Challenges in an organization for employee engagement

According to Balaji, (2014) the challenges for employee engagement is as follows

• Managers and employees don’t understand engagement.
• The goals and metrics of engagement programs are often limited.
• Engagement is not productivity or an output.
• Outside factors may influence engagement.
• Diverse employees and different generations are engaged by different things.
• Difficulty in understanding fluctuating mind of youngsters.
• Underestimating the significance of employee engagement in the organizational success.
• Lack of co-operation and co-ordination from management.

    

• Figure 1: Employee Effectiveness Framework – Common Drivers.

(Source: Hay Group,2016).

After reviewing research & survey findings of Hay Group by Gullab, it can be certainly concluded that high levels of employee engagement will lead to improved employee commitment & involvement towards job and thus creating a motivated workforce – that will work together to achieve the common goals of the organization. Highly engaged workforce will definitely make an organization more successful in terms of financial & nonfinancial parameters. Employee Engagement depends on four major conditions in the workplace: Organization’s culture, continuous reinforcement of people focused policies, meaningful matrices and organizational performance (Yuvika.S,2016).

Video 06:Challenges in employee engagement 

Source :Ron Kaufman.,2019

Yuvika.S.,2016, ‘Employee Engagement as a Contemporary Issue in HRM--A Conceptual Framework ‘, International Journal of Engineering and Management Research,6(5),pp.364-368.

Outcomes of employee engagement

Engaged employees perform better, are more innovative than others, are more likely to want to stay with their employers, enjoy greater levels of personal well-being and perceive their workload to be more sustainable than others (Michael and Stephen,2013) Employee engagement matters to both the employee as well as the organization. Employees can utilize contract agreement provisions to impede the attainment of the organizational goals and objectives. Management’s capability to leverage employee engagement strategies is essential in an organization. Organizations that have highly engaged employees have greater profits than those that do not (Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM], 2014). Organizations with highly engaged employees experience increased customer satisfaction, profits, and employee productivity (Schrita and Mohamad ,2017).

Video 05:Results of Employee engagement  

Source:WorldatWorkTV.,2013

Michael,A. ,Stephen.T.,2013, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice,13^th ed. India, Michael Armstrong.

Schrita,O,W., Mohamad,S,H.,2017, ‘Effective Employee Engagement in the Workplace ‘,International Journal of Applied Management and Technology: Walden University ,16(1),pp.50-67.

Stakeholders of Employee Engagement

According to Michael and Stephen (2013) Line managers play a key role in enhancing job engagement with the support of organizational initiatives in the areas of job design; learning programmes, including leadership development for line managers; and performance and reward management systems.

Also Solomon and Sandhya (2010) state Managers unequivocally agree that this century demands more efficiency and productivity than any other times in history. Businesses are striving to increase their performance. Managers have been grappling with many challenges to succeed putting their company ahead of competitors.

Video 02:Organizational Culture  

source :WorldatWorkTV.,2015

Michael,A. ,Stephen.T.,2013, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice,13th ed. India, Michael Armstrong.

Soloman,M.,Sandhya,M.S.,2010, ‘Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance ‘,Canadian Center of Science and Education,5(12) ,pp.89-95.

Importance of work environment on employee engagement  

Employee behaviors do not occur in a vacuum, but in a specific and unique work environment. People placed in work environments that “fit” are more likely to intrinsically enjoy their work (James and Jeanne,2006). Flexible work practices have long been viewed by employees as valuable workplace tools to facilitate work life management. Employees report that workplace flexibility influences decisions to join an organization, satisfaction with their jobs, and plans to stay with their employers. Recently, some employers have come to recognize that workplace flexibility positively influences valued business outcomes such as attracting, motivating, and retaining key talent in competitive labor markets, increasing employee satisfaction and engagement, as well as improving efficiency and effectiveness (Amy et al,2008). The reverse is true for those placed in work environments that do not “fit”. For these employees, normal daily work occurrences may be unpleasant and interpreted more negatively, thus resulting in negative outcomes such as boredom, poor work performance, and lack of satisfaction. Also younger employees were “less loyal to the company”. As a result, younger employees may take the view that nothing is permanent, and may disproportionately emphasize the importance of work environments that match their preferences (James and Jeanne,2006).

