Sample on Employee Engagement Concept & Dimensions

Question: Discuss about providing a deep insight into some of the topics such as the concept of employee engagement and what is the scope of the concept ? Answer: Introduction: The report aims at providing a deep insight into some of the topics such as the concept of employee engagement and what is the scope of the concept. It provides knowledge about the various dimensions of employee engagement and how these ensure overall organizational effectiveness. It emphasizes on the motivation-engagement relationship, advantages of employee engagement, and the effect of employee engagement of organizational growth, employee motivation, successes and employee satisfaction. The report also states the disadvantages of the presence of disengaged employees within the organization. An employee who is thoroughly engaged is quite aware of the organizational vision, mission and business objectives including that of the environment where it operates. These employees are said to work as teams with his companions to enhance performance of own jobs to benefit the organization (Kuvaas and Dysvik, 2010). The employee is completely dedicated to his work with increased commitment to his post. The organizational management of Tesco well understands the fact that besides task-related requirements, the employees possess some personal needs as well as ambitions to be fulfilled by the company. Each of the employees aims at developing own career and also personal life. It provides training as well as developmental opportunities to bring about growth of the employees and increased number of engaged employees. Employee Engagement: Concept dimensions The concept of employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment that is possessed by any employee towards the organization as well as stated goals. The emotional commitment reflects the engagement of employees and their care for the company and organizational work. This concept of employee engagement acts as a tool to be used for organizational employers who aim at attracting as well as retraining staff (Johnson and Chang, 2008). In this respect, Tesco Company in the United Kingdom has taken effective approaches to raise its employee engagement. Tesco Company is said to possess the largest private sector workforce in UK with around 300000 employees. Each of the employees possesses individual needs as well as expectations regarding their work or career. The company follows an approach of Listen and Fix as its greatest listening exercises that has been undertaken. The management of the company had undertaken the initiative to conduct employee engagement activities with the objective of making Tesco a better place to shop as well as work through more involved and committed workforce, and also to have a greater understanding of what is more important in the business areas, in its stores, distribution and head office (Jeung, 2011). The Company is said to run an annual staff survey called Viewpoint. In this approach, staffs are asked to score particular aspects of working for us. The approach of Listen and Fix even aimed to facilitate the two-way communication along with the use of digital technology for optimizing the process. Th e organizational employees ay Tesco were invited to send their thoughts through text or email, that meant much decreased barrier towards participation. The leaders replied through email, texts, blogs, etc. Dimensions of Employee Engagement: This concept refers to the extent of attachment as well as involvement that an organizational employee exhibits towards his organization as well as values. An employee who is thoroughly engaged is quite aware of the organizational vision, mission and business objectives including that of the environment where it operates (Lee and Ok, 2015). These employees are said to work as teams with his companions to enhance performance of own jobs to benefit the organization. The employee is completely dedicated to his work with increased commitment to his post. The concept of employee engagement comprises of three dimensions, namely, intellectual, affective and social engagement. All these factors are influential about how an individual would react towards his job responsibilities and also the organization (Heymann, 2015). The concept of intellectual engagement of any employee refers to his thoughts about performing his job in as effective manner as possible. Effective engagement is all about the employee feelings towards own job. An employee who is strongly engaged feels positive regarding own responsibilities. He aims at performing effectively to attain some desired goals. Likewise, a socially engaged organizational employee participates actively in discussions related aspects. For instance, he utilizes several opportunities to bring about improvements at work within the organization. Employee engagement may be measured by considering various aspects or engagement parameters. The performance as well as continuing with the organization is referred to as key indicators of whether an individual is thoroughly engaged or not. When an employee is completely engaged and committed to his work, it is definite that he would perform best than any other individual who has no interest in his job areas (Grant and Sumanth, 2009). The employee would seek for opportunities to conduct his responsibilities in the most effective manner. This would lead to his increased productivity even more than an unengaged employee. Besides this, another important indicator of effective employee engagement is that of low turnover rate. When any individual is contented with his job and responsibilities, it is less likely for him to search for a new job (Mohapatra and Sharma, 2010). He would not feel the urge to exit the organization for better perks or small salary hike. In the present environment of competitive business, personal peace of mind is highly desirable. Employees who feel secured with their organization feel highly motivated with higher morale. Very few scopes of grievances as well as conflicts exist within the organization. Also, few instances exist of indiscipline as well as absenteeism (Frey, Bayon and Totzek, 2013). These employees would be highly cooperative with other team members. The highly engaged employees of an organization also strive to generate innovative ideas as well as strategies to enhance the organizational performances. With respect to Tesco Company in UK, the most crucial ingredients of employee engagement involve the work nature, support and recognition