Employee Engagement.doc

Name Course Name of professor Date of submission Employee Engagement Abstract Employee engagement is an important component of every organisation. The paper focused on studying various elements of employee engagement such as employee voice, employee influence together with management power and competency within the British Airways. Primary collection of data involved interview with the company MD and survey of employees through administering of questionnaires. The survey was divided into two sections. The first section involved 48 employees from British Airways’ HR department. The second survey involved 160 employees within the company. Secondary data was collected from various literature materials as well as the company’s databases. British Airways is currently the leading airline service provider in the United Kingdom. The study analyses the changes in employee engagement that have been evident in the company since its inception to date. Likewise, it also analyses various barriers to employee engagement within the company. The key objective of the study is to understand how these factors of employee engagement contribute to company performance in the long run. The results of the study showed that there are certain elements such as trust, self-awareness and integrity among others that a manager should possess to facilitate employee engagement. On the other hand, employees must also demonstrate commitment and responsibility. Introduction The paper outlines employment engagement practices and its impact on business through the evaluation of the British Airways. The case study involves how the company has applied employee engagement to enable it competitive in the changing global market, especially in the aviation industry. The airline industry continues to experience modernization with the constant upcoming of new employee relationship strategies capable of outdoing the British Airways. Nevertheless, this has not been the case, and British Airways has consistently remained at the leading edge in the industry (British Airways, 2015). Also, the paper focuses on evaluating how employee engagement has contributed to the growth of the company to its current state with several branches. Furthermore, the paper also analyses the opportunities that have risen in the company for the last decade as well as the challenges the company has faced due to employee engagement. The study also focuses on the managerial changes of the company in accommodating the various precepts of employee engagement. The rationale for choosing British Airways as the company of study in the research depended on diverse factors. First, British Airways comprise of many employees from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds (British Airways, 2015a). Therefore, this large number of employees was efficient in learning how the corporation engages all these employees in its operational structure. Secondly, the British Airways has been adopting diverse management styles over the decades until the inception of the employee engagement system. Some of the examples of such styles and courses include “Putting people first,” “Managing people first,” and “A day in the life.” Therefore, it becomes ideal for understanding how employee engagement scheme has reshaped the corporation towards achieving its objectives. Also, the restricting if the British Airways from the 1988’s British Caledonian as well as its privatisation in 1987 affected cultural recognition and its company ethos adversely making it less caring (British Airways Media Centre, 2014). Therefore, the study of its current employee engagement is critical in understanding its operational changes. Lastly, there is plenty of information both online and offline concerning British Airways, making the research easy. Literature Review Overview of employee engagement Employee engagement is one of the economic slumps that continues to face various companies in the global market. Flex (2014) defines employee engagement as the ability of companies to build a relationship with its employees in a manner that contributes to working together in meeting the company’s goals and objectives. Over the past decades, there have been adverse issues between most employees and their companies regarding pay freezes as well as job cuts posing significant challenges to the operations of most companies. Consequently, these have fueled resentment to an extent of affect the operational capability of these companies. In turn, companies sorted to finding another mechanism of curbing these challenges resulting to the inception of employee engagement as the alternative (Bamber et al., 2013). Employee engagement further entails the ability of companies to listen to their employees with a scheme of improving relationships. One of the most important components of employee engagement is communication (Armstrong, 2006). Yet against these management circles, most corporations continue to hold claims of being concerned about their employees. Bamber et al. (2013) note that it is not until 2006, that most companies including the British Airways had a legal duty that ensured they report about their interaction with the employees on an annual basis. It is important for any company to be able to motivate staff. One of the ways of engaging employees is putting forward their views as well as ideas in regular meetings. Upon addressing of their opinions and ideas, the employees develop a healthy working relationship that eventually contributes to the company’s profitability and rise in performance. Stages of employee engagement It is important to understand the levels of employee engagement for adequate evaluation of the British Airways case study. Employee engagement comprises of six stages as outlined below: Basic engagement is the first stage of employee engagement. At this stage, the company focuses on using motivational factors such as clear direction, empowerment, good supervision, career development, recognition, communication as well as creating a good working environment. Most of the actions under this stage are paternalistic and involve only initiatives that at least uplift the wellbeing of employees at the company (Armstrong, 2006). Such superficial improvements do not yield many gains in productivity. At this stage, the company still experiences some complaints from the employees, especially on poor working conditions. In fact, some employees still feel undervalued, disengaged as well as having a low sense of self-worth. Ideally, this basic is often experienced in almost all workplaces as the employers maintain CIPD relationship that brings together organisational commitment, concepts of work experience, job satisfaction, and optimal experience (CIPD, 2014). The second stage is the inception of employee engagement surveys. The stage focuses on enhancing the productivity and happiness of the employees. At this stage, the company continues to fix the elements in stage one, particularly working environment (Charitou and Markides, 2012). Nevertheless, as much as the company has improved its working conditions, the employees do not still feel the ownership of the company as most of the ownership principles are concentrated towards the managerial ranks. Ideally, the