In an employment era characterised by people-centric organisations, it is understandable that the concept of employee engagement has gained increased prominence. In theory, employees are motivated when given autonomy, self-confidence through feedback, respect from management, and freedom to take action without reprisal, which increases productivity and service levels (Macy, 2009:12-13). Unfortunately, despite this conceptual ideal, contemporary research and practitioner studies continue to demonstrate that there is a lacuna between the theory of employee engagement and the reality of it in day-to-day businesses. According to a recent report, The State of Employee Engagement, published by Smith and Henderson, only one third of businesses focus …show more content…
The role of the HR department is salient as they are the driving force in connecting the employee’s job to organisational strategy and goals. Domestic and international engagement within organisations promotes a competitive advantage, thus contributing to success and commitment to the organisation. Lockwood maintains this argument by mentioning that engaged employees will go the extra mile for organisations, and the positive outcome would be shown as a form of competitive differentiation in the marketplace (Lockwood, 2007:3). This form of competitive differentiation is supported by Marx as he mentions how higher labour productiveness secures a surplus of profit (Marx, 1954) Similarly, disruptive innovation, and technological advancements have revolutionised the way that people can work, and entire organisations and industries have arisen thanks to this technological development. Organisations have been forced to become much more customer-centric, and as the scope for differentiation on the basis of product diminishes, organisations must turn to their employees as a source of differentiation (Lockwood, 2007:3-4); Catlette and Hadden, 2012:19). Lockwood further discusses the 21st century impact of engagement, illustrating the difference in performance-related costs of high and low …show more content…
Certainly those organisations which have successfully created a culture of employee engagement have reaped the benefits (Downey et al., 2015:39). However, an engaged employee culture requires stability of employment, something that is becoming increasingly rare in a working environment where a job for life is an oddity rather than the norm (Bal and De Lang, 2015:129). Employees must feel safe and secure before they can become engaged, and in a culture where high turnover of jobs is standard, then engagement is likely to be elusive. In order for the theory of employee engagement to be successful, organisations must create the right conditions for engagement and commit to the process. Similarly, in order for employee engagement in the working environment to be effective in practice, there is a need for a collegial approach. Due to many stakeholders taking on engagement roles, it doesn’t leave enough space for employees to engage in their work without having superiors constantly watching over them. The collegial approach allows the theory of employee engagement to be implemented, allowing for collective, shared responsibility by each member of the company, with minimal supervision from
Workers feeling, which includes competitive compensation and reward strategies, professional growth and development, career paths and succession plans and the organizations leadership and culture are contributing factors of employee engagement
Boston, MA: Pearson Sivarethinamohan, R. R., & Aranganathan, P. P. (2011). Determinants of employee engagement
It impacts the hospital’s prosperity and productivity immensely and if employee engagement is strong it results in a more productive workforce, higher job satisfaction and moral, higher retention, better skilled staff, lower absentee rates and better patient loyalty and satisfaction. Tameside hospital has aspects of their approach to staff engagement that have high performance rates (which they need to maintain) and aspects that were lower in performance which need drastic improvements to have a more productive hospital. Progressive staff engagement and development not only benefits the staff at the hospital but leads to a better experience and service for patients, which ultimately benefits the stakeholders and the organisation as a
All the more, essentially each employee wants to feel as if they are apart of something bigger that brings about promotion for someone or something greater than themselves. Therefore, that is why is it is pivotal for employers to cultivate high employee engagement.
I selected to discuss the employee engagement process intervention method. According to Kahn (1990), employee engagement is when organizational members utilize their emotional, cognitive, and physical means in order to perform their duties (as cited in Xu & Thomas, 2011). The purpose of using the employee engagement process intervention method is to convert the culture in management from one that is traditional to one that has shared responsibilities, collaborative, and team focused (Holman, Devane, & Cady, 2007). Furthermore, the purpose of this intervention method is to achieve an environment with open communication, and individual accountability of the culture (Holman et al., 2007).
Employee engagement, a term devised by Gallup research group, is viewed as an important management tool for any company who wants to be an effective and productive organization. Researches have shown that employee can contribute positively to the organization vision and goal when a company engage them effectively. The employee will also feel more passionate about their work and have a sense of belonging.
