IBM International Business Machines in the UK - Case Study Example

IBM International Business Machines in the UK Introduction Employee engagement has gained importance in many organizations across the globe. This is because various organizations are continuously gaining understanding on the importance of employee engagement by becoming familiar to the idea that it is pointless in employing individuals if the employer will not take measures of ensuring that employees are willing to give their best. It is apparent that few organizations have this line of thinking, and if they do, they have not put more effort on turning this thinking into actualization (Woodruffe, 2006). It is unfortunate to realize that there are still managing directors and CEOs who are of the view that their staff will be inspired to offer a standard performance simply because the organization has offered them employment opportunity. These high level management view financial gains as a way to solving all problems of employees; their argument is that if the organization offer enough money the employees will remain motivated. However, this kind of thinking is outdated and faulty in the contemporary world. It is paramount for organizations across the globe to appreciate that although the basic need of earning a living is the major reason for the majority of individuals to work, it does not imply that financial gain is always the key aspect when individuals opt to join one company instead of the other one (Kumar, 2009). This aspect is specifically a fact on highly gifted and talented individuals, who tend to have a vivid understanding of the value they possess in the market and they will be seeking for a potential employer that can give them desired market rate and other incentives. Although the actual reasons individuals seek employment will differ from one person to the other, it is imperative to acknowledge that employee motivation plays a major role (Woodruffe, 2006). In the current global market of employment, where the cradle to grave view of securing a job is in most instances a distant memory, individuals are highly aware of the importance of maximizing their suitability of being employed. A major motive why individuals seek employment, and reason why they could be encouraged to offer their best, involves how they anticipate the experience will appear on their resumes. Woodruffe (2006) continue to argue that these employees will anticipate the continuous development of the organization that they work for and if they find it not forthcoming, they will move to another organization that will fulfill these expectations. IBM organization is an internationally integrated enterprise with operations in more than 170 nations across the globe. Currently, IBM UK has approximately 20,000 staff, offering current and newest technological solutions to a wide range of customers with an aim of aiding them overcome some of their hardest business difficulties and hurdles (IBM, 2013). Apart from being the largest consulting and IT service providers across the globe, IBM is a global technology and business leader, revolutionizing in research and development field with an aim of modeling the future of humanity entirety. Similar to other organizations that have a clear understanding of the importance of their human resource, IBM appreciates the need of engaging their employees since they are the force that drives the organization towards achieving its goal (IBM, 2013). One of the programs that portrays IBM UK and IBM across the world as an organization that values its human resource is the recent “learn while you play program”. This is the innovative way of using the newest invention in technology that allow newly hired IBM employees who are isolated by long distance to interact, mingle and share new ideas in the virtual environment before they attend their first day in the workplace (Learn-while-you-play program gets IBM recruits up to speed, 2008). Another program that is aimed at engaging its employees is flexible working hours. Concept of Contemporary Employee Engagement According to William and Benjamin (2008), the concept of employee engagement is comparatively new and it has been highly used by HR consulting organizations in giving advice on how it can be leveraged and created. Scholars in the realm of academia are slowly joining the debate, and the two sides are securing each other with inconsistent and competing interpretations of the meaning of employee engagement (William & Benjamin, 2008). The general observation indicates that the main attraction to organization management is driven by the fact that employee engagement causes bottom-line outcomes. In fact, some human resource consulting organizations suggest that they are able to develop a persuasive and convincing relationship between profitability and engagement through higher sales, productivity, employee retention, and customer satisfaction (Sharma & Chaudhary, 2012). Various professionals see engagement as having changed from previous studies on attitudes of work, directly suggesting that this recent school of thought complements the interpretive value that go past the limits of those customs. The research by William and Benjamin (2008) Suggest that the meaning of concept of employee engagement is not clear although it is compelling on the surface. The word engagement is mostly employed to imply a psychological state (such as mood, attachment, commitment, involvement), or performance construct (such as either observable or effort behavior, including organisational and prosocial citizenship behavior) or a certain mixture of the above. Some researchers have observed that engagement is a combination of ownership, productivity, loyalty, and commitment (William & Benjamin, 2008). There exists a confusion since engagement is used by some to refer to performance construct defined as surpassing some specific performance level while others use it to refer to a particular construct (such as altruism, sportsmanship, initiative, involvement) with exceptional attributes. From the review, engagement is viewed as either behavioral or attitudinal. This is where the confusion comes in since researchers and practitioners must be specific about what kind of engagement they are discussing (William & Benjamin, 2008). Psychological well-being and Employee Engagement Scholars have implicated that elevated levels in well-being of a psychological nature and employees engagement play a critical part in producing some of the paramount outcomes that are related to high performance and success of firms (Robertson & Cooper, 2010). According to this literature review, it has been asserted that there is a direct relationship between performance and psychological well being. The individuals with high level of psychological well being have higher performance at workplace as compared to those individuals with reduced level of psychological well being (Cañibano, 2013). In fact the research has confirmed that well being is a strong tool to predict job performance rather than job satisfaction. The study that was