What is Employee Engagement?
Discuss about the Authentic Leadership on Strategic Internal Communication.
The main aim of this literature review is to measure and analyze that how happy and engaged employees are with their respective employment, working environment. Managing high morale among the workers can be of significant and incredible advantage to any company in the market. The company with high employee engagement levels is more efficient, productive and more profitable than low and poor than those companies with low levels of employee engagement. The paper explains that how employee engagement can provide enormous benefits to the company as well as customers. More detail of the task has been detailed below.
Engaged and motivated workers tend to contribute more in terms of organization productivity and provide support in maintaining a high level of commitment in the workplace. Employee engagement is becoming a hot topic in today’s modern world. Mone and London (2018) define that employee engagement is an intellectual and emotional commitment to the organization. Apart from this, employee engagement is an asset of the relationship between employees and organization. An engaged worker is one who is fully absorbed and enthusiastic about their tasks and duties to attain organizational goals and objectives. Bedarkar and Pandita (2014) noted that employee commitment is a workplace strategy and approach resulting in the right and appropriate conditions for all the members of the firm to give of their best in each and every day, attained to their objectives and goals, motivated and encouraged to contribute organizational success and growth (Mehta and Mehat, 2013). It shall be noted that employee engagement is based on integrity, loyalty, trust, confidence, communication and two way commitments between the company and its members.
It is an approach that maximizes the changes of business growth and success within the organization. Das and Baruah (2013) argued that employee engagement is about positive attitudes, values, actions and behaviors leading to improved and enhanced the outcomes and results, in a way that they emphasize and underpin one another. Schullery (2013) stated that employee engagement is the extent to which workers feel passionate and dedicated about their job, duties and tasks to accomplish the long term goals and objectives of the firm. Employee engagement helps in increasing productivity and decreasing employee turnover within the organization (Shuck, 2011). The employee is most important part of the company who uses the company’s intellectual capital to gain competitive advantages in the global market. To gain competitive advantage, they make strong policies and utilize the resources effectively. One of the significant ways to reduce and avert competitive challenges and issues is to foster employee engagement. In addition, engaged workers are committed, energetic, enthusiastic, inspired and motivated about problem solving in the firm. Ram and Prabhakar (2011) defined that an engaged employee continuously performs tasks and duties effectively and attain new standards of excellence. After the various researchers, it was studied by Gruman and Saks (2011) where they argued that employee engagement is an effective concept in the organization to attain and establish both empirical and conceptual gaps. Albrecht and Andreetta (2011) found that there is a close relationship between engagement, customers, business success and profitability. It shall be stated that employee commitment is the emotional interconnection of the worker towards his employment with positivity. It is an attractive, continuance, commitment and normative which could help maximize profitability within the organization. The worker engagement is motivated and inspired to go beyond the required efforts in order to accomplish the business objectives and goals.
The Importance of Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is adopted by each and every organization to attain maximum level of outputs in the global marketplace. It provides a comprehensive framework and structure that guides and helps the business leaders and managers to interconnect with overall business approach and strategy with the human resource. Albrech (2011) stated that stronger employee engagement provides various competitive benefits to the organization globally. One of effective and dynamic studied done by Schaufeli (2013) where he proved that employee engagement strategies help to eliminate staff turnover, enhance productivity and effectiveness, attract and retain the customers at higher rate and generate more and more profit and revenue. In today’s era, employee commitment is becoming a focal point to keep the customers happy and create a good image in the minds of the customers. There are enormous strategies used by the organizations to build and improve the employee engagement that has been discussed below.
Use the right and appropriate engagement survey: It shall be noted by Bedarkar and Pandita (2014) where they found that the company needs to seek right and appropriate employee for engagement. Apart from this, right and attractive engagement survey is done by the organization to improve and enhance the employee engagement within the organization (Shields et al, 2015) .
Focus on engagement at organizational and local levels: Karanges et al (2015) found that the top management and managers need to focus on the engagement at organization as well as local levels as it helps to minimize the risks and challenges of the market and competitors as well. The leaders and employees should feel empowered to make an important difference in their immediate and favorable environment. Top management and leaders should work with employees to identify and analyze barriers and hurdles to reach its top level of the market (Robertson, Jansen Birch and Cooper, 2012).
Select the right managers and leaders: It has been studied by Mone et al (2011) where they said that the best and effective managers and leaders understand and measure the issues and problems of the employees. Great and potential managers care about their employee’s success and growth. It is noted that managers seek to understand and identify each employee’s strength and provide workers with every opportunity to utilize their strengths in their role and tasks. Great managers empower their workers, recognize and value their contributions and directly find out their ideas, thoughts and opinion. Along with this, HRM should set the specific criteria and eligibility to appoint an effective and potential manager at the workplace for employee engagement.
Strategies for Improving Employee Engagement
Define engagement goals in realistic, everyday terms: To bring effective and unique engagement to life, managers and leaders should set the engagement roles and goals meaningful to the employee’s day to day business experiences. Apart from this, it shall be noted that planning shall be done by the top management and leaders to improve and enhance the employee engagement in a better way.
