Engagement Strategies Are Desirable For Organizations And Employees - Essay Example

Engagement Strategies Are Desirable For Organizations And Employees Introduction The goal of every single company or business firm in this world is to meet a number of objectives ranging from the primary one of profit maximization to other very diverse and very specialized ones depending on the company policy. The attainment of the objectives of a company or business venture must be done by a team effort (Cohen & Bailey, 1997, p. 239). Gibson & Cohen (2003, p.10) concurs with this statement offered by (Cohen & Bailey, 1997) and goes on to add that the lack of team work and setting up of unrealistic goals often results into the failure of many businesses and companies in the world today. The employees of each business are the vital cogs that drive the business forward. As such, the managers must act as engineers and ensure that these cogs, the employees, are always functioning in tip-top condition. Though there are numerous ways of keeping the employees in their work stations doing what they are mandated to do, it has been observed by Macleod (2009, p.3) that giving the employees the motivation necessary to keep working without feeling constrained is one of the best methods of guaranteeing success and increased productivity. This is what he terms as employee engagement. The verification of the false hood or truth in this statement by Macleod (2009) will form the aim of this paper. Through a close analysis of the details stipulated in the Macleod report and taking an outlook into other literary publications and researches into this topic, this paper will critically assess whether engagement strategies are desirable for organizations and employees. Engagement strategies To be capable of analyzing the above notion as stipulated by Macleod (2009) it is prudent that we first understand what the engagement strategies are. According to the definition offered by Macleod (2009, p. 9), engagement involves a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success and able to enhance their own sense of well-being The engagement strategies imply the creation of opportunities for employees to have a connection with their colleagues, managers and the wider organization.. It involves the creation of an environment where employees are motivated to want to connect with their work and really care about doing a good job (Macleod, 2009, p. 9). Macleod (2009, p. 9), continues to say that engagement is a concept that places flexibility, change and continuous improvement at the heart of what it means to be an employee and an employer especially in a twenty-first century workplace. According to Dulham, Knight & Locke (1997, p.210) and Bratton& Gold (2007), the process of engagement is an active one that involves active participation by both parties in a certain undertaking. It is a process where different parties feel compelled by their own motivation to either participate partially or fully towards the attainment of certain general objectives. Clarke (1996, p. 190) states that employee engagement describes the actual involvement of people at all levels in positive two-way dialogue and action to deliver the highest quality services and create great places to work – where people find their work meaningful and are willing to work together for clients, their colleagues and the future success of their organization. According to CIPD, engagement occurs on two levels, that is the Emotional engagement which implies the emotional attachment that that the employees have to one or more aspects of their work a and transactional engagement which relates to happiness to exhibit the behaviour of engagement but void of commitment to the job or the organisation and willingness to leave if a better offer appears elsewhere (Torrington, et al 2011). A typical case study drawn from the MacLeod report (2003) shows that a company, Tower Perrins-ISR conducted a survey globally in 2006. Opinions of more than 664,000 employees in 50 companies were analyzed. The survey gave a comparison of the financial performance of different organizations which had a high employee engagement to their rivals with a less-engaged workforce, over a one year period. Those organizations with a highly engaged workforce posted far much better financial performance than the ones with a low level of employee engagement. Generally, engagement is a derivative of the word ‘engage’, which means to incorporate. Taking this basic literary meaning, the definition of employee engagement is taken to be those activities that call for a combined effort or team work between the employees and the managers. Even though they both engage themselves in different capacities, each one of these employees is expected to deliver according to his or her own expectations and the expectations of the others. Employee engagement strategies are very specific for a specific company. The differences in nature of companies make these strategies to be different and very specialized to a particular company. For example, a company involved in the manufacturing business, say steel cannot adapt the same engagement strategies as one that is involved in the services provision sector, say telecommunication. The engagement strategies that these two companies employ are different but they are all aimed at the attainment of the goals and objectives that are specific to the particular company. Application of employee engagement strategies at the work place Many companies have embraced this aspect of employee engagement in the workplace. The managers feel that the employees will be more motivated to work hard if they are made to feel that they have a responsibility to deliver without any coercion of any kind (Macleod, 2009). This means that the employees are part and parcel of the team work in the company and are obligated to work together for the attainment of the organization’s goal. Benefits for application of employee engagement strategies There are several advantages that many companies and businesses in the world today enjoy if they involved themselves in employee engagement. Some of these reasons as outlined the MacLeod report (2003) are discussed in the following paragraphs. Employee engagement has been observed to have a higher productivity ratio than when these employees are not engaged in the activities of the company. A particular employee feels that he or she has an obligation to make sure that he or she does her part of the job well and in an efficient manner. And with everybody in the business or organization following suit, the productivity of the business is bound to increase. Lack of flaws in the production chain allows for increased productivity (Clarke, 1996, p. 194; MacLeod report, 2003). Another reason that may push these companies and businesses to adopt employee engagement strategies is the possibilities of increment in the operating as well as net profits. From the first reason given above, increased production is directly proportional to increased revenues. And with increases in the revenues of a company, the profits also tend to increase in the same proportion. Lucas, Lupton & Mathieson (2006), argue that the increased focus on the client is also another very vital reason for the application of employee engagement strategies in companies. With these employees having an independent mind and space connected together by the objectives maximization concept, they are bound to offer better customer care services to the various clients of the business. Good customer focus increases the level of loyalty these customers have on the business and raises the business image. Another very important factor that makes many of these companies adopt the employee engagement strategies is the employee retention factor. DeSanctis and Monge (1999) argue that an employee would not stay much in an organization where he or she feels that she is not part of the system. The employees must have the necessary motivation to allow them to stay in a particular organization. Employee retention is an important part of the organization’s objectives. According to Aston Centre for Human Resources (2008), employees leaving a company for another one where they feel more appreciated is a common occurrence in the world today. Sadly, it is a very expensive and time and resources wasting process. Companies struggle to retain their employees. One of the best ways to ensure that this succeeds is by applying the employee engagement strategies. Employee engagement also helps in the checking of some workplace vices such as absenteeism among these employees. Employees feel guilty going to work late as they feel that they are letting the others down by not being to work on time. Methods of employee engagement As stipulated earlier in this discourse, different companies have different employee engagement strategies. However, some of these strategies are highlighted in the following discussion. Engagement through motivation Maslow (1943) in his theory called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs stipulates that the motivation factor is one of the factors that propel human beings to behave in a certain manner. In this concept, motivation may be used to bring the employees closer together and allow for the attainment of the goals and objectives of the company. Employees who are motivated have the capacity to deliver in a more efficient manner as opposed to those who are lacking in this. Engagement through team effort Team effort is one of the best ways in which employees can be brought together in one platform for the attainment of the company’s goals and objectives (Griffin, Patterson and West, 2001. P. 538; Armstrong, 2006). Subdividing work among different members of a team enables for the provision of commitment to the task that this team has been mandated to do. Each person in this team feels that they are entrusted with making sure that their end is well taken care of. This means that they will try to do their work perfect so that they do not fail the team. Some forms of activities that might constitute team work are having two or a number of employees working on a single project. Also games and fun activities are very instrumental in fostering team work. Engagement through appraisal When an employee performs his or her duty in an effective manner, it is sometimes important to recognize the efforts of such an employee. This is done through the appraisal strategy. Different companies have different methods of appraising their employees but the overall objective remains the same: that of meeting the company’s goals via ensuring that these employees act in the interest of the company, each in their own capacity (Khan, 1990. P. 694). Appraisal examples could include financial rewards, increased benefits, promotions, paid tours among others. Engagement through involvement in decision making Sometimes company managers and the top board members may decide to involve the employees in making decisions concerning matters affecting the company. When this happens, the employees feel honored and appreciated. They feel that their input in the company is well recognized and welcomed. This only serves to make these employees work even harder for the attainment of the goals and the objectives that they set together. Inclusion of employees in the decision making process and the opening of communication channels between these employees and the management is one of the best employee engagement strategies. Employees love to feel wanted and any time they are involved in the decision making process in their company they feel honored and they are likely to retain their loyalty to this company. Engagement through encouragement of feasible ideas Some companies have developed another engagement strategy that is proving to be a potent one especially in the twenty first century. This is the encouragement of the employees to come up with feasible ideas that could lead to either wealth creation of enhancing the environmental sustainability. These ideas are then scrutinized and the best among them adopted for application by these companies. If it is a new idea, the company gives funding and appoints the person who came up with the idea to oversee it. This strategy allows for a wealth of ideas to be created. Employees feel free to think out of the box without any constrictions and they come up with solutions to the problems that face the community today. A typical example of a company that utilizes this type of strategy is McDonalds. McDonalds offers its employees the chance to be innovative by allowing them to come up with new recipes which the company adopts if they feel that they are worthwhile. Engagement through scholarships and training programs Some companies offer their employees training opportunities and scholarships programs as a way of motivating them to work harder. These programs are offered to those employees who are considered to have contributed in one way or another to the development of the company. Benefits of employee engagement in different companies Companies which utilize the strategy of employee engagement have observed that they have acquired a number of advantages over those companies which do not utilize these strategies. The common ones are the increased peace and harmony at the workplace. The employees work together in a harmonious relationship. Other benefits would be the expansion of the production capacity through increased awareness among these employees. Employees take it upon themselves to work harder for the attainment of specific objectives governing the firm. Models of employee engagement A number of theories could be used to explain this concept of employee engagement. One of these theories is explained in the ensuing discussion. The Harvard soft HRM model The MacLeod report (2003) draws its strength from this model. The soft HRM model draws from the HR though school where the employees are treated as strategic resources for the organization. The organization encourages the employees to be innovative and work as a team. In return, the employees become more motivated and committed to the organization. This assists the organization to have a competitive advantage. The reason why this Harvard model is considered soft is because it takes the employees of the company to be human assets rather than classifying them as variable costs. Barriers to engagement Sometimes, it becomes very hard for companies to incorporate this concept of employee engagement because of a number of factors. These factors run along the lines of culture, race, differences of opinions among the leaders and even financial constraints. Culture and racial prejudice in the workplace prevents the employees from relating with each other well. If there is no cohesion among these employees, then the employment of engagement strategies becomes a real difficult task. The management may fear the dilution of power by the employees. The management feels that involving the employees in some factions of the business, such as decision making could in one way or the other dilute the power these managers have over their employees. Time could also be a barrier here. The process of application of the strategy of employee engagement is sometimes very complex and can take much time. Also, resources are used in this employee engagement policy and unless the budget of the company has allowed for this incorporation, then it will become extremely hard for these strategies to be employed. Conclusion From the above discussion, a number of issues and factors relating to the employee engagement strategies have been identified. The benefits accruing to the engagement of employees have been looked into as well as the disadvantages of the same. However as has been observed, the benefits far much outweigh the disadvantages. Companies which utilize employee engagement seem to fair better than those which do not. The benefits’ accruing to these companies depends on the extent in which they have applied this program in their company. In conclusion, I agree with the Macleod report of 2009 that engagement strategies are desirable for organizations and employees. It is obvious that there is more to gain than lose if companies utilize employee engagement strategies. 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