carried out by Cropanzano and Wright in 2004 linked the performance and psychological well-being by studying 16,000 employees where it was found that more than 25% of the difference recorded levels of productivity of employees was projected by psychological well-being, the perceived “communication and resources” and “organizational commitment to the employees” (Robertson & Cooper, 2010). Additionally, utilizing techniques of meta-analysis researchers analyzed data from almost 8,000 different business units in 36 various organizations. They revealed a considerable relationship between business unit level outcomes and scores on an employee survey. These unit outcomes include sickness/absence, employee turnover, profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction levels. According to research by Robertson & Cooper (2010), showed that there is probable relationships between employee engagement and psychological well-being . In the case of employees, well-being of psychological nature is connected to vital personal outcomes, containing a range of physical and mental health issues, with reduced levels of psychological well-being connected to poor health status. Additionally, the effect of job strain on a person has been widely researched on. One of such case is UK study where researchers studied the effect of job strain on workers in the UK public services (Beauregard, 2011). This research required to establish the relationship between individual health, job conditions and other outcomes for public sector employees. The study involved more than 10,000 civil servants in Britain. The outcomes of the study acknowledged the aspects such as the independence and reduced levels of control, were related to the elevated rick of severe illnesses(Beauregard, 2011). Therefore, reduced psychological well-being as a result of factors in the workplace is a huge health risk for workers (Robertson & Cooper, 2010). From the review of previous studies, the incorporation of psychological well being and employee engagement into the concept of complete engagement might offer a useful method for improving effectiveness of an organization. The research backup the view that included psychological well being improves the relationship between beneficial outcomes and engagement(Robertson & Cooper, 2010). Approaches employed in Employee engagement According to Whan (2011), effective practices in management of information are no longer major aspects of debate among only RIM (records & information management) professionals since there has been a new standard shift in growing need to manage knowledge and information correctly. Each and every staff now has the duty of understanding and following to the standards of record keeping that enable the company to effectively sustain and facilitate every day undertakings. This also allows organizations to continuously follow appropriate regulation and laws, and professionally understand what has been done previously so it can it come up with more suitable decisions for its outlook. The capability of any staff member to have an effect on the performance of a company does not only have an effect at executive decision making level but consistently drops down through the branches that compose it like for example; the part-time and full time staff, the front line manager and the entry level clerks. As a result of this, the meaning for various companies has been on how they can maintain and at the same time attract staff who are dedicated and loyal to the sustainability of both organizations and their employment positions (Whan, 2011). The solution to the above mentioned question is obtained from improvement of employee engagement (Whan, 2011). Xu and Helena (2011) have defined employee engagement as the degree to which an employee believes in the values, purpose and mission of a company and reveal that commitment through his/her deeds towards and attitudes about their clients and his/her employer. A firm has an important employee engagement; when staffs’ decisions, conversations, and statements describe a natural passion for the company. Planned installation of a natural interest in staff might be viewed as an artificial method, but scholars have revealed that if specific factors are well placed, employee engagement is reliable and also would highly beneficial(Xu & Helena, 2011). A total approach is needed in order to realize employee engagement. Each and every component of a company’s operations and processes can be helpful in offering the effect of encouragement. According to researchers, the beginning point for any company is to point out the fundamentals. The firm must possess three aspects. The first aspect is a high-standard service or product that staff can back with confidence. Another aspect is the effective delivery system that makes sure that promises made to clients are fulfilled by staff. The last aspect is solid practices and policies that include systems of recognizing and evaluating of employees. These systems should be transparent, comfirmed and exercised with dignity (Whan, 2011). Employee Engagement Through Reward Approach One of the approach that is being used by organisations in employee engagement is rewards. Although the major focus of employee engagement has majorly been on non-financial rewards, employee opinion surveys and team-building programs, democratic pay arrangements have been seen to be associated with employee commitment, satisfaction, involvement, and cooperation, all of which have been developed as a means of engaging employees (Dow, et al. 2010). Technology demanding organizations such as IBM UK are known to employ a total rewards programs that are aimed at engaging employees as it has been explained above. As a result, this program is able to motivate, maintain and attract employees. There has been some questions seeking to know why these major organizations in the technology sector to employ this method and what are its main advantages for the management of technology? Approach of total reward has been advertised its most chosen method to reward management that tries to capture the entire staff value plan as a way of competitively achieve human resources. This approach has been considered to be appropriate for various workers in different fields, but has been made public to more effective technical and research and development staff (Rumpel & Medcof, 2006). According to Kwon and Hein (2013), total rewards tries to maximize the organization’s reward offerings by producing the highest return of money used to reward. This includes incorporating various programs that are more or less viewed as rewards by many. Undertaking like managing higher employee productivity through lowering voluntary turnover with training opportunities or career development, flexible hours of working and improving employee engagement through well structured performance management structure are incorporated with the finance reward system to produce maximum results for the entire reward system (Rumpel & Medcof, 2006). In a general understanding, total rewards try to tackle