report dissertation- nikita

8/3/2019 Report Dissertation- Nikita

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Objective of the Study

To understand the existing employee engagement and Reward Programs To analyze the effect of employee engagement and Reward Recognition activities on job

satisfaction of employees

1.2. Theoretical Framework

1.2.1 Definition

A business management concept that describes the level of enthusiasm and dedication a

worker feels toward his/her job. Engaged employee cares their work and about the

performance of the company and feels that their efforts make a difference. An engaged

employee is in it for more than a paycheck.

1.2.2 Origin

Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn, (1990) as the harnessing of

organizational members selves to their work roles. In engagement, people employ and

express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.

The second related construct to engagement in organizational behavior is the notion of

flow advanced by Csikszentmihalyi (1975, 1990). Csikzentmihalyi (1975) defines flow as

the holistic sensation that, people feel when they act with total involvement. Flow is the

state in which there is little distinction between the self and environment. When

individuals are in Flow State little conscious control is necessary for their actions.


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Employee engagement is the thus the level of commitment and involvement an employee

has towards their organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business

context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit

of the organization. The organization must work to develop and nurture engagement,

which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee. Thus Employee

engagement is a barometer that determines the association of a person with the

organization

Engagement is most closely associated with the existing construction of job involvement

(Brown 1996) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Job involvement is defined as the

degree to which the job situation is central to the person and his or her identity (Lawler &

Hall, 1970). Kanungo (1982) maintained that job involvement is a Cognitive or belief

state of Psychological identification. Job involvement is thought to depend on both need

saliency and the potential of a job to satisfy these needs. Thus job involvement results

form a cognitive judgment about the needs satisfying abilities of the job. Jobs in this view

are tied to ones self-image. Engagement differs from job in as it is concerned more with

how the individual employees his/her self during the performance of his / her job.

Furthermore engagement entails the active use of emotions. Finally engagement may be

thought of as an antecedent to job involvement in that individuals who experience deep

engagement in their roles should come to identify with their jobs.

When Kahn talked about employee engagement he has given importance to all three

aspects physically, cognitively and emotionally, where as in job satisfaction importance

has been more given to cognitive side.

HR practitioners believe that the engagement challenge has a lot to do with how

employee feels about the about work experience and how he or she is treated in the

organization. It has a lot to do with emotions which are fundamentally related to drive

bottom line success in a company. There will always be people who never give their best

efforts no matter how hard HR and line managers try to engage them. But for the most


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part employees want to commit to companies because doing so satisfies a powerful and a

basic need in connect with and contribute to something significant.

1.2.3 Aspects of Employee Engagement

Three basic aspects of employee engagement according to the global studies are:-

The employees and their own unique psychological make-up and experience. The employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee

engagement.

Interaction between employees at all levels.Thus it is largely the organizations responsibility to create an environment and culture

conducive to this partnership, and a win-win equation.

1.2.4 Categories of Employee Engagement

According to the Gallup the Consulting organization there are different types of people:-

Engaged--"Engaged" employees are builders. They want to know the desiredexpectations for their role so they can meet and exceed them. They're naturally

curious about their company and their place in it. They perform at consistently high

levels. They want to use their talents and strengths at work every day. They work

with passion and they drive innovation and move their organization forward.

Not Engaged---Not-engaged employees tend to concentrate on tasks rather thanthe goals and outcomes they are expected to accomplish. They want to be told what to

do just so they can do it and say they have finished. They focus on accomplishing

tasks vs. achieving an outcome. Employees who are not-engaged tend to feel their

contributions are being overlooked, and their potential is not being tapped. They often


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feel this way because they don't have productive relationships with their managers or

with their coworkers.

Actively Disengaged--The "actively disengaged" employees are the "cavedwellers." They're "Consistently against Virtually Everything." They're not just

unhappy at work; they're busy acting out their unhappiness .They sow seeds of

negativity at every opportunity. Every day, actively disengaged workers undermine

what their engaged coworkers accomplish. As workers increasingly rely on each

other to generate products and services, the problems and tensions that are fostered

by actively disengaged workers can cause great damage to an organization's

functioning.

1.2.5 Importance of Engagement

Engagement is important for managers to cultivate given that disengagement or

alienation is central to the problem of workers lack of commitment and motivation

(Aktouf). Meaningless work is often associated with apathy and detachment from ones

works (Thomas and Velthouse). In such conditions, individuals are thought to be

estranged from their selves (Seeman, 1972) .Other Research using a different resource of

engagement (involvement and enthusiasm) has linked it to such variables as employee

turnover, customer satisfaction loyalty, safety and to a lesser degree, productivity and

profitability criteria (Harter, Schnidt & Hayes, 2002).

