INTRODUCTION
Employees are one of the most important parts of an organisation. Currently, managers and CEOs are dedicating their financial resources to the growth and development of their human resources, who are the employees. This is because they have known the great impact employee have when they feel motivated and impactful within an organisation. Employee engagement, which is the active involvement of employees in the business’s operations, has proven to be effective towards the company’s productivity. For instance, employees are involved in the decision-making process rather than just implementing the decisions. When employees are involved in such activities, it has proven to lead to customer satisfaction and increased sales and revenue. Therefore, companies need to invest in their employees since they hold the key to its success. In addition, some companies have incorporated employee satisfaction as part of their mission and vision, thereby emphasising the importance of employees to the organisations. Some key aspects of employee involvement are involved, such as leadership and motivation, which promotes organisational success and stakeholder satisfaction.
Employee engagement has nothing to do with how the job makes the employee feels, but it focuses on how they do their work (Ryba, 2021), the continuous process of working and the energy they give into the work. With job satisfaction, employees feel fulfilled with their current situation. The focus on employee engagement lies with how organisations will make their employees comfortable and recognised to increase productivity. But still, employee engagement goes together with job satisfaction, where when employees are involved, they feel more attached and satisfied with their job positions. The engagement theory by Kahn explains that when employees are involved in organisational operations, they invest all their energies into making sure the organisation is successful. He also stated that employee effort is both physical and emotional.
ASPECTS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
As stated earlier, the concept of employee engagement is a growing trend among new and existing companies. Studies have been conducted to prove the impact of employee engagement on the organisation by using certain aspects or frameworks. These aspects include leadership, motivation drivers, vision and mission, corporate social responsibility, communication and the organisation’s environment.
LEADERSHIP
Leadership styles influence how we are engaged in the workplace. A manager or supervisor who has a distant relationship with their employees doesn’t experience the full effort of the employees’ work. On the other hand, there is active employee engagement if a manager has a close relationship with their employees. Let’s take an example of a manager who uses a transactional leadership style. The manager only gives instructions to the employees and doesn’t want to listen to the opinions or criticism of their employees. He also expects that they will provide the best results, and those who provide less will receive some form of punishment. In this situation, employees are less involved in any decision-making process, and hence they become unengaged. But when a manager uses a transformational leadership style, the manager seeks to know the employees’ opinions, and it is more collaborative than controlling; hence, it fosters employee engagement. Therefore, it is established that to encourage employee engagement, and managers should collaborate with employees who will share their ideas with leaders and feel valued in the organisation. In addition, a more collaborative approach creates a free space for employees rather than fear of punishment.
MOTIVATIONAL DRIVERS
Motivational drivers for employees can be in the form of financial rewards, retreats, and promotions. Commonly, employees work harder and longer than the rewards they get. Similarly, some leaders give increased pay promises that they won’t fulfil. Imagine a scenario where employees of different companies who work the same hours are paid differently. Employees paid less will feel that their efforts are in vain, and some contemplate leaving the organisation. The one who is paid more feels more valued and recognised, and they become more involved in the company’s activities.
In addition, another motivation driver would be talent development and promotions. Some companies have talent development programs that foster the skills of their employees and prepare them for the next stage in their careers. Such involvement by management makes employees motivated to pour their skills into the company, giving them that platform to better themselves. This is not a financial reward, but it is an investment of the company that fosters loyalty. They also give their employees breaks through retreats to reward their hard work, which further fosters teamwork.
VISION AND MISSION
The vision and mission of a company say a lot about where a company is headed and what it stands for. Suppose a company’s values and mission align with the worker’s life and career goals. In that case, the employee feels a sense of belonging and dedicates their energy to growing the company. For instance, PWC’s core values revolve around making a global impact while being an integral company. Their vision is to “build trust in society and solve important problems.” The future is based on solving the world’s problems, and if a company is working towards making society a better place, they build a positive reputation for itself. Every employee wants to be associated with a company focused on achieving sustainable development goals.