everything workers gain and value from workplace. It captures the employee-employer relationship from the reward point of view in a unified HR framework. This structure originated from HR practice as a means of adding human resource branches so that complicated reward matters concerning work environment, training and development, benefits and pay could be addressed thoroughly (Rumpel & Medcof, 2006). For organizations such as IBM UK that have a huge technology factor, technical and scientific innovation is important to value creation. This implies that the skilled staff of the fundamental force driving innovation, human resource, is vital. Considering that retention and recruitment issues are established in these sectors because of high flexibility and demand of their employees. Therefore, total rewards offer a chance for organizations to effectively handle their human resource. Organisations that have developed the capability of offering rewards that fully cover the necessities of their employees will be in a class of their own and increase their capacity to competitively motivate, retain and attract employees (Rumpel & Medcof, 2006). As a result, employees will be fully engaged and hence effectively contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. Approaches Employed by IBM UK to Engage their Employees From the previous section, it is clear that a general reward approach take part in practices such as flexible working hours with an aim of improving productivity due to element of improved employee engagement. In this scenario, it is important to illuminate on how IBM UK has utilized this aspect. IBM eliminated the view of tying employees to their desks before major of major organizations in the UK. As it has been explained by IBM UK, its consulting and sales employees prepared with the appropriate innovation immediately realized the importance of having the capability of working where ever they are(IBM, 2005). Currently, the big percentage of employees of IBM UK are working under flexible hour programs and they are easily moved around and benefiting the freedom of the demand in the workplace (IBM, 2005). Employing its technology capability, IBM was able to develop and prepare it staff with client-facing in a moveable tool kit that this is a light in weight ThinkPad. Additionally, IBM UK offered the ways to interact with the office system through a remote technology. This approach appreciated the actual importance of time used to work together with customers, and revolutionized the way people work. Through this approach, the business gains were quickly acquired. This approach resulted in increased productivity of employees since less time was spent traveling to offices based in cities, office space was improved effectively and the commuting cost was reduced drastically. It is important to note that 83% of employees of IBM UK use intranet and internet to interact with fellow workers when they are not in their offices. This interaction is made possible through use of technologies like GPRS, broadband, phone line and wireless hot spots (IBM, 2005). From government policy perspectives, IBM UK was not anxious when the government of the UK came up with a more family-considerated working policies in the year 2003(IBM, 2005). However, some big were very disturbed on how they would integrate the new policies in their places of work. Flexible work has been identified as one of the new aspects that individuals are looking into when looking for appropriate employer because it is known to improve the balance between family and work to greater extents. It is with no doubt that employees in organizations such as IBM UK highly believe in the values, purpose and mission of a company which is the core of employee engagement. This organization appreciates that physical presence in the office just to imply high performance. As a result, IBM UK perception of flexible work program is founded on the convergence of personal and business aspirations. By allowing persons to achieve their objectives at work place in a more creative manner such as working from various locations, or by working less days per week have been attributed to having highly energized and productive employees (IBM, 2005). This program on flexible working hours has enabled IBM UK to keep and attract the best and talented employees. As a result, IBM UK is able to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. The current job seekers are looking into employee engagement with their employers which is continually changing and indicates the changing aspects in the society and what employees are searching in their own activities. IBM UK has managed to appreciate the need to maintain the partnership where organizations need high flexibility for workers to meet the demands of the global needs and where workers look for more clear means of working and being rewarded (IBM, 2005). In conclusion, the literature review has revealed that the employee engagement concept is relatively new (William & Benjamin, 2008). It can be acknowledged that academia and HR professionals have different perception and views on the actual meaning of employee engagement. Various researches have affirmed that improved psychological well-being improves the relationship between engagement and beneficial outcome(Whan, 2011). Therefore, it is vital for organizations to put more effort on research on how employee engagement and psychological well-being can be incorporated with the work environment in order to improve the performance of both organization and employee. The total reward approach has been employed by various organizations in improving employee engagement. However, employee engagement is associated with non-monetary rewards. Therefore, the total reward approach encompasses all kinds of rewards that are associated with employee commitment, satisfaction, involvement, and cooperation (Kwon & Hein, 2013). In future, the HR should be able to outline a clear construct on total reward so that it can be universally adopted by diverse organizations across the world. This is because in current research, total rewards attempt to tackle everything that workers gain and value from workplace. IBM UK has highly employed flexible working hours in order to improve employee engagement and as a result improving employees’ productivity. However, the company has not managed to support with data on how the employees have increased the productivity as a result of flexible hours (IBM, 2005). References Anon 2008, ‘Learn-while-you-play programme gets IBM recruits up to speed’, Training & Management Development Methods, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 401-403. 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Wright, T.A. & Cropanzano, R. 2004, "The Role of Psychological Well-Being in Job Performance: A Fresh Look at an Age-Old Quest", Organizational dynamics, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 338-348. Xu, J & Helena, C 2011, ‘How can leaders achieve high employee engagement?’, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 399-416. Read More