that are provided to the employees by their seniors. Aspects like challenging roles and that of additional responsibilities mitigate the monotony of regular work load. This imparts a break to the employees from their regular work and this motivates them. Within the organization, the senior managers impart praise as well as recognition to their employees to encourage them to perform better. Significant involvement within the process of decision-making and that of empowering them to accomplish tasks impart greater values to the employees. They feel quite empowered to be a part of the organization. Also, relating their work with overall organizational objectives exhibits significance of work. The organizational management of Tesco well understands the fact that besides task-related requirements, the employees possess some personal needs as well as ambitions to be fulfilled by the company. Each of the employees aims at developing own career and also personal life. It provides training as well as developmental opportunities to bring about growth of the employees and increased number of engaged employees (Esmaeelinezhad, Boerhannoeddin and Singaravelloo, 2015). Those employees who have their needs fulfilled adequately possess higher level of productivity as well as motivation. Tesco has been taking effective measures to keep its employees engaged. Within the competitive business environment, the firm makes attempts to horde key talents. Retaining engaged workforce imparts the firm with competitive edge that it aims at retaining. Thus, talent retention has become a major aspect for the employers to retain their employees and keep them positively engaged. Motivation- Engagement Relationship: Employee engagement concept to a great extent depends upon what individuals get in exchange for performing their job effectively. This involves factors like basic compensation, benefits, organizational culture as well as work environment. These basic elements motivate them to continue performing within the organization with complete dedication. Since it is a bilateral process, setting of clear expectations holds important role. This enables employees to understand thoroughly what exactly they are expected to provide the organization. This involves defining their job responsibilities to accomplish tasks that are required to be performed (Engaging the staff in a real relationship: Are employees genuinely motivated or merely satisfied?, 2009). The team of human resource and all immediate supervisors or managers must tell their members clearly what are expected out of them to do. This builds more meaningful relationships amidst all seniors as well as workgroups. Social association refers to the most essential requirement for any employee. Even employees aim at sticking with the organization that treats them as their integral part and not just an employee. Continuous growth within the organizational setup including promotions, salary increments and rewards as well as recognition may be considered as essential tools for retaining employees within the organization. Innovative challenges as well as opportunities to learn motivates the employees towards their work life and also encourage them to deliver their best even at crisis situations. Advantages of Employee Engagement: Employee satisfaction It can be indicated from research that if the employees of Tesco are engaged with their organization then there would be a rise in the level of job satisfaction. These engaged employees would be vested in the overall organizational success along with higher level of loyalty as well as commitment. Contented employees play significant role within the organization. They are said to enhance support to the organizational mission, brand and strategy (Crosby, n.d.). Productivity Engaged employees usually prove to be great performers and they do not hesitate to go that extra mile to achieve success. When employees become more and more engaged, there is gradual decrease in the level of absenteeism with steady increase of motivation that enhances productivity. The more engaged an employee is the more is he driven to success. This means their productivity is highly increased. Recruitment retention Retaining effective employees is referred to as the key to success of every organization (Presbitero and Langford, 2013). So is the case with Tesco. All those employees who are highly engaged show lower risk of turnover towards the organization. They also become loyal employees with time. When employees are satisfied they are likely to stick to the organization. When combined with retention, organizations like Tesco that has highly engaged employees would have the increased ability to attract qualified workforce. Innovation - A close link exists amidst innovation as well as employee engagement. The engaged employees usually perform at high level along with increased passion to respective jobs that often results in workplace innovation. Highly engaged workforce strives to deliver their best performances towards organizational objectives. Effective collaboration amidst the employees and that of the top management results in corporate growth (Ang, n.d.). Profitability Organizations such as Tesco that had highly engaged workforce tend to exhibit increased rate of profitability. These employees of Tesco are more efficient with positive outlook towards the organization. This leads to decreased operational costs and enhanced profit margin. How Employee Engagement affects profitability, growth, employee retention and customer satisfaction: The organization Tesco recognizes the significance of mentoring, career sponsorship and networking for supporting the development of talent that is available. The organization encourages all members to participate in important decision-making processes. With the help of self-governing engagement networks of employees, the organization is able to inspire its members to develop confidence to remove all barriers (Rigg, 2013). The members take part in Pride events across the nation; the ABC Network was initiated by Olympic Gold medalist Darren Campbell MBE as well as Women in business represented the roles of women at Tesco. No age of retirement Several aged individuals desire to stay connected to work or kind of semi-retirement and that the customers of Tesco value aged people and their experiences. Within the United Kingdom, the organization involves people of all ages in its apprenticeship programs, providing them with opportunities to develop their careers. Disadvantages of de-motivated and disengaged