Wabel Bahanshal

Study of organizations

Class instructor: Dr. Thomas Tang

Chapter 2:

The Psychological Contract and Commitment.

Employee Engagement: Beyond the Fad Into The Executive Suite

By Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne

Theresa M. Welbourne Research Professor of

Management and Organization. Center for Effective

Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.

President, CEO, and founder, eePulse, Inc.

About the Author’s Education: University of Colorado, Boulder, Ph.D. -

Business Administration, May, 1992.

Major: Human Resource Management, concentration in Compensation.

Minor: Research Methods.

What is Employee Engagement?

Continued:The idea of employee engagement was developed by Kahn (1990) in his work on summer camp employees and also employees at an architecture firm. He defined employee engagement as the “harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances” (Kahn, 1990, p.694).

Employee Engagement Existence. Employee Engagement exists when the

employee feels:

Physically Intellectually Emotionally… attached to their work (Kahn,1990)

History of Employee Engagement Prior to the 1980s, employers expected loyalty

to the organization, and in exchange for that commitment, they offered lifetime employment.

However, in the 1980s things have changed. With increased global competition, employers needed to be more flexible in their deployment of employees. Plants were closed and then reopened in countries where wages were lower.

Continued: Therefore, Employees learned the hard

way (through layoffs) that loyalty was no longer rewarded.

High-quality talent employees left organizations, and productivity suffered. Skilled employees were not willing to put in overtime and extra effort.

Continued:

This situation created the need for something new, and at least one of the initiatives was employee engagement.

Facts: Leadership and management teems are

the ones responsible of getting the employees engaged at work.

Research show Only 14 percent to 30 percent of employees are engaged at work.

Change Behavior, Not Attitudes “The only way to improve employee

engagement across multiple organizations is to know what it looks like; the behaviors must be specified. Behaviors, to date, are the missing link in employee engagement. Thus, to fill that void, I suggest a role-based performance model as an option for providing a definition of the behaviors of employee engagement.” Theresa Welbourne.

The model defines five key roles that employees occupy at work: Core job-holder role. Entrepreneur or innovator role. Team member role. Career role. Organizational member role.

Role-based performance Model By Theresa Welbourne

Figure 1Role-Based Performance Model by Dr. Theresa Welbourne

Continued “The core ideas behind use of the model

are that firms win in the market when they develop human resources in a way that is not easily replicated by their competition.”

Leader Energy and Engagement Leaders themselves have to be engaged;

they need to work and succeed in both their core job and non-core job roles.

Leaders need to clearly articulate how each role helps support the business strategy and plan.

Leaders have to create an environment where the non-core job roles are valued, and they must remove barriers to employees' working in the non-core job roles.

Continued: Those last three conditions are not easy

for leaders to meet.

“When leaders and managers are feeling distracted and overworked, their employees are doing much worse.”

Leadership Pulse Surveys: Leaders Engagement.A study has been conducted, and data has been collected. Surveys has also been sent to more than 4000 executives.

The surveys show lower energy levels among leaders at work.

Suggestions for Success Conduct a business analysis to determine what roles

are really valued in their organization.

Determine what leadership education is necessary to create a culture where both core job and non-core job roles are valued and rewarded.

Examine in detail what structural impediments may exist to spending time in the non-core roles.

Engage employees in the right roles at the right time.

Engagement Levels Worldwide

Key Implications and Recommendations

To reap the rewards that a more engaged organization promises, your entire workforce needs to be accountable for their piece of the engagement equation every day. The 2011 Employee Engagement Report clarifies those roles and responsibilities

Individuals: Ownership, clarity and action. Individuals need to know what they want — and what the organization needs — and then take action to achieve both.

Managers: Coaching, relationships and dialogue. Managers must understand each individual’s talents, interests, and needs. Then match those with the organization’s objectives — while at the same time creating personal, trusting relationships. Furthermore, they need to discuss engagement often.

Executives: Trust, communication and culture. Executives have to demonstrate consistency in words and actions, communicate a lot, and align all business practices and behaviors throughout the organization to drive results and engagement.

Here are the key benefits of employee engagement:

• Better performance. Engaged employees work smarter, not

harder. They keep looking for ways to improve performance and

they keep finding them. This means more sales, lower costs,

better quality and innovative products.

• Better communication. Engaged employees communicate –

they share information with colleagues, they pass on ideas,

suggestions and advice and they speak up for the organisation.

This leads to better performance, greater innovation and happier

customers.

• Greater customer satisfaction. Engaged employees go out of

their way to meet customers’ needs.

The End

Any Questions?

Related Article (1): How can leaders achieve high employee

engagement?By Authors:Xu, Jessica, JRA (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, New ZealandThomas, Helena Cooper, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol 32(4), 2011. pp. 399-416.

Related Article (2):

Employee Engagement in the Public Sector: A Review of Literature

http://scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/05/09111348/5

Related Article (3) Employee Engagement A review of

current thinking: By Gemma Robertson-Smith and Carl Markwick.