An organizations capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its

ability to achieve high performance levels and superior business results. Some of the

advantages of Engaged employees are:-

Engaged employees will stay with the company, be an advocate of the companyand its products and services, and contribute to bottom line business success.

They will normally perform better and are more motivated. There is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability.


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They form an emotional connection with the company. This impacts their attitudetowards the companys clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and

service levels.

It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organizations strategiesand goals.

Increases employees trust in the organization. Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment. Provides a high-energy working environment. Boosts business growth. Makes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the company.

A highly engaged employee will consistently deliver beyond expectations. Thus

employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued

employees. The Watson Wyatt consulting companies has been proved that there is an

intrinsic link between employee engagement, customer loyalty, and profitability. As

organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working

environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to provide

them with an organizational identity.

1.2.6 Factors Leading to Employee Engagement

Studies have shown that there are some critical factors which lead to Employee

Engagement. Some of them identified are:-

Career Development- Opportunities for Personal DevelopmentOrganizations with high levels of engagement provide employees with

opportunities to develop their abilities, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge

and realise their potential. When companies plan for the career paths of their

employees and invest in them in this way their people invest in them.


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Career DevelopmentEffective Management of TalentCareer development influences engagement for employees and retaining the most

talented employees and providing opportunities for personal development.

Leadership- Clarity of Company ValuesEmployees need to feel that the core values for which their companies stand are

unambiguous and clear.

LeadershipRespectful Treatment of EmployeesSuccessful organizations show respect for each employees qualities and

contributionregardless of their job level.

LeadershipCompanys Standards of Ethical BehaviourA companys ethical standards also lead to engagement of an individual

EmpowermentEmployees want to be involved in decisions that affect their work. The leaders of

high engagement workplaces create a trustful and challenging environment, in

which employees are encouraged to dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy and to

input and innovate to move the organization forward.

ImageHow much employees are prepared to endorse the products and services which

their company provides its customers depends largely on their perceptions of the

quality of those goods and services. High levels of employee engagement are

inextricably linked with high levels of customer engagement.


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Figure 1.2.6.1- Factors leading to Employee Engagement

Career Development - Opportunities for

personal development

Career Development Effective

Management of talent

LeadershipRespectful treatment

of employees

LeadershipCompanys standards

of ethical behaviour

Leadership- Clarity of company

Values

Empowerment

Image

Equal opportunities & fair treatment

Performance Appraisal

Pay & benefits

Health & Safety

Job satisfaction

Communication

Family friendliness

Co-operation

Feeling valued& Involved

E

N

GA

G

E

ME

N

T


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Other factors

Equal Opportunities and Fair TreatmentThe employee engagement levels would be high if their bosses (superiors) provide

equal opportunities for growth and advancement to all the employees

Performance appraisalFair evaluation of an employees performance is an important criterion for

determining the level of employee engagement. The company which follows an

appropriate performance appraisal technique (which is transparent and not biased)

will have high levels of employee engagement.

Pay and BenefitsThe company should have a proper pay system so that the employees are

motivated to work in the organization. In order to boost his engagement levels the

employees should also be provided with certain benefits and compensations.

Health and SafetyResearch indicates that the engagement levels are low if the employee does not

feel secure while working. Therefore every organization should adopt appropriatemethods and systems for the health and safety of their employees.

Job SatisfactionOnly a satisfied employee can become an engaged employee. Therefore it is very

essential for an organization to see to it that the job given to the employee

matches his career goals which will make him enjoy his work and he would

ultimately be satisfied with his job.

CommunicationThe company should follow the open door policy. There should be both upward

and downward communication with the use of appropriate communication

channels in the organization. If the employee is given a say in the decision making


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and has the right to be heard by his boss than the engagement levels are likely to

be high.

Family FriendlinessA persons family life influences his wok life. When an employee realizes that the

organization is considering his familys benefits also, he will have an emotional

attachment with the organization which leads to engagement

Co-operationIf the entire organization works together by helping each other i.e. all the

employees as well as the supervisors co-ordinate well than the employees will be

engaged.

1.2.7 How to measure Employee Engagement?

Gallup research consistently confirms that engaged work places compared with least

engaged are much more likely to have lower employee turnover, higher than average

customer loyalty, above average productivity and earnings. These are all good things thatprove that engaging and involving employees make good business sense and building

shareholder value. Negative workplace relationships may be a big part of why so many

employees are not engaged and satisfied with their jobs.

Step I: ListenThe employer must listen to his employees and remember that this is a continuous

process. The information employees supply will provide direction. This is the

only way to identify their specific concerns. When leaders listen, employees

respond by becoming more engaged. This results in increased productivity and

employee retention. Engaged employees are much more likely to be satisfied in

their positions, remain with the company, be promoted, and strive for higher

levels of performance.


