employee engagement the key to improving performance
DESCRIPTION
literature reviewTRANSCRIPT
Bahria University Islamabad
Subject: Organizational Behavior
MBA 3 (B)
Topic: Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving
Performance
Submitted To:
Sir, Zafarullah Siddqui
Submitted By:
Suhaib Tariq
Literature Review:
Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance
Robinson et al. (2004) define employee engagement as “a positive attitude held
by the employee towards the organization and its value. An engaged employee is
aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance
within the job for the benefit of the organization. The organization must work to
develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship
between employer and employee.” Many researches have tried to identify factors
leading to employee engagement and developed models to draw implications for
managers. Their diagnosis aims to determine the drivers that will increase
employee engagement level.
According to Penna research report (2007) 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. Penna (2007) researchers have also come up with a new model they called
“Hierarchy of engagement” which resembles Maslow’s need hierarchy model. In
the bottom line there are basic needs of pay and benefits. Once an employee
satisfied these needs, then the employee looks to development opportunities, the
possibility for promotion and then leadership style will be introduced to the mix
in the model. Finally, when all the above cited lower level aspirations have been
satisfied the employee looks to an alignment of value-meaning, which is
displayed by a true sense of connection, a common purpose and a shared sense of
meaning at work.
Human Resource staff is often responsible for implementing employee
engagement programs, but their ultimate success depends on effective
management. Management plays an important role in fostering employee
engagement. Organizations can take the following actions to ensure that
engagement contributes to performance (Herrin, 2008):
Involve managers: Employees become engaged when managers take an interest
in their personal and professional development through everyday
encouragement.
Improve executive management: Implement professional development
programs for executives, emphasizing communication and other skills to
promote employee engagement.
Articulate clear standards: Inform managers of exactly how they are expected
to build employee engagement (goals, targets, measures, and incentives).
Promote the right supervisors: Establish competencies that emphasize
communication and leadership, and avoid promoting only technical performers.
Clearly communicate vision and goals: Link organizational goals with
individual work units in a clear and consistent manner, using newsletters, emails,
and speeches.
Base staffing practices on merit: Set clear expectations, communicate staffing
practices, and treat the unsuccessful applicants with the same respect as the
promoted.
According to Nancy R. Lockwood (2007) there are some barriers to Employee
Engagement which can effect organizations in negative way. Often in the form of
rules, workplace culture and behaviors, barriers to engagement can be damaging
to employees, customers and stakeholders— and ultimately, to the organization’s
financial success. Human Resource can act as a barrier—depending on how
workplace policies and practices are implemented—rather than helping to
motivate employees through innovative and proactive practices.
Also, barriers can prevent efficiency, do not promote a positive and engaging
work environment and may damage the ability of an organization to act quickly.
Importantly, barriers can prevent customers from getting what they need. To be
better positioned to address barriers to engagement, organizations must
determine what is working and what is not. The Gallup Organization, for
example, identified 12 indicators that link employee satisfaction with positive
business outcomes and profitability. The initial study considered four key areas:
customer satisfaction/loyalty, profitability, productivity and employee turnover.
In addition, stress levels in the workplace have increased substantially due to the
pressures of competition, technology that promotes the fast-paced 24/7 global
economy and the blurring of boundaries between work and home life. For
example, a 2004 study found that 27% of U.S. employees were speechless by how
much work they had to do and 29% often or very often did not have time to
process or reflect on the work they did. Overworked employees make more
mistakes and tend to have higher levels of stress and physical health problems,
experience clinical depression and neglect caring for themselves. The message
for HR is that stressed employees are likely to be less engaged and less
productive in the workplace.
In another research Pete Sanborn and Rahul Malhotra (2010) explains the
Trends in Global Employee Engagement. Over the past decade, and particularly in
the past three years, employers and employees have faced human capital
challenges and an uncertain economy. The economic downturn that started in
2008 has had a significant impact on companies and the resulting decisions made
by management. These decisions have impacted employee engagement levels
and perceptions globally, leading to changes in leading drivers of employee
engagement. In uncertain times, organizations need to focus on harnessing the
discretionary effort that engaged employees deliver. This makes the difference in
how companies are affected during the economic downturn, how quickly they
emerge from it, and how strong they are in the future after the downturn passes.
Overall trends in engagement scores, globally and for each region. In 2010, the
global engagement score was 56%, down four percentage points from 60% in
2009. The reason for this decline is primarily due to changes in the regional
scores of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. The regional engagement
scores in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America mirror the global decline.
However, the employee engagement scores in Latin America have stayed
consistent over this time period. At the industry level, the financial sector is the
main sector across all regions that attributed to this fall from 2009 to 2010. Top 3
engagement drivers are career opportunities, brand alignment, and recognition.
Conclusion:
The level of engagement determines whether people are productive and stay
with the organization— or move to the competition. Research highlights that the
employee connection to the organizational strategy and goals, acknowledgment
for work well done, and a culture of learning and development foster high levels
of engagement. Without a workplace environment for employee engagement,
turnover will increase and efficiency will decline, leading to low customer loyalty
and decreased stakeholder value. Ultimately, because the cost of poor employee
engagement will be detrimental to organizational success, it is vital for HR to
foster positive, effective people managers along with workplace policies and
practices that focus on employee well-being, health and work/life balance.
References:
http://www.accordsyst.com/papers/engagement_wp.pdf
http://www.blessingwhite.com
http://www.cipd.co.uk/changeagendas
http://www.aonhewitt.com.