The Golden Thread Model - Adidas and LOreal - Case Study Example

Employee Engagement Name Instructor Course Executive Summary Effective employee engagement is essential in enhancing organizational performance. This will go a long way in reducing hiring costs as well as reducing levels of employee turnover. Following this, line managers have various roles to play in enhancing employee engagement in the workplace. The findings of the report are that managers play specific roles which are offering support, good communication, being role models, and proper conflict management as ways of engaging employees in the workplace. The report has used Adidas and L’Oreal as the case study companies because they have upheld high levels of practice of employee management which has overseen their success over the years. Additionally, the report has used the Golden Thread Model and the escalator model of participation to emphasize the role of line managers in employee engagement. On the other hand, the report has also evaluated the strategic roles that the HR team plays in assisting and supporting the line managers in the creating a productive work environment. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Role of the Line Manager in Employee Engagement 4 Golden Thread Model 6 Role of the HR Team in Supporting Line Managers 7 Conclusion 10 References 11 Employee Engagement Introduction It is evident that hiring and retaining the highly talented employees is a crucial aspect of an organization to be successful and competitive (MacLeod and Clarke, 2009). The Human Resource (HR) teams have been subjected to high-pressure levels of developing more creative strategies which will lead to the attraction and retention of the best employees (Macey and Schneider, 2008). Many of them have the responsibility of developing ways which will work towards enhancing employee engagement (Saks, 2006). The report will take to evaluate the role that the line manager in encouraging employee engagement in the workplace. It will also assess the strategic function of the HR team in supporting the line manager to establish an effective working environment. The report will do this using Adidas and L’Oreal Companies as the case studies. Role of the Line Manager in Employee Engagement One of the ways in which line managers can facilitate employee engagement is through offering the employees with the necessary support in the workplace (Luthans and Peterson, 2002). They are given this support through proper communication of the goals and objectives of that company and what is expected of them. Employees who are subjected to a working environment where their line manager accords them the necessary support tend to be committed to that company and work hard to achieve organizational goals (Brady, 2013). The line manager in Adidas Company does this through having a genuine interest which will oversee the personal development of the employees. The line manager also focuses on the things the employee does properly through constant recognition of their efforts (Rees, Alfes, and Gatenby, 2013). Through this, the employees of the company engage in their specific work fully and work hard towards achieving the goals and objectives of that company (MacNeil, 2003). Line managers also enhance employee engagement through proper communication with the employees. For example, L’Oreal Company has integrated both horizontal and vertical lines of communication and in that way significantly engaged their employees. Communication is considered to be a vital component in employee engagement although it is not a one-way channel. Good communication in the workplace is about a two-way dialogue that is genuine (Luthans and Peterson, 2002). In Adidas, the line manager recognizes that the employees also need to feel that their views are always listened to, even if their manager will not act on those issues. The line manager at Adidas Company does not focus on the hard approach of dealing with the employees but instead believes that when they use communication as a soft approach, then employees can personally engage in achieving the targets and goals of the company (Rees, Alfes, and Gatenby, 2013). Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace as people from different backgrounds interact on various levels and may have conflicting ideas on the best ways of achieving the organizational objectives (Welch, 2011). Recognizing this, the line manager at Adidas Company is evidently a good problem solver as they usually take the time to resolve employee problems and manages their conflicts. In the same light, this line manager at L’Oreal Company also tries their best to understand the feelings of their employees while taking to continually influence and motivate their employees so that they could meet the demands of the organization which is their employer (Holt Larsen and Brewster, 2003). Proper handling of workplace conflicts and taking various perspectives in doing so is an evident practice which shows the employees that their manager is willing to create a positive relationship with them as is experienced in the L’Oreal Company (Teague and Roche, 2012). Line managers can improve employee engagement in the workplace through leading by example which in turn inspires and generates enthusiasm among the employees to work even harder (Schaufeli et al., 2002). In the L’Oreal Company, most of the employees feel engaged, and from their view, their line manager often tries his best to set a good example to them. He does this through trusting the employees and delegating some of the tasks to them. This then empowers the employees to make some critical decisions which are a major way in which the employees feel engaged (Harter, Schmidt, and Hayes, 2002). L’Oreal Company has managers who have been good leaders in the way they interact and engage their employees and in that way the staff makes proper decisions for the organization which plays a significant role in enhancing their dedication to become even more productive which is beneficial for the company (Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004). Golden Thread Model One critical component in the Golden Thread Model is for the line managers to ensure that they set achievable goals with the employees which make the team (Micheli and Neely, 2010). After setting these goals, then their levels of achievement need to evaluated and monitored (Stanko, Jackson, Bradford and Hohl, 2012). For example, in the Adidas Company, the line manager always ensures that the goals that they set with the employees are aligned with the team’s strategy, the strategy of the department and the overall organizational strategy. This has over time, overseen they achieve the goals at these various levels which have, in turn, enhanced their performance significantly. In the same light, L’Oreal Company has taken to implement both the Golden Thread model and the escalator participation model as a guide to employee engagement in the companies. They use the escalator participation model to implement and evaluate the various levels of employee participation in the company (Alcantar and Loranca, 2013). Comparing the Golden