentration
• Absorption in tasks
• Beliefs about organization, leaders, workplace culture

Leveraging engagement

I. Job and task design

II. Recruitment and selection

III. Training and development

IV. Performance management

V. Compensation

I. Job and task design

Motivational characteristics of work

•  Skill variety
• Task significance
• Autonomy
• Performance feedback

Social characteristics of work

•  Interdependence of job roles
• Feedback from others
• Advice and support of coworkers

II. Recruitment and selection recruitment selection

• Target recruitment
• Choose best-suited candidates

III. Training and development

1. Employee orientation
2. Knowledge and skills training

IV. Performance management

• Set challenging goals
• Provide positive feedback and recognition for accomplishments
• Resolve performance problems

V. Compensation

• Incentive pay
• Flexible benefits

VI. Manager’s behaviors

•  Commitment to diversity
• Responsible for success/failure
• Honesty and integrity
• Problem solving assistance
• Respect for employees
• Setting realistic expectations
• Passion for success
• Defending employees

Barriers to engagement

• Outside of local control
• Damaging to employees and customers
• Emphasize control of employee behavior
• Barriers can be removed
• Root causes:
• Fear Flow of information
• Organizational alignment
• Reward system
• Short term focus

Increasing engagement

• Communicate organizational goals and objectives
• Promote employee engagement culture
• Align day to day work with organizational goals
• Maintain open dialogue
• Reward supportive behavior
• Listen to employees
• Provide challenges and opportunities
• Do a “pulse check”
• Hold managers accountable
• Let employees know how they can contribute
• Genuinely thank employees