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Step II: Measure current level of employee engagementEmployee engagement needs to be measured at regular intervals in order to track

its contribution to the success of the organisation.

But measuring the engagement (feedback through surveys) without planning how

to handle the result can lead employees to disengage. It is therefore not enough to

feel the pulsethe action plan is just as essential.

Step II1: - Identify the problem areasIdentify the problem areas to see which are the exact areas, which lead to

disengaged employees

Step IV: Taking action to improve employee engagement by acting upon theproblem areas

Nothing is more discouraging to employees than to be asked for their feedback

and see no movement toward resolution of their issues. Even the smallest actions

taken to address concerns will let the staff know how their input is valued. Feeling

valued will boost morale, motivate and encourage future input. Taking action

starts with listening to employee feedback and a definitive action plan will need tobe put in place finally.

1.2.8 Employee Satisfaction

Employee Satisfactionis a prerequisite for the customer satisfaction. Enhanced employee

satisfaction leads to higher level of employee retention. A stable and committed

workforce ensures successful knowledge transfer, sharing, and creation - a key tocontinuous improvement, innovation, and knowledge-based total customer satisfaction.

When companies are committed with providing high quality products and services; when

companies set high work standards for their employees; and when employees are

empowered through training and development, provided with knowledge and


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information, permitted to make mistakes without punishment, and trusted; they will

experience an increase in their level of satisfaction at work.

This level of satisfaction can be enhanced further if teamwork engagement activities and

visionary leadership are introduced.

1.2.9 How to Increase Job Satisfaction--The Pride System?

The leaders of the organization have the responsibility for creating a high level of job

satisfaction. Deming said, "The aim of leadership should be to improve the performance

of man and machine, to improve quality, to increase output, and simultaneously to bring

pride of workmanship to people." A motivating environment is one that gives workers a

sense of pride in what they do. To show supervisors and managers how to build a more

productive work environment, a five-step process called the PRIDE system is created.

Leaders can improve motivation within their organizations by following this process:

Provide a positive working environment Reward and recognition Involve and increase employee engagement Develop the skills and potential of your workforce Evaluate and measure job satisfaction

Step 1--Provide a Positive Working Environment

Increasing job satisfaction begins by first providing a positive work environment. Fran

Tarkenton says, to find what motivates people, "you have to find what turns people on."

This is the most important factor in the process. A motivating working environment

requires going over and beyond the call of duty and providing for the needs of the

worker.

Walt Disney World Company provides an excellent work environment for their

employees or "cast members." Employee assistance centers are spread strategically

across the theme park. Some of the services included employee discount programs,

childcare information, money orders, postage stamps, check cashing, and bus passes.


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The Walt Disney Company realizes that taking care of their employee's needs keep them

motivated, on the job and loyal to the company.

Step 2--Reward and Recognition for Increasing Job Satisfaction

Mark Twain once said, "I can live for two months on a good compliment." Personal

recognition is a powerful tool in building morale and motivation. A pat on the back, a

personal note from a peer or a supervisor does wonders. Small, informal celebrations are

many times more effective than a once a quarter or once a year formal event.

Graham Weston, co-founder and CEO of Rackspace Managed Hosting, gives the keys to

his BMW M3 convertible for a week to his top performing employees. This creative way

to reward employees has a bigger impact than cash. He says, If you gave somebody a

$200 bonus, it wouldnt mean very much. When someone gets to drive my car for a

week, they never forget it.

Step 3--Involve Everyone and Use Employee Engagement

People may show up for work, but are they engaged and productive? People are more

committed and engaged when there is a process for them to contribute their ideas and

employee suggestions. This gives them a sense of ownership and pride in their work.

The Sony Corporation fosters the exchange of ideas within departments by sponsoring an

annual Idea Exposition. During the exposition, scientists and engineers display projects

and ideas they are working on. Open only to Sonys employees, this process creates a

healthy climate of innovation and engages all those who participate.

Step 4--Develop Worker's Skills and Potential

Training and education motivates people and makes them more productive and

innovative. At Federal Express, all customer contact people are given six weeks of

training before they ever answer the first phone call. Learning never stops and testing

continues throughout their employment tenure. Every six months customer service

people are tested using an on-line computer system. Pass/fail results are sent to each

employee within 24 hours. They receive a personalized "prescription" on areas that need


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reviewing with a list of resources and lessons that will help. Federal Express' intensive

training and development program has resulted in higher motivation and lower turnover.

There are many reasons training and development makes sense. Well-trained employees

are more capable and willing to assume more control over their jobs. They need less

supervision, which frees management for other tasks. Employees are more capable to

answer the questions of customers which builds better customer loyalty. Employees who

understand the business, complain less, are more satisfied, and are more motivated. All

this leads to better management-employee relationships.