employees: As per the Gallup survey of 2008, it reflected that as the engaged employees believed that they are influential in organizational growth, the disengaged employees believed the otherwise that they hardly contribute to such growth (Andonova, 2013). This generally creates negative impacts upon the work environment, customer minds, employee motivation, their productivity and loyalty. Eventually the overall peace and performance is lost forever. Some disadvantages of disengaged employee are highlighted below: Effect upon work All disengaged employees attempt to evade work, strives to meet all deadlines and quite reluctant to assume responsibilities (Welch, 2011). Effect upon peers The negativity of all disengaged employees has negative impacts on peers and their overall morale. Effect upon customers every organizational employee becomes a representative of the brand, and so any disengaged employee may actively de-sell the firm or lead to disengaged customers (Rutledge, 2008). Effect upon organizational performance For any organization, it is important to generate innovative ways to attract and retain customers. The most important thing is to satisfy employees and keep them motivated. This in turn leads to better performances. Disengaged employees hardly feel the urge to work hard and act less committed to organizational success. Effects upon productivity Since disengaged employees do not believe in their potential to make effective contribution to the organizational growth, this is clearly reflected in their attitude and work (Schwartz, 2010). This makes them less productive and ineffective. Effect upon employee personal life An disengaged employee hardly feels the motivation to perform better; and so this hampers his personal life and increased frustration that disturbs the balance of personal and professional life. Establishing strategy of engaging employees as well measuring the outcomes decisions regarding commitment initiatives must be grounded upon reliable data. Research needs to be conducted within the organization to highlight upon specific human resource practices. Based on the net results the strategies are to be formed and structured. It is important to ascertain what type of employees are working at the organization; then the management can take initiatives to structure the strategies to motivate them and keep them engaged into organizational operations and effectiveness. Organizational resources are to be identified and then planning has to be done for each action (Seong Soo Oh and Lewis, 2009). At the end of the process, it is important to follow up and monitor every action to ensure success. Conclusion: The organizational management of Tesco well understands the fact that besides task-related requirements, the employees possess some personal needs as well as ambitions to be fulfilled by the company. Each of the employees aims at developing own career and also personal life. It provides training as well as developmental opportunities to bring about growth of the employees and increased number of engaged employees (Vestal, 2012). Those employees who have their needs fulfilled adequately possess higher level of productivity as well as motivation. Tesco has been taking effective measures to keep its employees engaged. Within the competitive business environment, the firm makes attempts to horde key talents. Retaining engaged workforce imparts the firm with competitive edge that it aims at retaining. References Andonova, Y. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: How big data and gamification are revolutionizing customer and employee engagement.J Market Anal, 1(4), pp.234-236. Ang, E. (n.d.). Employee Engagement.SSRN Journal. Crosby, D. (n.d.). Improving Employee Retention in the Public Sector by Increasing Employee Engagement.SSRN Journal. Engaging the staff in a real relationship: Are employees genuinely motivated or merely satisfied?. (2009).Development and Learning in Organizations, 23(5), pp.22-25. Esmaeelinezhad, O., Boerhannoeddin, A. and Singaravelloo, K. (2015). The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Dimensions on Employee Engagement in Iran.IJARBSS, 5(3). Frey, R., Bayon, T. and Totzek, D. (2013). How Customer Satisfaction Affects Employee Satisfaction and Retention in a Professional Services Context.Journal of Service Research, 16(4), pp.503-517. Grant, A. and Sumanth, J. (2009). Mission possible? The performance of prosocially motivated employees depends on manager trustworthiness.Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), pp.927-944. Heymann, M. (2015). Spotlight on Service: Integrating Workforce Management With Employee Engagement to Optimize Customer Satisfaction and Profitability.Glob. Bus. Org. Exc., 34(5), pp.6-12. Jeung, C. (2011). The concept of employee engagement: a comprehensive review from a positive organizational behavior perspective.Perf. Improvement Qrtly, 24(2), pp.49-69. Johnson, R. and Chang, C. (2008). Relationships Between Organizational Commitment and Its Antecedents: Employee Self-Concept Matters.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38(2), pp.513-541. Kuvaas, B. and Dysvik, A. (2010). Does best practice HRM only work for intrinsically motivated employees?.The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(13), pp.2339-2357. Lee, J. and Ok, C. (2015). Hotel Employee Work Engagement and Its Consequences.Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management, pp.1-34. Mohapatra, M. and Sharma, B. (2010). Study of Employee Engagement and its Predictors in an Indian Public Sector Undertaking.Global Business Review, 11(2), pp.281-301. Presbitero, A. and Langford, P. (2013). Organizational Climate Change and Its Influence on Employee Engagement.Academy of Management Proceedings, 2013(1), pp.12490-12490. Rigg, J. (2013). Worthwhile Concept or Old Wine? A Review of Employee Engagement and Related Constructs.American Journal of Business and Management, 2(1). Rutledge, T. (2008). How to Keep Your Best People.Gastroenterology Nursing, 31(2), p.174. Schwartz, G. (2010). Marrying employee engagement with customer satisfaction.Strategic HR Review, 9(3). Seong Soo Oh, and Lewis, G. (2009). Can Performance Appraisal Systems Inspire Intrinsically Motivated Employees?.Review of Public Personnel Administration, 29(2), pp.158-167. Vestal, K. (2012). Which Matters: Employee Satisfaction or Employee Engagement?.Nurse Leader, 10(6), pp.10-11. Welch, M. (2011). The evolution of the employee engagement concept: communication implications.Corp Comm: An Int Jnl, 16(4), pp.328-346.