Employee Engagement












Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric stated in one of his articles that “Any company trying to compete with competitors should figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee” (Gupta, 2013).

 The passion, enjoyment and commitment, one has as far as his job is concerned may defined the level of engagement he has towards the organization. Those engaged employees are the ones they work hardest, stay longest and perform best. This engagement makes them citizen of the organization and their effort may take the organization into greater heights and finally towards successful results in terms of company expectations. Therefore, Contemporary organizations are put everything forward and try very hard to get their employees engaged with them.

Some consider the lack of employee engagement an epidemic. Despite more awareness, the low rate of engagement hasn't budged in more than a decade. The number of “actively disengaged workers” continues to be twice the number of engaged employees, defined as emotionally invested in their organizations.
To get the most from a worker, think about what workers truly want to feel connected to their work and their company. In studying “Great Places to Work,’’ researchers found employees want to feel the work they are doing is important and to trust their managers care about them as individuals.

Even financial incentives such as bonuses don’t have a long-term effect on engagement, it was discovered. “Engagement is really about what you do every day to make employees feel part of a team. They need to know how they make that team better every day.”

Engaged workers are clear on expectations, feel accountable but also receive the freedom — possibly even flexibility — to get their work done. Organizations are more profitable when their employees are more engaged, and employees benefit, too. However, keeping employees engaged or getting them engaged is not an easy task nor an overnight process. Its all relies on the line manager employees are reporting to. If the line manager is a good “LEADER”, bearing strong leadership traits then this will make the way easier to get the employee engaged.


The level of engagement in the employees could be categorized into three levels as below

Actively dis-engaged 

Employees are just not happy at work; they are busy acting out their unhappiness. Everyday these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish. They monopolize managers' time and drive away customers. Whatever engaged employees do such as solve problems, innovate, and create new customers, actively disengaged employees will work completely on the reverse side and destroy the effort. They are detrimental and companies should identify them at early stages and give the way to shape up and fall in line or else chip them off at the best interest of other engaged employees.

Not-Engaged

They offer perhaps the greatest untapped opportunity for businesses to improve their performance and profitability. These category of workers can be difficult to spot as well. They are not overtly hostile or disruptive and likely do just enough to fulfill their job requirements. uninspired and lacking motivation. They have little or no concern about customers, productivity, profitability, safety, or quality. They are sleepwalking through their workday, putting time. But no energy in the work they perform or no passion into their work.

Engaged

Employees work with lots of Passion and feel profound connection to their work and company. They have that get going personality and drive innovation. Which results the company they work for, going forward and finally achieve desired results. Engaged workers stand apart from their not-engaged and actively disengaged counterparts because of the discretionary effort they consistently bring to their roles. These employees willingly go the extra mile required by the company.

It’s the hardest truth to swallow, the majority of the global workforce is not engaged: most employees reluctantly head to work, lacking energy and passion for their jobs. Converting this group of employees into engaged workers is the most effective strategy that any organization can implement to increase performance and sustainable long-term growth. This should be a strategic priority for an organization to keep or to create more engaged workforce.

If employees truly are a company's best asset, then their care and support should be a priority. Though important at the organizational level, engagement starts with each person and is subjective. Employees don't check their personalities at the door when they come to work. Knowing that they are respected as individuals at work can have a significant impact on how employees view their overall lives. 

Each person's potential extends well beyond his or her job description. And tapping that potential means recognizing how an employee's unique set of beliefs, talents, goals, and life experiences drives his or her performance, personal success, and well-being. 

Managers and leaders should know their people, who they are, not just what they do. Every interaction with an employee has the potential to influence his or her engagement and inspire discretionary effort. How leaders manage their employees can substantially affect engagement levels in the workplace, in turn influencing the company's bottom line 

Leaders in the best companies strategically align their employee engagement efforts. They find ways to communicate engagement's effect throughout the year and share best practices across the organization. They use every opportunity, touchpoints, and communication channel to reinforce and recognize the organization's commitment to employee engagement. They integrate employee engagement fully into the business. 

If employees truly are a company's best asset, then leaders and managers should make caring for them a priority. Organizations have a valuable opportunity to transform their employees' work experiences into ones that are fulfilling and motivating and that allow workers to bring their best to work every day.


References

Gimbel, T (2014). 5 Steps to Getting (and Keeping) Employees Engaged at Work [online] Available at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241216 [Accessed on 13th April 2018]

Miami Herald (no date). What really keeps employees engaged at work?. [online] Available at < http://miamiherald.typepad.com/worklifebalancingact/2014/02/what-really-keeps-employees-engaged-at-work.html > [Accessed on 15th April 2018]

Reilly, R. (2017) Five Ways to Improve Employee Engagement Now Business Journal Gallup [online]. Available at <http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/166667/five-ways-improve-employee-engagement.aspx> [Accessed on 17th April 2018]

 Gupta A (2013), Employees are Valuable Assets of an Organization and the Key to Success [on line] Available at <http://blogs.ramco.com/employees-valuable-assets-organization-key-success> [Accessed on 16th May 2018]


Comments

  1. Unknown15 June 2018 at 16:27

    HI Ajfar,
    Very Valubale atricle regarding mordern HR theory .Actually employees are fully engaged for thier organization it would be in very sucessfull level Growth .As Examples in golbal context we can take Totota group. They maintain their culture as familiy group.each employee think toyota is their own company & give their best effort for the company growth .
    In Sri Laka also some companies pratice this theory like MAS holding.

    ReplyDelete

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