Employee Engagement Strategy - Research Paper Example

It is extremely important for organizations to keep their staff motivated because a de-motivated staff will affect the employees` performance as well as the performance of the entire organization.

In order to increase staff morale and make them satisfied, the human resource department should adopt strategies to boost staff morale and as a result, improve their performance. Employee engagement is usually low when a firm merges with another firm and there is some kind of a change in the management positions or styles. Similarly, the merge of the consulting firm with a software development agency results in low morale, low performance as well as high unrest. Employees should be given clear instructions and should be informed about the company`s mission for the future.

As senior human resource leaders, it is our responsibility to introduce measures through which staff morale and performance could be restored. It is also extremely important to introduce equal policies and practices for both the new as well as old employees to deter future conflicts. Therefore, we propose the following engagement plans and strategies to help build the morale of old as well as new employees. The incentive theory of motivation includes that incentives should be given to the employees including both monetary and non-monetary rewards.

These compensation strategies are in compliance with the expectancy theory which states that for a specific task given to the employees, they will exercise a certain amount of effort with the perceived level of compensation they will receive. If employees expect a greater level of compensation in return for their work, then they will put forth a higher level of effort because they know they are being compensated well for this task. When the performance objectives are tied to compensation incentives such as bonuses and other intangible rewards then the employee becomes more committed to their tasks and to the organization as a whole. Old employees should be given chances to provide suggestions and recommendations based on their prior experiences.   

The drive theory of motivation states that employees are motivated to take certain actions so as to lessen the internal tension which is caused by some unmet needs of the employees. This theory explains behaviors strongly related to biological factors. Therefore, after a merger sufficient time should be given to employees so that they can understand their roles and determine their personal drives. Employees should be given time to settle in the new atmosphere and get accustomed to the new practices resulting from the merger. This would also prevent future problems related to employee motivation. This drive theory of motivation can be applied to the new employees as they will need time to understand the organizational policies and practices (Employee motivation post-merger, 2012). According to instinct theories of motivation, employees are evolutionarily programmed to behave in a certain way. These human instincts include attachment, anger, modesty, love, etc. the old employees might be attached to their prior tasks and management, and therefore, they may not be willing to accept changes that might be introduced due to the merger. Therefore, old employees should not be bombarded with new introductions but should be included in the decision-making processes (Kendra, 2012).