Effective Employee Engagement




Introduction 

The extent to which employees are passionate about, motivated by and invested in their work as well as the organisation they serve is broadly referred to as employee engagement (Shuck, 2019).  Having a thoughtful and through employee engagement strategy which tailors to the unique needs of staff remains crucial to the long-term success of an organisation.  A noteworthy issue in HRM is when employees are less engaged, which affects their performance, productivity and organisational success as well.  

Importance of effective employee engagement 

Effective employee engagement is crucial because it drives performance.  Employees who are well engaged tend to look at the whole of the organisation, and understand their purpose, how and where they fit in; they also put in discretionary efforts into their work (Bridger, 2018).  All this leads to better decision-making, and organisations with a more engaged workforce are identified to be outperforming their competition and have capabilities of recovering quickly after financial setbacks.  

With the concept of ‘job for life’ changing and mobile professional careers being more common, employee expectations are changing and retention of top talent becomes more challenging (Byrne, 2014).  Companies that have effective employee engagement strategies and engaged workforces are likely to be retaining top talent and attracting new talent.  Successful organisations are therefore value-driven and have employee-centered cultures.   

Factors hindering effective employee engagement 

• Work culture

• Less recognition and appreciation

• Inadequate education and know-how on the field closely related to the job 

• Management, where leadership sets the tone for company culture

• Technology, where employees would remain unproductive without appropriate technologies

• Less job security

Factors promoting effective employee engagement 

• Getting individual goals aligned with team/organisational goals

• Recognizing contribution

• Fostering job satisfaction

• Building team trust 

• Cultivating co-dependency 

• Managers being strategic and sharing strategic plans with employees

• Assured job stability and security

Handling disengaged employees

It is important for managers to personally speak to disengaged team members and acknowledge to them that their feedback on what is going well, and what is not, is valued (Byrne, 2014).  Based on this, managers could develop plans for continuous learning and support that would increase engagement of such disengaged employees.  It is also crucial to provide tailored incentives and recognition.  

Conclusion 

Keeping employees adequately motivated and invested in their work remains a key to organisational success, particularly in todays competitive work environment where the traditional ‘job for life’ concept is no longer the norm.  Factors like job security, recognition and incentives, alignment of individual goals with company goals, etc. all foster effective employee engagement.   

References

Bridger, E. (2018). Employee Engagement: A Practical Introduction. London: Kogan Page. 

Byrne, Z. (2014). Understanding Employee Engagement: Theory, Research and Practice. London: Springer 

Shuck, B. (2019). Employee Engagement. New York: Routledge. 



Comments

  1. Ruwan Herath20 April 2021 at 07:28

    Why should companies invest in employee engagement? The answer is because employee engagement is interwoven significantly with important business outcomes. In this part we will see how employee engagement impacts organizational performance in the light of various research works done.
    Studies have found positive relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance outcomes: employee retention, productivity, profitability, customer loyalty and safety. Researches also indicate that the more engaged employees are, the more likely their employer is to exceed the industry average in its revenue growth. Employee engagement is found to be higher in double-digit growth companies.

    (Coffman, 2000; Ellis and Sorensen, 2007; Towers Perrin Talent Report, 2003; Hewitt Associates, 2004; Heintzman and Marson, 2005; Coffman and Gonzalez, 2002).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sumanan Neelamegam26 April 2021 at 01:05

    HR practices have a significant impact on employee engagement. The following practices can increase employee engagement:

    * Job enrichment. Incorporate meaning, variety, autonomy and co-worker respect into jobs and tasks so that employees view their role more broadly and become more willing to take on duties beyond their job description.

    * Recruiting. Target applicants who are likely to view their work as interesting and challenging. Encourage those who are not suited for particular work to opt out of the process.

    * Selection. Choose candidates who are most likely to perform job duties well, make voluntary contributions and avoid improper conduct.

    * Training and development. Provide orientation to create understanding about how the job contributes to the organization. Offer skill development training to increase job performance, satisfaction and self-efficacy.

    * Strategic compensation. Use pay-for-performance programs to focus employees' attention on incentivized behaviors. Adopt competency-based pay to encourage acquisition of knowledge and skills and enhance employee performance.

    * Performance management. Set challenging goals that align with the organization's strategic objectives, provide feedback, and recognize accomplishments and extra voluntary contributions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. R SAJEEV1 May 2021 at 01:18

    Employee engagement is quickly becoming one of the most important indicators in gauging work satisfaction. Employees today are looking for more than just a 9-to-5 job. They want to be involved in their work, enthusiastic about the organization they work for and committed to their fellow workers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Asela Fernando14 May 2021 at 00:20

    good one

    ReplyDelete

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