stage does minimal changes to the fundamentals of the company, apart enhanced happiness and productivity of the employees. Upon leaving the company, the employees develop a feeling of career frustration due to slow career progress. Nevertheless, the employees have no power to change the operational scheme. Furthermore, the employees experience limited managerial roles and, therefore, are incapable of engaging in surveys. The third stage entails what James W. Marcum refers to as forgetting motivating and engaging the employees. Most experts consider the stage as a breakthrough to full employee engagement. At this stage, the company involve the employees in taking part in tasks, be it individually or in groups. Consequently, the employees are in a position of expressing their interests and competencies. It involves continual learning of employees although the practice is limited to equal associates. In the process of practicing their skills, the employees further develop a thinking culture of running their own businesses. It creates a paternalistic approach whereby they take the responsibility of nurturing other employees as well as shaping themselves into becoming leaders. The fourth stage is the engagement surveys. Gallup together with other companies coined the idea of engagement survey to determine the level of engagement of the employees. The stage considers the ability of employees to take individual responsibility for hitting targets, achieving goals as well exceeding the expectations of the employer. The level is one of the most satisfying and motivating as the employees build self-worth and self-confidence. At this stage, the employees tend to produce best results as they focus on the want of doing well rather than the need of doing well. The fifth and sixth stages of employee engagement entail assessing the employees to determine their level of total commitment to the company. The fifth stage involves an assessment in determining the employees’ level of engagement. The determination of the level of engagement of these employees entails the level of understanding of company goals and roles. On the other hand, the sixth stage focuses on the assessment of the importance of employee engagement to the company. Under this stage, the employees focus on achieving the company’s expected results without blaming internal factors of management. Rather, only external factors such as customers and economy are capable of hindering the achievement of the desired results. As a result, the employee engagement contributes to employee passion, creativity, innovation and excitement to continue performing company roles. Employee voice According to HR Magazine (2011), employee voice is an important component of employee engagement. It is always important for any company to listen to its employees and use their opinions in making differences in the case of need. For effective communication, a strong sense of listening from both the employer and employee is vital. The employers should actively encourage the employees to speak out and act on their views where possible. Ideally, both individual and collective voice are important in engagement (Forbes, 2014). For effective employee engagement, the employer needs to seek the views of employees or their representatives, respond to employees’ suggestions and allow employee or workers' representatives to influence ultimate judgements. The BA’s corporate strategy relating to employee engagement has been at stake for decades. In particular, in 2005, the corporation faced a challenge of deciding between Full Service Carrier (FSC) and Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) (British Airways, 2015b). The two strategies had different insights of developing human capital advantage and adopting human processes advantage. As the corporation’s management team looked into the most appropriate approach to incorporate in its undertakings, the company eliminated the employees. In fact, the company also eliminated other important employees’ organisations such as trade unions. In the end, there was an imbalance between consultation and negotiation between the employers and employees resulting in reduced profitability and share of control of the corporation in the subsequent fiscal year. The HR Magazine (2011) further asserts that a company employee is an important component of any organizational operation structure and, therefore, it is logical to engage them in company decisions. In fact, this must not be on an individual basis but rather through their employee representatives or work unions. British Airways Media Centre (2014) outlines that employee voice is important to any organization including the British Airways since it helps in knowing the undertakings within the organisation. Just as Nita Clarke, the director of the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA), denotes, the greatest barrier to employee engagement is silent working. Michael Armstrong (2006) further outlines the purposes of employee voice as; Enabling the expression of the employees’ dissatisfaction with managerial or organizational systems of the company Serving as an expression of management’s collective organisation Contributing to managerial decision making, especially on issues of work organization, quality and productivity An indicator of the mutual relationship between the employer and employee. Employee influence Employee influence entails the use of various social forces to affect the behavior of other people (Forbes, 2014). Employee influence is vital to organizational operations as they play a significant role in shaping employee engagement. Employee influence can have an impact on a company positively or negatively. For instance, in 2006, the British Airways’ cabin crew together with the staff cafes organized a strike when the corporation did cut their salaries (British Airways, 2015a). The source of the strike seemed to have been the operations manager who influenced the other employees to participate in the strike. In the recent times, British Airways has been facing significant turbulence that relates to employee influence. Consequently, this has resulted in adverse impacts on the airline limiting its bragging right of being the most preferred international air passengers. Furthermore, disputes between the employees and corporation are on the rise over pay. Employee influence comprises of five stages of employee needs as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs presents. Survival - This is the level that deals with the most basic of human needs such as food, shelter, and clothing among others (IB In business, 2012). Employee engagement plays a strong role in creating the best relationship to these factors as it affects emotions of employees. Security – Under this level, the employee influence come through organizational benefits such as pension plans, health benefits, and vacation days among others. These areas are temporary motivators. However, if taken away can cause demotivation and have an adverse impact on employee engagement (Scan Capture, 2015). Belonging - social need – The feeling that one is part of something bigger, in this study the British Airways, is a major component of building employee engagement (IB In business, 2012). Those