Step 5--Evaluate and Measure Job Satisfaction

Continuous evaluation and never ending improvement is the final step of the PRIDE

system. Evaluation is a nonstop activity that includes a specific cycle of steps. The

primary purpose of evaluation is to measure progress and determine what needs

improving. Continuous evaluation includes, but is not limited to, the measurement of

attitudes, morale, and motivation of the workforce. It includes the identification of

problem areas needing improvement and the design and implementation of an

improvement plan. Good organizations conduct a job satisfaction survey at least once a

year.

1.2.10 Factors Driving Employee Satisfaction

1. Intention to remain with the organization

Employees that express an intention to stay with a company are more likely to also feel

satisfied with their role and position. A high correlation has been found between job

satisfaction scores and employee retention rates.

2. Variety of skills used in their job

Employees feel more satisfied in roles that require a wide range of personal skills and

competencies. The work itself is more interesting and employees feel accomplished when

theyve been given the opportunity get to grow and develop a valuable skill set.


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3. Level of organizational customer-service orientation

Employees are more satisfied working for organizations that they believe have the best

interests of customers in mind and that they have a role in identifying and satisfying the

needs of those customers. This is consistent with the high correlation been found between

levels of employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction in other studies.

4. Coordination between units of the organization

Employees feel more satisfied being a part of a well-managed organization. In companies

that communicate and coordinate well between departments and business units, there are

fewer disruptions, delays, and needs for damage control.

1.2.11 Factors Driving Employee Engagement

1. Role conflicts

Similar to #4 above, employees feel better working in an organization that has policies

and processes that are consistent with one another and that employees understand are

appropriate. Employees tend to disengage if asked to blindly follow instructions that they

feel are incorrect or enforce management policies that they feel are in conflict with one

another.

2. Effective training

Effective initial and ongoing training can get employees engaged in their work. New

employees that are given thorough orientation and training can take their new skills and

start performing in their role with confidence. Ongoing training demonstrates that the

organization values the employee in their current role as well as their potential for future

personal development.


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3. Personal autonomy

When a capable employee is afforded freedom, authority and discretion to execute their

role optimally they tend to engage and take ownership of their job. The organization must

also provide support in the form of resources, information and training.

4. Manager ability

Employee engagement is influenced by the style, strengths and weaknesses of their

supervisors. The study cites three areas of managerial ability that can have a positive

impact on employee engagement: Expert power (technical expertise or managerial

competence of the manager), Referent power (the respect that the employee has for their

supervisors), and Exchange power (a supervisors willingness to be influenced by the

employee.

These drivers are all basically related to feelings an employee has towards their role (and

the organization) with regard to personal value, respect, and freedom. In summary,

employee engagement is largely driven a feeling that the organization values his/her

contribution, and that it is doing its best to remove barriers from getting the job done the

right way.


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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

Brooke, Russell, and Price (1988) performed two sets of confirmatory factor analyses that

illustrated discriminant validity among measures of job involvement, job satisfaction, and

organizational commitment. In the first set of analyses, Brooke et al. demonstrated that

indicators of the three variables better fit a three-factor model then they did a single-

factor model. In a second set of analyses, Brooke et al. demonstrated that the correlations

between seven other variables and the three affective responses were not uniform,thereby providing additional evidence for the discriminated validity of the measures.

The purpose of the present study was to present a constructive replication of Brooke et

al.'s study with data drawn from two different employee populations. We also

investigated the relationship between job involvement, job satisfaction, and

organizational commitment and correlates different from those that Brooke et al. used in

order to broaden the scope of the collective findings. Given the number of claims that

measures of these three variables lack discriminated validity, it is important to replicate

Brooke et al.'s findings and to extend them to different populations and additional

correlates.

According to Koscec M. (2003) that overall employee satisfaction is manifest in the

level of engagement that employees have in their work. In other words, employee

engagement was the ultimate expression of employee commitment, loyalty, morale and

overall employee satisfaction. Therefore organizations needed to focus on employee

engagement rather than on these other components of employee satisfaction. This help to

shed additional insight into the difference between measuring employee satisfaction and

employee engagement. Measuring satisfaction is measuring a passive employee state,

while measuring engagement is measuring an active state.

A fully engaged employee that is enthusiastic about their work is creative, innovative and

wants to contribute might indicate a lower level of satisfaction with the same


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organization, as the disengaged employee. When a company measures employee

satisfaction are they getting data that provides them with meaningful information that will

allow them to improve their competitive advantage and profitability? The simple answer

is that they are not. This is why they need to focus on employee engagement and

understand the principle components of employee engagement.

