ServeME Service for Measuring the Degree of Satisfaction among Employees - Assignment Example

 WHITE PAPER Abstract This white paper is aimed at introducing a product code named ServeME to measure the degree of satisfaction among employees within the organization. Among other things, it will be established that the need for growth and development within the organization will not come without some level of calculated effort. Referencing most successful multinational and local companies across the globe, one central theme that runs through their growth agenda is employee satisfaction. This means that employee satisfaction is a very important means by which organizations can be assured of guaranteed growth and development. Companies that want to achieve calculated growth and development have therefore utilized various means by which employee satisfaction is achieved. With this product, the diverse ways in which the organization can achieve employee satisfaction can be calculated through a quantitative method. Again, it will help in bringing key areas of employee satisfaction that the organization is lacking, as well as recommendations to fix the identified loopholes. In totality, ServeMe works under the principle that what may work for one organization may not work for the other. It is for this reason that the product functions under the premise of high level of pragmatic research and development in helping the organization identify who its employees are, how best its employees respond to issues that border on their job specifications, and how best to change the face of employee service rate, all aimed at coming out with a single service that guarantee employee satisfaction for the organization. The white paper therefore defends and recommend the use of ServeME as a service that comes as a solution to stagnated growth and development for the organization. Analysis Problem within the Organization The goal of very organization is to achieve growth and development within a specified time frame (Churchill, Ford and Walker, 1993). Generally, the level of growth and development that is achieved by the organization must be directly proportional to every input that goes into the running of the organization. Commonly, these inputs come in the form of capital and resource injection. This notwithstanding, there is a core issue of unharnessed output of the resource and capital input that most organizations and companies make. In such organizations there is either stagnation of growth or retardation of growth (Corner, Machleit and Lagace, 1989). Recent studies have tried to find the core factors that contribute to such cases and instances of under performance in local and multinational companies across the globe. In one of such studies, Browne and Cudeck (1992) concluded that a high levels of employee dissatisfaction in companies, institutions and corporate organizations is the most outstanding reason that companies under perform. In effect, increasing the employee satisfaction rate of companies, institutions and corporate organizations is the singular most effective means of ensuring that growth and development can be achieved. To most company and organizational executives however, the nut that they have never seemed to have solution to its cracking is how to achieve employee satisfaction. This means that the problem is not just about the absence of employee satisfaction but also the absence of adequate knowledge in achieving employee satisfaction. It is against this setback that the need to have service line that aims at getting the task of employee satisfaction done in a more simplified manner is very important and urgent for any growth oriented company. Proposed Product The proposed product for improving employee satisfaction within the organization is code named ServeME. ServeME is simply a product module that requires the organization to give unto its employees, what it expects to get from employees. By this, the product requires the organization to find means of satisfying its employees because satisfaction is certainly the value that the organization wants from its employees. This will be a product that will work from an external perspective of measuring employee satisfaction. In order words, the product will act as a measuring tool for assessing the level of satisfaction that exists for employees and how various modalities of employee satisfaction can be directed at employee satisfaction. Technically, it is always important to identify the modalities of employee satisfaction, much of which shall be treated under the features section of the white paper. But generally, the modalities refer to various expectations that employees often have from their employers. With a better understanding of the modalities of satisfaction, companies are but at a half way through achieving satisfaction because all that becomes left for them to do is to identify ways of pushing these modalities through to their employees. As a satisfaction measurement tool, ServeME will have a number of assessment scales, based on which the levels of satisfaction of employee shall be ranked, graded or scored. Even though satisfaction is a very qualitative element (Sujan, Weitz and Kumar, 2004), the product will be made to work from a more quantitative perspective. The reason for this is that making decisions based on quantitative scores has been identified to be more universal and objective than the use of qualitative scores. Theoretical paradigm of the Product Theoretically, the product works with the Employee Model proposed by Venkatraman (2000) in mind. The Employee Model aims at identifying the relationship between employee satisfaction (ES) and customer satisfaction (CS). According to the proponents of the model however, the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction is unilateral instead of bilateral. What this means is that employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction but customer satisfaction does not lead to employee satisfaction. Meanwhile, for growth and development to be recorded in the organization, there must be a very high level of customer satisfaction because the customer remains the lifeline to the organization’s financial successes. Without the customer, there is no way that organizations are going to record incomes, let alone profits on their investments (Sujan, Weitz and Kumar, 2004). Meanwhile, it takes only a satisfied customer to do business with the company and come back some other time to do business again. In effect, the product is useful because it puts all the emphasis of growth and development on the employee rather than the customer. This is because according to the employee model, satisfied customers do not bring about satisfied employees but satisfied employees bring about satisfied customers. Meanwhile, when customers are satisfied, there is sure to be guaranteed growth. From a theoretical basis therefore, when ServeME responds to the needs of employees for them to be served by their organizations, it would lead to the fulfillment of the impactful goal of both customer satisfaction and employee growth. Finally, the employee model reinforces the need for employee satisfaction to be channeled mainly within the services industry as in this