Threat model and the Escalator of Participation model, the latter is more effective and practical. This is because it deals with practical ways of engaging employees, like providing them with support, and leading by example, as well as spell out the roles that the line manager can play in improving employee engagement in a company. For example, the escalator of participation model involves practical involvement of employees in the decision making process while the Golden Threat model only deals with evaluation and monitoring which is something that may have varied outcomes. Employee participation is essential in enhancing their engagement in an organization which will, in turn, boost their performance. This model portrays different progression levels upwards rather than just moving from zero employee participation to achieving maximum workers’ control in management decision making. These various levels of employee participation include information, communication, then consultation, co-determination, and control (Ackers, Marchington, Wilkinson, and Dundon, 2005). For example, in the Adidas Company, the line managers seeks to enhance full employee participation. They do this through giving the representatives of the employees equal powers to impact and determine the results of the decision-making process. The line manager is the one who has been accorded this responsibility of ensuring the different levels of escalator model are achieved to ensure there is the full participation of the employees in the management decision making. Following this, they feel engaged in every step that the organization has in achieving its goals which enhance their performance as well (Mei, Lee, and Al-Hawamdeh, 2004). Role of the HR Team in Supporting Line Managers The HR team has some crucial roles to play when it comes to supporting and assisting the line managers in the establishment of a productive working environment. The entire HR team and the line managers have some vested interests when it comes to ensuring that the organization achieves its goals and its ultimate success (Noe et al., 2006). Therefore, as the HR team offers the line managers the necessary support to create an efficient working environment, then they will tend to be more proficient when it comes to undertaking the functions of HR (Jung and Sosik, 2002). One way in which the HR team can provide the line managers with support is providing the necessary assistance in conflict resolution (Lengnick-Hall and Moritz, 2003). As documented above, conflicts are inevitable in an organization because of the highly diverse nature of the workplace. Since it is the responsibility of the line managers to resolve these conflicts, they usually seek the necessary advice from the HR team to fix these problems (Hailey, Farndale, and Truss, 2005). In Adidas Company, there is a positive working relationship that exists between the line management and the HR team which has continuously overseen the easy handling of investigations in the workplace as well as mediating the differences that are among the employees. Therefore, in that company, as the line manager work together with the HR team in investigating and mediating conflicts, then the line manager develops high confidence levels in making the right decisions which are according to the policy of the company (Boxall and Purcell, 2011). The HR team also provides the line managers with support when it comes to performance management (Druskat and Wheeler, 2003). One of the HR function in Adidas is training and development. Through conducting this role, the line manager is being helped for what lies ahead regarding the leadership tasks. In the L’Oreal Company, one of the leadership obligations of the HR department is to assist the line managers to carry out performance appraisals for their employees. The L’Oreal HR team does this through developing the learning objectives for the training and development programs based on the understanding of the line manager’s coaching philosophy (Gilley, Eggland and Gilley, 2002). Therefore, the HR team provides the necessary training support to the line manager which will oversee them adopting a consistent approach towards ensuring the proper performance management. This, in turn, enhances the employee engagement in the workplace which results in high levels of job satisfaction (Gilley, Eggland and Gilley, 2002). Additionally, the HR team supports the line managers in improving employee engagement in the workplace is assistance in the development of appropriate workforce strategies (Bratton and Gold, 2012). In the Adidas Company, the line managers and the HR team works in a collaborative manner to review the company’s projections regarding the future demands of the business. They do this together so that they can assess whether or not they need to train the employees to ensure they are prepared for a promotion or whether or not there is the need to recruit workers who have skills of higher levels than the existing ones (Druskat and Wheeler, 2003). Therefore, the HR team collaborates with the line managers to determine the current and the future needs of the employees. Through doing this, Adidas has witnessed low levels of employee turnover as well as reduced costs per every employee that they hire (Boxall and Purcell, 2011). Finally, the HR teams support the line managers in creating a productive working environment is regarding performance appraisal (Hailey, Farndale, and Truss, 2005). The HR team designs the processes of performance appraisal, and the line managers are responsible for the implementation of these processes. In Adidas, the line manager has the responsibility of evaluating and rating the behaviors and performance of the employees. After these procedures have been implemented, the line manager seeks for feedback from the employees in an understandable and effective manner to gain credibility (Lengnick-Hall and Moritz, 2003). After the employees give the line managers the necessary feedback, the HR team also offers the consultation services to the line manager to let them know whether or not the performance appraisal process as efficient and credible or not. Through doing this, the Adidas company manages to respond to the feedback of their employees in an effective manner. Ultimately, a positive working environment will be developed (Jung and Sosik, 2002). Conclusion Effective employee engagement is crucial to the performance of an organization (MacLeod and Clarke, 2009). This is evident using the example of the Adidas Company which has managed to stay aloof in its industry. The line managers enhance employee engagement in the workplace in various ways; for example through offering the employees the necessary support, open and direct communication, conflict resolution, being role models, among others (Rees, Alfes, and Gatenby, 2013). The Golden Thread Model has been used to depict how line managers can enhance this employee engagement (Cooke, Roper and Wylie, 2003). The escalator model of participation has also been used to explain the concept of employee engagement (Alcantar and Loranca, 2013). 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