Employee Engagement in an Organization - Essay Example

Employee Engagement in an Organization According to Hein, better productivity from workers and maintaining a higher retention rate can be achieved through an effective engagement strategy in an organization. This article is about employee engagement and how it can be measured and improved in an organization. If employees are not engaged in their work, they tend to explore new opportunities and reduced the productivity in the organization. Therefore, it is important for organization to ensure the employees are engaged and motivate. The employers should measure employee engagement to able to retain great workers and understand the concerns of their workers. Employee engagement leads to “better customer outcomes, employee retention and increased productivity and these are what every organization needs in order to thrive” (Hein, 2014). Employers should focus on the recency, frequency, duration, virality and ratings to be able to understand and analyze their engagement levels. Some of the tips in improving employee engagement include finding out what motivates the employees; setting goals and sharing organizational vision; constructing feedback on a regular basis; hiring the right managers; setting clear expectations; empowering employees; and gamification among others (Hein, 2014). Gamification is one of the useful tools used in an organization and it has many key metrics including employee engagement. It is one of the most effective ways to motivate employees thereby leading to greater satisfaction and higher productivity and performance in an organization (Hein, 2014). Generally, employee engagement is considered one of the most important and effective strategies to increase worker’s performance and productivity in an organization. It is one of the approaches designed at the workplace to ensure that all employees are committed to the organization’s goals and values. Notably, being committed to the organizational goals enables employees to enhance organization’s success and well-being. Engagement is a two-way relationship between the employer and employees. That is, engagement involves what employees think and feel about their employers, their emotional connection and their actions and perceptions of their colleagues and clients. Those organizations that consider employee engagement have strong established values, trust and fairness and mutual respect among members and the needs of every employee is understood and fulfilled accordingly. Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are motivated to contribute to organizational success and applying discretional efforts willingly to perform tasks necessary to help achieve organizational goals. Arguably, in order to create a highly engaged workforce, the management needs to empower employees, promote and encourage teamwork and collaboration, and provide support and recognition where necessary. This article does not offer contradicting information with the course work. Just like course work, this article acknowledges the importance of employee engagement in an organization and the need to improve it. Engagement in an organization has been linked with increased employee commitment, employee performance as well as customer loyalty. More so, the outcomes of employee engagement include higher productivity, more innovation, higher talent retention, and a higher energy-working environment among others. Engagement is very important as it helps in maximizing discretional efforts, taking initiatives and aligning activities with the organizational needs. Undeniably, organizations with high level of employee engagement do outperform their competitors based on profitability. Therefore, creating an environment where employees feel fully engaged with their jobs as well as the organization is very important. Although the benefit of employee engagement in an organization is evident, some argue that it is not the only tool determining the success of an organization. The critiques argue that employee engagement may not be successful in motivating employees and increasing the performance of an organization. Some employees may be reluctant to be engaged in their work because they may feel like it is demanding, as it needs a lot of attention and more effort to be engaged. More so, the managers may not embrace employee engagement because they are used to giving out orders and receiving reports from their subordinates. Again, they may not support employee engagement because this practice involves sharing their power with their subordinates. Therefore, employee engagement may not be the most effective way to motivate employees and improve their performance and productivity in an organization. In my opinion, I agree with the information provided in this article. Employee engagement is very important for any organization that wishes to be successful. Employee engagement increases productivity, leads to retention of valuable talents, and enhances creativity and innovation among others. Motivating employees is very important, as this is part of being engaged. Both financial and non-financial can be used as a reward system to motivate the employee. Employees who feel motivated are likely to be persistent, creative and productive, and perform effectively and motivation in work place is the driving force behind the growth and success of any organization. One way of motivating employees is by engaging them in planning and decision making since their inputs and ideas are valuable. Truly, this motivates and empowers employees, thereby increasing performance and productivity. Personally, I do feel motivated and engaged if my seniors are considering my opinions and encouraging my participation in making decisions concerning important organizational matters. Agreeably, the performance of employees can be highly increased when they are engaged and motivated. This will be because of increased turnover as well as strong established teamwork to enable them share ideas and participate in decision-making. I think it is true that highly engaged employees outperform the disengaged ones, generate more revenue, understand how to meet client needs, and they are less likely to leave their organizations. Anyone who is engaged in their work and motivated has the opportunity to increase their performance and productivity in the organization. This is because engagement and motivation makes employees feel like there are part of the organization and that their views are valued. Addressing employee relations and their productivity in the organization through employee engagement is a good idea. The success of the organization is based on the employee engagement; therefore, it is undeniable that engagement at workplace plays a very significant role in ensuring that the organizational objectives and goals are met. Reference Hein, R. (2014). Tips for Measuring and Improving Employee Engagement. CIO. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/2459447/careers-staffing/tips-for-measuring-and-improving-employee-engagement.html Read More