industry, the best way to prove to their customer that they are worthy of keeping is through customer satisfaction through employee service to them (Churchill, Ford and Walker, 1993). Explanation of features and components of ServeME ServeME is basically an external employee-based data collection tool on the level of satisfaction in place for employees. The external feature of the product means that it is to be regulated and used by an external source or agency. This agency is the service provider, whose works shall very much be likened to the work of any quality control agency. The difference here however is that with ServeME service providers, their core aim of is to measure what is good for employees and so they base their roles on the principles of research and development, rather than the ordinary collection of data from employees. As an employee-based product, reference is being made to the fact that the data to be collected for decision making shall come directly from the employees. In other jurisdictions, a more client based data collection tools have been used in the collection of data. In such instances, the service providers sit back and watch employees and determine through expert advice, the kind of mechanisms, which when put in place for them would bring about employee satisfaction. In this case however, the client or service provider only serves or acts as a facilitator for change. What this means is that the actual work of change does not rest with the service provider. The service provider would therefore contact the employees and use a data collection tool to know from the employees, conditions that satisfaction them, availability of those condition within the organization, the degree to which those conditions are fulfilled to them, and any forms of changes they expect to see in relation to the satisfaction scales. The last feature of the product, which is perhaps the most significant feature, is the fact that it is a data collection tool or instrument. What this means is that a survey shall be created to contain key employee satisfaction modules or scales. The name of the survey is what is referred to as ServeME. The survey identifies four key areas of employee satisfaction namely, job satisfaction, employee control, social connection, and capital development. Under each of these, there shall be various qualitative questions that require employees to rate, rank or score various attributes of employee satisfaction under the four main scales. Using a likert rating, the scoring will be done from 1 to 5 in all instances. Each scale or area has five to ten questions under it. The picture below is a graphical representation of the aspects of employee satisfaction that ServeME measures. From the figure above, it would be noted that the degree to which there is job satisfaction among employees shall be measured. This is important because employees who are satisfied at their jobs are said to be generally satisfied as employees and retain their positions for long (Vilares and Coelho, 2003). Meanwhile, when employees retain their positions, they add on a depth of experience to their portfolios. There is also an aspect that measures employee control. In most instances, employees who have very little liberties and freedoms within the work fold are said to be dissatisfied because the absence of freedom within the organization fights against innovativeness (Venkatraman, 2000). Meanwhile, the modern day worker would want to see more usefulness of him or herself by being given the freedom to explore innovation. Capital development as captured in the tool refers to opportunities that employees receive to upgrade their knowledge, skills, talents and abilities (Vilares and Coelho, 2003). Surely, this is an important paradigm of satisfaction because it makes employees more effective at work. Finally, social connections are needed within the organization to make interpersonal relationships easier. Organizations with such ease of interpersonal relationships would have a lot to achieve in terms of employee satisfaction because they will see success as a shared responsibility and thus the need to stay on and be part of the winning team, among which the social connections have been created. Largely, after data collection with ServeME, the following will happen: 1. The best module of employee satisfaction for each employee will be known 2. The degree to which each employee is satisfied will be known 3. Recommended modalities that will bring about employee satisfaction for each employee will be known 4. There shall be recommendations by the external team on how to effect changes within the organization to meet the employee satisfaction needs of the organization. Conclusion Looking through the history books, companies and organizations have only succeeded in writing their names as great and achieving clubs based on a very high level of respect and usage of their employees. The analysis has resulted in a realization that employees are not best used when all we want from them is performance. Performance must always go with a very level and sense of will for the employee. For employers to be satisfied with their employees, they must first ensure that their employees are satisfied with them. This is indeed a workable principle under ServeME because without the service scope for employees their motivation to also serve their employers becomes questionable. For employers the need to provide satisfaction to their employees must not be seen as a losing battle but a win-win approach to organizational growth and development. This is said because it is the satisfaction of the employee rather than that of the employer that guarantees growth. A clear instance of this is what is displayed in Churchill, Ford and Walker, 2003) who found that employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction leads to growth and development. As growth and development will bring about employer satisfaction, it can be concluded that ServeME leads to employee satisfaction, and employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to employer satisfaction. From all indications, an adaptation to ServeME by the orgnisation will be the secret to unlocking hidden doors of calculated growth and development that do not come by virtue of accident but through careful planning. After all, the adage remains through that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. References Browne, M.W. and Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological Method and Research, 21, 230-58. Churchill, G., Ford, N.M. and Walker, O.C. (2003). Sales Force Management, Los Angeles: Burr Ridge Publications. Corner, J.M., Machleit, K.A. and Lagace, R.R. (1989). Psychometric assessment of a reduced version of INDSALES. Journal of Business Research, 18, 291-332. Sujan, H., Weitz, B.A. and Kumar, M. (2004). Learning orientation, working smart, and effective selling. Journal of Marketing, 58, 39-52. Venkatraman, N. (2000). Performance implications of strategic coalignment: a methodological perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 12(27) 19-41. Vilares, M.J. and Coelho, P.S. (2003). The employee-customer satisfaction chain in the ECSI model. European Journal of Marketing, 11(37),1703-22. Read More