Employee Engagement - In global perspective

Employee Engagement In global perspective Sharif Mohammad Tasneem Alam Maria Tasnim Meem Students of BBA This report carries research on employee, engagement thus employee engagement and measurements, benefits of measurements with problems and solutions in the field of subject. ABSTRACT This paper tried to investigate about Employee engagement. We tried to describe the definitions of Employee engagement. According to the findings we tried to discuss the benefits of Employee engagement. Additionally, we tried to define the measurements of Employee Engagement and benefits of measuring Employee engagement. We attempted to research some brief facts on global engagement and also challenges in employee engagement and recommendations. In the conclusion part we tried to brief information of all topic of this paper. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Employee 1 Engagement 1 Employee engagement 1 Background 3 The Benefits of Employee Engagement 3 Employee Engagement measurement 3 Benefits of Measuring Employee Engagement 4 The Problem and recommendations of Employee Engagement 5 Here are some brief facts on global engagement 5 Challenges in Employee engagement 5 Recommendations from our perspectives 6 Conclusion 7 References 8  Introduction Employee An employee is an individual who was hired by an employer to do a specific job. The employee is hired by the employer after an application and interview process results in his or her selection as an employee. This selection occurs after the applicant is found by the employer to be the most qualified applicant to do the job. (Heathfield, 2018 ) An employee is hired for a specific job or to provide labor and who works in the service of someone else (the employer). (Murray, 2018) Engagement Engagement is described in HR literature as: the enthusiasm that employees feel with regards to their work (1). Engagement is the degree to which employees are passionate about their work and devote themselves to their work. Engaged employees go the extra mile to contribute to the success of your organization. In short, engagement means that employees work and express themselves in a physical, cognitive and emotional manner (2). (Smith, 2018) A job or period of employment especially as a performer (Definition of engagement, n.d.) Employee engagement According to Maslach, engagement is characterized by energy, involvement, and efficacy, the direct opposite of the three burn out dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. (Maslach, 2001) A positive, fulfilling, and work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. (SALANOVA, 2002) Perrin’s Global Workforce Study (2003) uses the definition “employees’ willingness and ability to help their company succeed, largely by providing discretionary effort on a sustainable basis.” (Perrin, 2003) IES defines engagement as ’a positive attitude held by the employee towards the 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.’ (D Robinson, The Drivers of Employee Engagement, 2004) Gallup organization defines employee engagement as the involvement with and enthusiasm for work. (Gallup, n.d.) Employee engagement is defined as “a distinct and unique construct consisting of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that are associated with individual role performance” by Saks. (Saks, 2006) Employee engagement is an undeniable dominant source of competitive advantage at all levels. (Schwartz, 2007) As suggested by Endres and Mancheno-Smoak (2008), to define engagement in clear terms to avoid interpretation by subsequent users giving to the construct different meanings. (Mancheno-Smoak, 2008) Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward their places of work. Employee engagement is not the same thing as happiness, satisfaction, or well-being. (Thompson, 2018 ) Employee engagement is the level of personal investment a person has in his or her work. (Sumitani, 2018) Engaged employees are those who are totally absorbed in their work, working longer and harder, taking on additional assignments and all focused on the needs of the organization. (11 Factors Affecting Employee Engagement, n.d.) Background The Benefits of Employee Engagement Studies show that an engaged workforce is likely to be a high-performing workforce. A 2015 Aon Hewitt report notes that their research found “a 5% increase in employee engagement is linked to a 3% increase in revenue growth in the subsequent year.” Further, engaged employees tend to have lower rates of absenteeism. A collection of statistics about employee engagement published in Forbes notes that “engaged employees in the UK take an average of 2.69 sick days per year; the disengaged take 6.19.” (Hendy-Ford, 2016) The global business world has changed significantly in recent years. Multinationals previously measured their success and value almost solely in terms of machinery and products. Today, by contrast, most multinationals — particularly those in the software industry — see significant value in their employees’ knowledge, expertise and, importantly, wisdom (including a deep understanding of human relationships that is gained from experience). In other words, employers are increasingly recognizing the importance of their employees, and they’re taking action. According to Hay Group, their research demonstrates that “highly engaged employees are 2.5 times more likely to exceed performance expectations than their disengaged colleagues.” 