According to May et al., (2004) engagement is most closely associated with the

constructs of job involvement and flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1990). Job involvement is

defined as a cognitive or belief state of psychological identification (Kanungo

1982:342). This differs from engagement in that it is concerned more with how the

individual employs him/her self during the performance of his/her job. Furthermore,

whilst the focus of job involvement is on cognitions, engagement, according to most

definitions, also encompasses emotions and behaviours.

Research by Wyatt (2006) suggests that employee engagement has a strong impact on an

organizations bottom line. Unfortunately, a number of myths, misconceptions and false

assumptions are leading employers down the wrong path when it comes to building

employee engagement. As a result, many are investing time and money in ways that will

do little to increase engagement levels. In doing so, these employers are missing out on

an opportunity to motivate and focus employees in ways that have a real impact on

productivity and financial performance.

In particular, many companies overestimate the importance of the supervisor in driving

engagement. In fact, senior leadership and the frequency with which senior managers

communicate with employees are far more important drivers of engagement.

Understanding this and acting upon it can deliver substantial improvements in financial

performance and productivity.

The study also shows that while employee engagement provides a solid foundation for

financial success, employers should look beyond engagement if they are going to achieve

superior financial performance. The ultimate goal should be employee effectiveness,

which builds on the engagement foundation by giving employees the training, resources,

tools and equipment to work effectively and by creating an environment where the

organization demonstrates its values, and creates a culture of trust and ethical behaviour.


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According to Rich and Louis B. (2006) Job engagement has recently become a

fashionable term among Human Resource practitioners and Organizational Behavior

researchers. However, academic research that has theoretically examined job engagement

at the psychological level is limited, as is research on the nature of employee

engagement, and its place among other job attitude constructs that are used to describe

employees at work. I developed and validated a new measure of job engagement that

assessed people's engagement during role performance. The predictive, convergent, and

discriminate validity of job engagement was assessed with similar affective and cognitive

work-related states, including job involvement, job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and

the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.

Results from confirmatory factor analysis indicated that job engagement was bestrepresented as a higher-order factor with three lower-order dimensions of physical,

emotional, and cognitive. Additional analyses suggested that the four job attitudes of job

engagement, job satisfaction, job involvement, and intrinsic motivation are distinct but

correlated attitudes. Hierarchical regression results revealed that employees who

exhibited higher levels of job engagement were rated by their supervisors as

demonstrating higher levels of task and contextual performance and lower levels of

withdrawal behaviors. Importantly, these relationships were found after controlling for

job satisfaction, job involvement, and intrinsic motivation. Specifically, job engagement

predicted an additional 3% variance in task performance, an additional 4% variance in

contextual performance, and an additional 10% variance in withdrawal behaviors.

Moreover, job engagement predicted an additional 3% variance in task performance, an

additional 6% variance in contextual performance, and an additional 7% variance in

withdrawal behaviors over and above that predicted by the Utrecht Work Engagement

Scale. Rich et al concluded with theoretical and practical implications as well as

suggestions for future research.

Avery et al., (2007) have stressed the importance of creating conditions for meaningful

employee expression in work roles, also known as engagement. Few empirical studies,

however, have examined how individual or situational factors relate to engagement.

Consequently, this study examines the interplay between employee age, perceived


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coworker age composition, and satisfaction with older (older than 55) and younger

(younger than 40) coworkers on engagement using a sample of 901 individuals employed

in the United Kingdom. Results indicated that satisfaction with one's coworkers related

significantly to engagement. Moreover, perceived age similarity was associated with

higher levels of engagement among older workers when they were highly satisfied with

their coworkers over 55 and lower levels of engagement when they were not.

According to Macey and Schneider (2008) employee engagement is ambiguous among

both academic researchers and among practitioners who use it in conversations with

clients. They show that the term is used at different times to refer to psychological states,

traits, and behaviors as well as their antecedents and outcomes. Drawing on diverse

relevant literatures, they offer a series of propositions about (a) psychological state

engagement; (b) behavioral engagement; and (c) trait engagement. In addition, they offer

propositions regarding the effects of job attributes and leadership as main effects on state

and behavioral engagement and as moderators of the relationships among the 3 facets of

engagement.

The notion of employee engagement is a relatively new one, one that has been heavily

marketed by human resource (HR) consulting firms that offer advice on how it can be

created and leveraged. Academic researchers are now slowly joining the fray, and both

parties are saddled with competing and inconsistent interpretations of the meaning of the

construct. We conclude with thoughts about the measurement of the 3 facets of

engagement and potential antecedents, especially measurement via employee surveys.

Richman et al., (2008) examined the relationship of perceived workplace flexibility and

supportive work life policies to employee engagement and expectations to remain with

the organization (expected retention). It also explores the association of formal and

occasional (informal) use of flexibility with these outcomes. Data are from a multi-

organization database created by WFD Consulting of studies conducted between 1996

and 2006. Results revealed that perceived flexibility and supportive work life policies

were related to greater employee engagement and longer than expected retention.