who do not get this feeling from their place of work will get it from somewhere else such as sports teams or other teams they are a part of. Importance – Engaged employees feel that they are a vital part of the success of their organization, and their efforts show it. Often, employees like playing a role in the achievement of an organization Self – Actualization - the emphasis is on what an individual can do for others. Recognition is not needed because it is established from within the team. Findings Background of the case study company British Airways (BA) is one of the ancient corporations and flag carrier airline in the United Kingdom. By fleet size, international destinations, and flights, BA is the largest in the UK. The corporation with its headquarters in London Heathrow Airport continues to open other destinations in other places. Currently, the corporation has up to 70 destinations. Nevertheless, it continues to face stiff competition from a low-cost rival EasyJet. The formation of the BA dates back to 1974 when the British Airways was created by the merger of BOAC and BEA (British Airways Media Centre, 2014). However, it was until 1975 that the BA had a strong operational structure comprising of the British Airways Board that was in charge of controlling the policies and finances at the corporation. Information from British Airways Media Centre (2014) indicates that BA has undergone dynamic changes since its inception in an attempt to involve its employees fully in its operational structure. Likewise, the corporation has also focused on expanding its destinations considerably. For instance, on 25 August 1919, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited launched the only day-to-day international scheduled air service in the world from London to Paris. That initial flight had a single passenger at its time of taking off from Hounslow Heath. From 2010 to date, the Corporation has expanded significantly with the terminal 5C opening for business (Forbes, 2012). Moreover, London City Airport celebrates 25 years. Some of the achievements of the BA include carrying the Olympic flame of Airbus A319 known as Firefly as well as sponsoring the Olympics and Paralympics (British Airways, 2015a). Analysis of the interview with BA’s Managing Director British Airways is committed to meeting their core slogan “to fly, to serve” (British Airways, 2015a). Ideally, the focus is always on the customers whom the corporation together with its employees ensure that they make every passenger travel their priority and at the same time feel respected. In British Airways, all workers take pride in whatever they do, including working for this reputable airline that has been respected worldwide. Nevertheless, BA also focuses on its employees ensuring that every employee feels rewarded and valued within the corporation. To achieve this, the corporation continues to involve its employees in with diverse opportunities that help them develop professionally. As much as the British Airways faced a challenge of bad public perception in the past, the MD noted that the management has ensured that they have built a positive perception through offering services that have been pleasing to the clients in the many destinations across the world where they operate. The MD also asserted that there are certain challenges that the company has been facing over time since its inception of operations. Firstly, the company has been experiencing a high level of competition from other airlines that have made their edge in this industry through charging low prices. There have also been instances of rising costs of fuel and also recession that has made it essential to ensure that the ticket prices have been lowered to enhance market sustainability. However, the MD asserted their continued engagement of employees has contributed significantly to establishing a system of customer influence. Today, British Airways have gained power over the market for being one of the most reliable airlines in the world (Pagliari, 2012). This has made the company relevant in the determination of fare costs to various destinations across the world. Results from the employee survey On employee voice and influence, the results showed that company concentrated on customer feedback. Ideally, employee engagement revolves around acting on employee feedback and making employees develop a feeling of pride alongside unconfutable feelings of personal emotions (The Guardian, 2011). 63% of the employees asserted that setting goals, commitment among staff and managing people first are the leading components in establishing employee engagement at the workplace. Likewise, another 72% of the respondents asserted that employee engagement entails three facets, which include collaborative working, importance to all staff and distinct roles in supporting organisational dialog. In order to understand employee engagement within British Airways, a survey was conducted by the group. The study used questionnaires in reaching the employees in various departments of the corporation. The first study involved a group of 48 employees from the Human Resource department of the company. The study focused on understanding the management competency and power at the company. Using CIPD’s "Management competencies for enhancing employee engagement," the study concentrated on one-on-one meetings. The results of the survey focused on personal attributes rather than company objectives (CIPD, 2014). Some of the employee issues that arose from the survey included reviewing and guiding, autonomy and empowerment, feedback and praise. Ideally, competency and power of employees revolve around these factors and for a company to succeed in retaining its employees then it needs to meet them (Srivastava, 2014). It is also important to engage managers as a mechanism of a creating an employee engagement model. Managers need to have certain indirect power influence. An evaluation of power management within British Airways involved a study of 163 people in a vast fortune of 500 company. The results showed that building manager competency requires certain attributes such as trust and integrity, collaboration, teaming, self-awareness and adaptability. Ideally, for effective engagement, the employee need to see these attributes for competency management (Forbes, 2014). Conclusion Apparently, the research findings demonstrate diverse issues of employee engagement within the British Airways. It is important that a company focus on employee engagement for outstanding performance. As much as culture and commitment may contribute to the negative use of employee engagement as seen in the context of the case study, it can also result in positive employee engagement. Today, the British Airways concentrate on listening to the voices of their employees. In turn, they understand the way in which influence and power can be used to have a more positive effect. References Armstrong, M. (2006). Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page, Limited. (accessed 18th Nov 2015 Bamber, G. J., Gittell, J. H., Kochan, T. A., & Von Nordenflycht, A. (2013). Up in the air: How airlines can improve performance by engaging their employees. 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