94% of the most admired global companies believe that their efforts to engage employees have a direct link to the success of their businesses. (Hendy-Ford, 2016) Employee Engagement measurement Traditional Models The original model’s employee engagement use variations on a single theme: “say, stay, strive.” In other words, they look at how likely employees are to speak highly of their employer, how long employees plan to stay at the organization, and how likely employees are to go the extra mile for their organization. (Thompson, 2018 ) E9: The Modern Model of Employee Engagement As the employee engagement field evolved, it became clear that older surveys and models were inaccurate at worst and cursory at best. Using data from over 8,000 organizations and a team of dedicated industrial and organizational psychologists, Quantum Workplace developed a new model that mirrored the developments in the study of employee engagement: the e9 Engagement Model. The e9 Model looks at nine engagement outcomes, each a measurement of engagement at a different structural level. (Thompson, 2018 ) The e9 survey includes two types of items: 1. Engagement Outcomes These nine items measure the strength of employee engagement. You cannot take a single, direct action to influence an engagement outcome, as multiple cultural diagnostics can impact one engagement outcome. (Thompson, 2018 ) 2. Cultural Diagnostics Cultural diagnostics evaluate the actual activities happening in the office, such as leadership, professional development, support, and more. Multiple cultural diagnostics influence an individual engagement outcome. (Thompson, 2018 ) One tried and tested method of measuring employee engagement is to conduct a survey to determine employee opinions of the employment relationship. Another method is to assess a business’ performance-review process and its HR key performance indicators, including the number of departing employees and reasons for leaving, along with new-hire rates. Assessment results often provide great insight into an organization’s employee engagement levels. Global employers may see stark differences in survey and assessment results between different cultural groups within the wider workplace. Any action plans based on these results should account for these differences. (Hendy-Ford, 2016) Benefits of Measuring Employee Engagement Solve Problems Before They Worsen Employ Empathy and Build Trust Make Morale Share Insights Transparently Opportunity for Improvement Take Action When it Matters Look for Trends Keep the Positive Flow Going (Craig, 2018) The Problem and recommendations of Employee Engagement Here are some brief facts on global engagement Just two-thirds of employees worldwide are engaged. Company loyalty is at a five (5) year low. More than 40 percent of the global workforce intends to leave their current employer within five (5) years. Employee engagement across the world has stagnated at 2008 levels (Vilet, 2012) Challenges in Employee engagement Corporates treat engagement as a routine activity just to allure employees for some time from their work and act as an eye-wash by management. (Mohapatra, n.d.) Basic needs (as per Maslow’s’ Theory) say of, competitive salary packages and job security are not being considered leading to demotivation. (Mohapatra, n.d.) Job insecurity: fear of job loss is particularly likely during a recession demotivate employees. (Markwick, 2009) Unfairness, particularly in reward and pay systems demotivate employees. (Markwick, 2009) Managers and professionals tend to have higher engagement levels than their colleagues in supporting roles, although people in the latter group appear to owe greater loyalty to their profession than to the organization in which they practice their craft. (D Robinson, The Drivers of Employee Engagement, 2004) Having an accident or an injury at work, or experiencing harassment (particularly if the manager is the source of the harassment) both have a big negative impact on engagement. (D Robinson, The Drivers of Employee Engagement, 2004) What to do and why? Lack of proper instructions of works and goals to be achieved sometimes are not clear and employees sometime don’t know what to do and this demotivate them thus can’t be engaged into work. (Dr. Chris Bart, 2012) Develop and train: Lack of career development and training opportunities demotivate employees and disengaged them into organizations. (Dr. Chris Bart, 2012) Recommendations from our perspectives Corporates should take employee engagement as long term factor and all time activity. Corporates should provide competitive salary packages and job security to motivate thus employee engagement. Employees should be made aware of the fact that their jobs are secured to certain extents and made engaged to their works accordingly. Employees should be given incentives and rewards for their works to keep them engaged to their works. Employees who are in supporting roles of managers and professionals are to be appraised and rewarded and should be given importance to be more engaged as their managers and professionals are. Effective monitoring procedures should be maintained to see if managers are harassing their subordinates and victims of accidents are not to be overlooked in the process. Employees should be provided with proper instruction of what to do and why to do for their personal and organizational benefits. Career development opportunities and trainings motivate employees into work as they see it as future proofing of job security and thus employees should be given training programs and career development programs. Conclusion Employee engagement means a commitment that has taken between employees and their organizations to achieve the goals. Employees are deeply engaged in their work by working longer and harder and focused on goals of the organizations. The benefits of employee engagement are in the high performance of employees. Most of the global companies have direct connection with employees to reach their business goals. Employee engagement measurement includes traditional models, e9 the modern model of employee engagement and there are some benefits of measuring employee engagement too. There are two types of e9 survey includes - engagement outcomes and cultural diagnostics. There are some brief facts on global engagement. There are huge challenges in employee engagement and effective measures should be taken by corporations to overcome the challenges. References 11 Factors Affecting Employee Engagement. (n.d.). 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