Video 03:  Benefits of employee engagement 

Source :LineZero.,2018

Amy,L.R., Janet T. C., Laurie L. S. E.,Jeffrey H., and Robert T. B.,2008,’ The relationship of perceived flexibility, supportive work life policies, and use of formal flexible arrangements and occasional flexibility to employee engagement and expected retention’, <www.reserchgate.net>, 11(2),pp.183-197.

James,W.W.,Jeanne,H.Y.,2006,’ Generational preferences for work environment fit: effects on employee outcomes ‘,Emerald Group Publishing Limited,12(2),pp.150-161.

Key driving factors of employee engagement

The main drivers of engagement are meaningful work (the most important), senior management vision and communication, positive perceptions of one’s line manager and employee voice – employees having a say in matters that concern them (Michael and Stephen,2013). Macey et al (2009) emphasized the work environment and the jobs people do. They noted that: engagement requires a work environment that does not just demand more but promotes information sharing, provides learning opportunities and fosters a balance in people’s lives, thereby creating the bases for sustained energy and personal initiative (Michael and Stephen,2013).

Employee engagement can be achieved through the creation of an organizational environment where positive emotions such as involvement and pride are encouraged, resulting in improved organizational performance, lower employee turnover and better health. At the same time individuals feel positive emotions, they are able to think in a more flexible, open-minded way and are also likely to feel greater self-control, cope more effectively and be less defensive in the workplace (Soni, ND).

According to Penna (2007) research report meaning at work has the potential to be valuable way of bringing employers and employees closer together to the benefit of both where employees experience a sense of community, the space to be themselves and the opportunity to make a contribution, they find meaning. Employees want to work in the organizations in which they find meaning at work. On the other hand, The White (2006) study found that almost two thirds’ (60%) of the surveyed employees want more opportunities to grow forward to remain satisfied in their jobs. Strong manager-employee relationship is a crucial ingredient in the employee engagement and retention formula. Further The Towers Perrin Talent Report (2003) identifies the top ten work place attributes which will result in employee engagement. The top three among the ten drivers listed by Perrin are: Senior management’s interest in employees’ well-being, challenging work and Decision making authority. In other words, CIPD (2006) on the basis of its survey of 2000 employees from across Great Britain indicates that communication is the top priority to lead employees to engagement (Solomon and Sandhya,2010).  

Video 04:Factors of employee engagement 

Source :Japan Dale Carnegie TV.,2013

Michael,A. ,Stephen.T.,2013, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice,13^th ed. India, Michael Armstrong.

Soloman,M.,Sandhya,M.S.,2010, ‘Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance ‘,Canadian Center of Science and Education,5(12) ,pp.89-95.

Employee Engagement

Engagement takes place when people are committed to their work and the organization and are motivated to achieve high levels of performance (Michael and Stephen,2013), and also according to Schrita and Mohamad (2017), dedicated and meaningful work enables employees to realize how valuable they are within the organization and makes them engaged. The basic needs of satisfaction have been found to directly relate to dedication of employees

At the same time Employee engagement has been perceived as a motivational factor towards organization’s objectives achievement. The good environment that is offered to the worker enables him to offer the best that the organization needs for its achievement of goals and objectives(Kazimoto,2016). further the world’s top- performing organizations understand that employee engagement is a force that drives business results (Bhavani , Sharavan and Arpitha,2015). Hewitt Associates (2009,p1) defined an engaged employee as “the measure of an employee’s emotional and intellectual commitment to their organization and its success” (Karen and Aneil,2014).

Video 1 : Defining employee engagement

source :Bob .K.,2013

Bhavani S.A., Sharavan and Arpitha(2015) ‘A Study Effectiveness of Employee Engagement in Automobile Industry ‘,International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences,4(10).

            Karen,M.,Lois,B.,Aneil,M.,2014, ‘Driving Employee Engagement: The Expanded Role of Internal Communications ‘,Association for Business Communication,51(2),PP.183-202.

    Kazimoto, P., (2016) ‘Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance of Retails Enterprises ‘, American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 6(1), pp.516-525.

Michael,A. ,Stephen.T.,2013, Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice,13^th ed. India, Michael Armstrong.

Schrita,O,W., Mohamad,S,H.,2017, ‘Effective Employee Engagement in the Workplace ‘,International Journal of Applied Management and Technology: Walden University ,16(1),pp.50-67.