Employee engagement fully mediated the relationship between perceived flexibility and

expected retention and partially mediated the relationship between supportive work life


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policies and expected retention. Both formal and occasional uses of flexibility were

positively associated with perceived flexibility, employee engagement, and expected

retention. These analyses provide evidence that workplace flexibility may enhance

employee engagement, which may in turn lead to longer job tenure.

Hermsen et al., (2008) examined that staff members are a large and growing set of

employees within higher education. While their numbers are growing, they also are

seeing a change in their salaries and working conditions. Given this situation, institutions

are considering work engagement and job satisfaction research as they seek to increase

motivation and productivity. The purpose of this article is to examine those work life

perceptions, identity issues and demographic and profile characteristics that explain the

work engagement and job satisfaction of higher education staff members.

Wefald et al., (2009) broadly defined engagement as involvement, satisfaction, and

enthusiasm, is widely used by organizations and consultants for improving retention.

However, engagement fails to meet many of the common criteria for positive

organizational practice, i.e. theoretical, valid, unique, state-like, and positive. With

attention to these criteria, engagement may useful to management.According to Markos and Sridevi (2010) Employee engagement is a vast construct that

touches almost all parts of human resource management facets we know hitherto. If every

part of human resources is not addressed in appropriate manner, employees fail to fully

engage themselves in their job in the response to such kind of mismanagement. The

construct employee engagement is built on the foundation of earlier concepts like job

satisfaction, employee commitment and Organizational citizenship behaviour. Though it

is related to and encompasses these concepts, employee engagement is broader in scope.

Employee engagement is stronger predictor of positive organizational performance

clearly showing the two-way relationship between employer and employee compared to

the three earlier constructs: job satisfaction, employee commitment and organizational

citizenship behaviour. Engaged employees are emotionally attached to their organization

and highly involved in their job with a great enthusiasm for the success of their employer,

going extra mile beyond the employment contractual agreement. Employee engagement

is closely linked with organizational performance outcomes.


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Companies with engaged employees have higher employee retention as a result of

reduced turnover and reduced intention to leave the company, productivity, profitability,

growth and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, companies with disengaged

employees suffer from waste of effort and bleed talent, earn less commitment from the

employees, face increased absenteeism and have less customer orientation, less

productivity, and reduced operating margins and net profit margins. Most researches

emphasize merely the importance and positive impacts of employee engagement on the

business outcomes, failing to provide the cost-benefit analysis for engagement decisions.

As any other management decisions, engagement decision should be evaluated in terms

of both its benefits and its associated costs, without giving greater emphasis to neither of

the two, not to bias the decision makers. Thus there is a need to study the cost aspect of

engagement decisions. The remarkable fact is, the findings of today's researches, can be

used as comer stone for the building of complete essence to the construct. Furthermore,

much of the works related to "employee engagement" construct is attributed to survey

houses and consultancies. Therefore, there is a need for academia to investigate this new

construct and come up with a clear definition and dimensions that will be used for

measuring employee engagement justifying the importance of engagement concept.

Otherwise, it will pass away shortly as many other human resource fads did.

Findings of various researches suggest their own strategies in order to keep employees

engaged. Here in this article ten points or strategies called 'the ten tablets" were suggested

to keep employees engaged. For managers, work of employee engagement starts at day

one through effective recruitment and orientation program, the work of employee

engagement begins from the top as it is unthinkable to have engaged people in the

organizations where there are no engaged leadership.

According to Lakshmi et al., (2010) Employee engagement is the level of commitment

and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values, Employees

willingness and ability to contribute towards the company success. Engagement is about

encouraging employees to have passion for their work and identifying the organization as

more than a place to earn money. Employees are motivated by jobs that challenge them

and enable them to grow and learn in the concern field. The main objective of the survey

is to know in detail about level of employees engagement in academic institutions. The


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survey focuses on analysis and interpretation of responses towards the drivers of

Employee Engagement.

According to Swaminathan and Rajasekaran (2010) Employee Engagement is the

combination of Job Satisfaction, Motivation and Effectiveness. In other words it is the

ecstatic feeling that one may get by doing his job. It is a very important topic as the value

of the organization is transferred from physical asset to effective work force. Employee

Engagement is an important area that an organization should concentrate to be productive

and to get effective, loyal, and committed work force. For collecting the primary data, a

structured questionnaire, comprising of multiple choice and close-ended questions was

administered to 80 employees in the organization using non proportionate stratified

random sampling method. In this study multiple regression, correlation and ANOVA

have been used to analyze and interpret the data collected.