MacLeod, D. and Clarke, N. (2009), Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement, London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Definition. Schaufeli’s (as cited in Truss, Delbridge, Alfes, Shantz, & Soane, 2014, p. 26) ideas on employee engagement can be explained by using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Job demands and availability or lack of resources, both job and personal, either contribute to or deter employee engagement, this is illustrated by the JD-R (Truss et al., 2014). On the positive side, according to Truss et al. (2014) job and personal resources “foster engagement in terms of vigor (energy), dedication (persistence) and absorption (focus)” (p. 26). An employee who has the resources needed to do their job is better equipped to do the job and thereby better able to perform their job (Truss et al., 2014). Employees who are better able to meet job
Numerous working age individuals, have had an experience in the workplace, where some factor, in relation to office dynamics, has made it difficult to thrive in their respective job roles. Why is that? Research has shown when workers are motivated and engaged, they will have higher levels of productivity (Motivating Employees in the Workplace, n.d.). Researchers have also found that the quality of work produced increases; in addition to quality improving there is a correlation with consistency in quality of work associated with those individuals possessing higher levels of workplace engagement (Motivating Employees in the Workplace, n.d.). Disengaged employees have a damaging impact, on the organization’s output
“Hr is shifting from focusing on the organisation of the business to focusing on the business of the organisation” (Zulmohd 2011). David Ulrich points out four distinctive roles of HR which makes the organisation most effective and produce competitive advantage. He planned to change the structure of HR function and build HR around roles. The four key HR roles identified by Ulrich, one HR business partner/strategic partner – aligning HR and business strategy which plays an important role in setting strategic direction. It builds strategic relationship with clients and strategically manages the development of the workforce. The second key role is administrative expert which creates and must deliver effective HR processes made to tailor business needs. It also involves managing people and HR related costs. To continue to the third key role, change agent which understands the organisations culture, and takes the responsibility to communicate those changes internally and gain its employees trust. The final key role identified by Ulrich is employee advocate which is a core in HR role represents employees and helps to improve their experience, protect employees’ interests and confirm strategic initiatives are well balanced. Employee advocates must also “ensure fair, ethical and equitable people processes and practices.” “David Ulrich’s HR Model is about defining the HR roles and
Depending on the view of what it is, there are a few perspectives on drivers for employee engagement. As concluded in 2013 Trend in Global Employee Engagement by Aon Hewitt, engagement drivers are grouped in six major categorises of the experiences, including the aspects of quality of life, the work, the people, the opportunities, total rewards, and company practices (Aon Hewitt, 2013; see Figure 3.1).
A recent Gallup poll found that companies with engaged employees earned 147 percent higher profits than competitors with lower engagement rates. [Blog.customermonitor.com: Why engaged employees equal a better customer experience and more ROI
Miller (2014), Employee engagement remains a major challenge for companies and organizations worldwide and an often elusive outcome even for those organizations who are already committed to achieving a high level of employee engagement and who already have employee engagement programs in place. One proven strategy that can provide a clear path to enhancing the level of employee engagement in any company or organization is to benchmark against the current “best practices” in employee engagement worldwide.
Organizations are placing more emphasis on employee well-being as “employee well-being has a significant impact on the performance and survival of organizations”. (Grant, Christianson, and Price, 2007, p.51). Well-being can be divided into psychological, social and physical well being(Grant, Christianson, and Price,2007) and by promoting well-being a happier and healthier pool of employees can be nurtured. These staff are proven to be more productive and they reduce costs incurred by high absentism rate and illness. (Baron,2006; Grant, Christianson, and Price,2007)
Human Resources Management (HRM) Interventions relates to the idea of improving an organizations overall performance and efficiency by improving the members (individuals and groups) performances, commitment, and flexibility. According to Beer et al. (1984), this is often a relevant intervention technique when organizations are facing increased international competition. They see the value of HR investments as a way to improve organizations competitive advantages. Further, they establish that HRM policies have long-term consequences and immediate organizational outcomes. These policies should include the overall competence of employees, the commitment of employees, the cost effectiveness of HRM practices,