Now it is assumed that employee engagement is one of the significant and vital functions of human resources management that helps to build and improve the loyalty, confidence and trust of the employees at the workplace (Kang and Sung 2017). It shall be stated that employee engagement drivers play critical role to satisfy the needs and requirements of the employees. Leadership, meaningfull work, relationship with coworkers and subordinates are main and significant drivers of the employee engagement. The relationship will increase and enhance the friendship and sense of belongings that encourages psychological meaningfulness. Appreciation from supervisors and coworkers will create caring and enhance the safety of the workers in the workplace (Men and Stacks, 2014). Byrne (2014) analyzed that employee engagement provides enormous benefits to the organization as well as employee. Some of the benefits have been detailed below.
Employee satisfaction: Researchers indicate that if the workers are engaged and committed with the firm their job satisfaction level is increased and enhanced. The employees who are engaged and satisfied are very invested in growth and success of the business and they maintain high level of loyalty and commitment within the organization. Satisfied and motivated employees play a key role in the success of the firm. They support and encourage the company’s mission, objectives and goals (Kang and Sung, 2017).
Productivity: Motivated employees help to reduce absenteeism in the company as it also maximize the outcomes of the firm. No company can survive and grow its business without effective employee engagement.
Retention and recruitment: Retaining employees is a key to the growth and success of every business across the world. Employees who are engaged and committed significantly lower the risk of the turnover for the company help in retaining and attracting the workers in a large extent (Kang and Sung, 2017).
Innovation: It is seen that there is a reciprocal relationship between employee engagement and innovation. Engaged and motivated employees perform tasks and duties at higher level and bring interest and passion to their job which often leads to achievement and innovation at the workplace (Coetzee and Stoltz, 2015). Apart from this, collaboration and communication in the workplace amongst the engaged workers and managers also leads to overall growth and sustainability of the company.
Benefits of Employee Engagement
Profitability: When workers are engaged and committed with work and employment, they become more efficient and productive as it positively affect the company’s bottom line. It will help to maximize the outputs and profitability in the organization. In this way, it can be said that more engaged employees are considered more motivate and efficient to reduce the operating cost and increase the profit margin (Coetzee and Stoltz, 2015). It shall be analyzed by Byrne (2014) where he said that employee engagement helps in maintaining a favorable culture and working environment at the workplace.
On the above mentioned study, it can be concluded that Employee engagement is a favorable attitude held by the worker towards the company with his trademark values and beliefs. The practice of employee engagement can improve and enhance the organizational citizenship actions and behavior. This study provides an answer that workers who demonstrate higher level of commitment will much contribute to their firm with maintaining high level of behavior. Employee engagement is essential to run the business activities and operations successfully and effectively.
References
Albrech, S.L 2011, Handbook of employee engagement: Perspectives, issues, research and practice, Human Resource Management International Digest, 19(7).
Albrecht, S.L & Andreetta, M 2011, The influence of empowering leadership, empowerment and engagement on affective commitment and turnover intentions in community health service workers: Test of a model, Leadership in Health Services, 24(3), pp.228-237.
Bedarkar, M & Pandita, D 2014, A study on the drivers of employee engagement impacting employee performance, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, pp.106-115.
Bedarkar, M & Pandita, D 2014, A study on the drivers of employee engagement impacting employee performance, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, pp.106-115.
Byrne, Z.S 2014, Understanding employee engagement: Theory, research, and practice. Routledge.
Coetzee, M & Stoltz, E 2015, Employees’ satisfaction with retention factors: Exploring the role of career adaptability, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 89, pp.83-91.
Das, B.L & Baruah, M 2013, Employee retention: A review of literature, Journal of Business and Management, 14(2), pp.8-16.
Gruman, J.A & Saks, A.M 2011, Performance management and employee engagement, Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), pp.123-136.
Kang, M & Sung, M 2017, How symmetrical employee communication leads to employee engagement and positive employee communication behaviors: The mediation of employee-organization relationships, Journal of Communication Management, 21(1), pp.82-102.
Karanges, E, Johnston, K, Beatson, A & Lings, I 2015, The influence of internal communication on employee engagement: A pilot study, Public Relations Review, 41(1), pp.129-131.
Men, L.R & Stacks, D 2014, The effects of authentic leadership on strategic internal communication and employee-organization relationships, Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(4), pp.301-324.
Mone, E, Eisinger, C, Guggenheim, K, Price, B & Stine, C 2011, Performance management at the wheel: Driving employee engagement in organizations, Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), pp.205-212.
Mone, E.M & London, M 2018. Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers, Routledge.
Ram, P & Prabhakar, G.V 2011, The role of employee engagement in work-related outcomes, Interdisciplinary Journal of Research in Business, 1(3), pp.47-61.
Robertson, I.T, Jansen Birch, A and Cooper, C.L 2012, Job and work attitudes, engagement and employee performance: Where does psychological well-being fit in?, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(3), pp.224-232.
Schaufeli, W.B 2013, What is engagement, Employee engagement in theory and practice, 15, p.321.
Schullery, N.M 2013, Workplace engagement and generational differences in values, Business Communication Quarterly, 76(2), pp.252-265.
Shields, J, Brown, M, Kaine, S, Dolle-Samuel, C, North-Samardzic, A, McLean, P, Johns, R, O’Leary, P, Robinson, J & Plimmer, G, 2015, Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies, Cambridge University Press.
Shuck, B, 2011, Integrative literature review: four emerging perspectives of employee engagement: an integrative literature review, Human Resource Development Review, 10(3), pp.304-328.
Mehta,D & Mehat, K.N 2013, Employee engagement: A Litreature review, Economia Seria Management, Vol.(2).