INFORMING AND INVOLVING EMPLOYEES HRM - Essay Example

Employee participation and involvement are two different terms with two different outcomes. Cox, Marchington and Suter (2009) consider employee involvement and participation (EIP) a loose term as it can give rise to different perceptions of the terms. Different definitions and interpretations have been given of the term EIP which ranges from encouraging commitment to achieve organizational success or exercising influence over their work or personal involvement of organization al workers. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) employee involvement (EI) is defined as ‘a process of employee involvement designed to provide employees with the opportunity to influence and where appropriate, take part in decision making on matters which affect them’ (LTSN, n.d.).

Employee participation (EP), on the other hand, is ‘a process of employee involvement designed to provide employees with the opportunity to influence and where appropriate, take part in decision making on matters which affect them’. Thus employee participation has a direct impact on decision-making whereas employee involvement amounts to support, understanding, commitment and contribution (AC219, n.d.). EI has been identified as a means to secure commitment and high performance which has resulted in an increase in the interest in employee involvement and participation.

EI has been a major area of growth in the UK since early 1980s. It includes team-working (including self-managed teams), team briefing, downward communications, two-way communications, suggestion schemes, problem-solving groups, and financial participation (including profit-sharing schemes). Performance is a function of ability, motivation and Oppurtunity. This suggests that the selection process should be rigorous and the training systems should be improved to increase the ability levels.