According to Thiagarajan and Renugadevi (2011) conducted research on the employee

engagement and key research on engagement related factors in BPO Industries in India.

The author s conducted a literature search on employee engagement and interviews with

126 executives. Career development, performance appraisal and motivation factors are

connected to employee engagement. The implications are that leaders should be educated

on engagement, career development opportunities are particularly important and that

performance improvement should champion work life balance, these practices are useful

to increase engagement. The purpose of this two-part article is to introduce engagement

and review key research on engagement-related factors. The author conducted a literature

search on employee engagement and pilot interviews with ten professionals.

Environment, leadership, job, and individual factors are connected to employee

engagement. Environmental engagement factors include congruency between

organizational and individual values, the quality of the workplace relationships, and

work-life balance. Leadership engagement factors include vision and integrity. Job

engagement factors include the meaningfulness of the job, its level of challenge, and the

amount of control the employee has on the job. Finally, individual factors related to

engagement include resilience, locus of control, active coping style, self-esteem,

neuroticism, and extraversion. The author suggests that the connections (or the match)


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between organizational, leadership, job, and individual characteristics is particularly

relevant for engagement.

According to Kelleher B. (2011) a common theme of business leaders and human

resources professionals is as follows: We are in tough times, but thankfully, our

employees are hanging in there with voluntary turnover numbers at record lows. But he

says Beware! Any companys turnover metrics might be akin to fools gold, because

there is a high probability, there work environment did not suddenly turn to Camelot. He

explains quite simply that, employees had no place to go, so they stayed up. Companies

have been in survival mode, with shrinking backlog, cost cutting, and layoffs being the

norm during this recessionary window. This lack of growth, coupled with fear and

insecurity. He says I dont want to be anyones low man on the totem pole, resulted in

historic staff turnover lows in all industries. He says Workforce experts are reporting that

the majority of companies reduced their voluntary turnover by two thirds (e.g., if any

companies historic turnover was 15%, and now it 5%).Now that were seeing an

economic recovery, employees are gaining confidence in the job market. Are your

employees beginning to look for new a new job?

This extended downturn in the economy has taken its toll. Training budgets have been

slashed, wages frozen, and promotions delayed as employees were asked to do more

with less. He is projecting that were entering the era of the disengaged as many

employees seek alternatives elsewhere. Companies will start hiring again soon,

employees will again believe that it is OK to be someones low man on the totem pole,

and the musical chair aspect of job movement will take root. He asks all companies Is

your company prepared? He also projects that firms will not simply return to their

prerecession turnover levels. For instance, if a companys traditional voluntary turnover

dropped from 15%, to 5%, the 10% of the workforce that didnt leave during the past

year is now in queue, and will be in addition to your traditional 15% voluntary turnover.

Can companies handle turnover levels of 25% or higher? How will this impact employee

engagement, client satisfaction, or your bottom line?

He is not being an alarmist. In Deloittes September 2009 Special Report, Managing

Talent in a Turbulent Economy survey, respondents revealed the following statistics that

should keep leaders and human resources executives awake at night:


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- Nearly half (49%) of employees surveyed in August are either looking for a new job

or plan to do so after the recession ends.

- 22% of surveyed Generation X employees have been actively job hunting over the

past year

- Among surveyed Generation X members, only 37% plan to stay with their current

employer, 44% of surveyed Generation Y members expect to remain in their current job.

He anticipates significant job movement in the months ahead. Retention and engagement

investment should not be analogous to a light switchcompanies shouldnt just turn

them on or off.

Every company need to have a strategy in place that can sustain the good times, and the

not so good times. He suggest think of your engagement investments and efforts as a

dimmer switchduring financially challenging times, you lower slightly, and during

boom times, you elevate slightly, while continuously communicating with your

employees the realities of your business challenges and successes.

Companies should focus on engagement and retention strategies today to prepare for

tomorrow and adopt the following 10 engagement practices:

1. Link Engagement Efforts To High PerformanceEngagement is the unlocking of employee potential to drive high performance.

Employee satisfaction is an outcome of a great culture and should not be the ultimate

goal.

2. Engagement Starts at the Top

Most studies show that actions of senior leaders are a key engagement driver.

3. Engage First-Line Leaders

The old adage, employees join great companies but quit bad managers is true.

4. Plan Robust Communication

Successful leaders recognize the power of a robust communication plan built on clarity,

consistency, and transparency.

5. Individualize Engagement

It is no longer treat people they way you want to be treated but rather treat people the

way they want to be treated

6. Create a Motivational Culture


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You are more apt to get the discretionary effort of your employees when they think you

care about them as people.

7. Create Feedback Mechanisms

The latest research by the Corporate Leadership Council is staggering: only 5.9% of

surveyed employees are giving their employers high levels of discretionary effort.

8. Reinforce and Reward the Right Behaviors

Employees are incredibly motivated by achievement, not money, but money can

disengage if employees perceive unfairness.

9. Track and Communicate Progress

It is amazing how few companies have balanced scorecards in place. You need to

reinforce line of sight by telling your employees where were going, how were

performing, and where they fit in.

10. Hire and Promote Behaviours and Traits for Your Culture

I often tell clients, You dont have an engagement issue; you have a hiring issue youre

hiring the wrong behaviours and traits to succeed in your culture.

According to Sterling M. (2011) if you want to Enhance Employee Engagement?

Ask Three Critical Questions:-

1. Do your employees have the capacity to be engaged?In their book, The Power of Full Engagement, authors Loehr Jim and Schwartz Tony

argue that the means to engagement is found in a persons ability to effectively manage

energy. The authors go on to describe four distinct concepts you can measure an

individuals capacity for engagement: by determining are they physically energized,

emotionally connected, mentally focused, and spiritually aligned. If employees dont

have the capacity to be engaged, it really doesnt matter if you rearrange the furniture or

rewrite the corporate mission statement, you wont be able to solve their low engagement

levels.

2. Are your managers trained for engagement?Asking these questions can help anyone to know what their manager think of word

engagement What does employee engagement look like? and How do you personally

model and support engagement? The Gallup Organizations research clearly lists which


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manager behaviours enhance workplace perceptions. These are the same behaviours

managers are held accountable for and evaluated on in most engagement surveys.

Managers need some new guidelines for helping employees find and filter out the

information they need to do their jobs, rather than adding to their informationoverload.

This improved communication skill of proper timing, context and transparency isdirectly

related to employees workplace perceptions, and their engagement.

3. Does your organization have a culture for engagement? All organization should ask these question to itself What is your motivation for

measuring employee engagement? or How do you use your engagement results?

Many times the answers to these questions tell me whether or not the culture is serious

about engagement for its intended purpose: to create a workplace environment that

facilitates top performance.

Because we have moved into a new decade of employee engagement surveys, as

technological advances continue to accelerate the speed of change in the workplace and

as demands on employees continue to increase, having an engaged workforce continues

to be a key differentiator. No company should be satisfied with average results. They

should help their employees by better management and expand their energy capacity.

Train there managers to communicate for engagement and ensure that their corporate

culture models the values they measure.


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REFERENCES

Avery, Derek R., McKay, Patrick F., Wilson, David C. (2007), Engaging the aging

workforce: The relationship between perceived age similarity, satisfaction with

coworkers, and employee engagement; Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 92(6), 2007,

pp 1542-1556.

Brooke, Russell, and Price (1988), Further Evidence for the Discriminant Validity of

Measures of Organizational Commitment, Job Involvement, and Job Satisfaction;

Journal of Applied Psychology 1991, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp 127-133

Hermsen, Jill Rosser, Vicki (2008),Examining Work Engagement and Job Satisfaction of

Staff Members in Higher Education; CUPA-HR Journal Fall/Winter2008, Vol. 59 (2), pp

10-18, 2 Charts

Kelleher B. (2011), Employee Engagement and Retention; American Management

Association

Koscec M. (2003), Leadership Intelligence Inc with permission by Entec Corporation.

Lakshmi, M.S., Srinivas, K. & Krishna, K.V.R. (2010) Employee Engagement For Talent

Retention With Reference To The Academicians, Review Of Business Research, 10(3),

pp.137-140

Macey, W.H. & Schneider, B. (2008), The meaning of employee management, Industrial

and organizational psychology, 1, pp 3-30


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Rich and Louis B. (2006), Job engagement: construct validation and relationships with

job satisfaction, job involvement and intrinsic motivation; UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA,

2006, 197 pages; 3228825

Richman (2008), The relationship of perceived flexibility, supportive work-life policies,

and use of formal flexible arrangements and occasional flexibility to employee

engagement and expected retention; Community, Work and Family, 11(2), May 2008,

pp.183-197.

Solomon Markos, M. Sandhya Sridevi (2010), Employee Engagement: The Key to

Improving Performance; International Journal of Business and Management Vol. 5, No.

12; December 2010

Sterling M. (2011), Want to Enhance Employee Engagement? Ask Three Critical

Questions;American Management Association

Thiagarajan B. & Renugadevi V. (2011), Employee Engagement Practices In Indian BPO

Industries- An Empirical Investigation; Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary

Research in Business Vol. 2, No 10

Wefald, Andrew J.Downey, Ronald G.

(2009), Job engagement in organizations: Fad,

fashion, or folderol;Journal of Organizational Behavior; Jan2009, Vol. 30 I(1), pp 141-

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