Similarly, most people talk about how they want to change the world and work for a company that does so. Therefore, PWC employees become more engaged in their jobs because of similar goals. Furthermore, if a company’s culture is based on employee improvement for organisational success, employees become part of a culture that contributes to their growth hence increasing productivity. If employees understand their role in working towards the organisation’s goals, they deliver the skills that they know will prosper the organisation.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
As previously stated, a reputable company is admired by employees. Corporate social responsibility involves the duties of a company towards the local community. This could be through job opportunities, empowering the society financially or promoting a green environment. The focus of most companies is having a zero net emission of greenhouse gases as part of the sustainable development goals. PWC has not been left behind in achieving this goal (PWC, 2021). Employee engagement increases when employees see their CEO or managers being actively involved in the betterment of the community. They view their managers as being honest and kind to give back to the community. Especially when they see the company’s impact on the community, they become more engaged in the company.
Moreover, corporate social responsibility lies in how the managers treat the employees during the hiring process. CSR is also involved in employing young people. Companies can hire individuals who are not qualified but hardworking, and they mentor them until they are competent enough to perform their jobs independently. Employee engagement increases as they trust their leaders to give chances to community members who are not even qualified.
COMMUNICATION
Communication in an organisation is crucial as it avoids confusion. Communication in a company is a two-way process where a message is communicated, and feedback is required. For example, a company is looking to incorporate technology into its day to day operations. The managers decide that they will make this move without informing the employees, who will highly influence employees’ work. When the time to start that project starts, employees are just surprised by the changes. In this scenario, employees were left out of an important decision that would largely affect them. The workers would feel ignored and rejected and that their ideas are not important hence unengaged employees. But if they were consulted or just informed of the changes that would be happening, employees would be actively engaged in trying to go through the change process.
Similarly, it is important to communicate their needs to the company leaders through the human resources department. The HR department deals with human relations within the organisation. Suppose the HR department is effective and efficient in dealing with employee matters. In that case, employee engagement increases because they can trust the company to listen to them and adhere to their demands.
ORGANISATION’S ENVIRONMENT
An organisation’s environment consists of both internal and external environments. Other internal environment includes the company’s physical resources, such as equipment. Also, the environment can include the working conditions of the company, is there ventilation? Are there health and safety guidelines for employees? These are questions that employees become concerned about before and during their work. For instance, contractors might be concerned about whether their companies cover them in case of accidents. If they do, they trust their company more, and they become more involved in their jobs while maintaining safety themselves. Knowing that a company places its employees’ safety a priority makes employees more motivated to work in the organisation.
Similarly, a company that is well established in terms of resources such as computers and spacious offices most likely has employees who are active in their jobs than companies with limited resources space. The physical environment affects employees psychologically, and they cannot become productive if their surroundings are not conducive; therefore, for companies to have employee engagement, they have to create a conducive environment for employees that will harness their skills and creativity for the betterment of the company.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORGANISATION AND ITS STAKEHOLDERS
Employee engagement has implications for the organisations and stakeholders, such as the investors, community, and employees.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORGANISATION
Employee engagement brings plenty of advantages to the organisation. Firstly, employee engagement increases employee performance; hence, the company’s productivity increases. Engaged employees work as a team to bring the company success, a competitive advantage in the organisation’s industry—productivity within the organisation results in high profits for the business. Statistics have shown that employee engagement accounts for 21% of profits in an organisation (Beheshti, 2019). In addition, companies with employee engagement experience loyalty from their employees and low turnover. Employees will remain in a place where they feel valued; hence companies do not have to incur costs and consume time hiring. The organisation will also experience zero to little absenteeism because employees are enthusiastic about working every day (Ryba, 2021).
Moreover, engaged employees are a reflection of the organisation’s leaders. Therefore, employee engagement is a source of motivation for managers. If a departmental manager leads engaged employees, they can witness their efforts by the employees’ performance. Managers become confident in their employees’ work, and they do not have to inspect them. McGregor, in theory, Y (Juneja, 2022), emphasises that managers view their employees as hard workers and innovators, which makes them more productive.
Employee engagement also brings about smooth and successful changes within an organisation. As previously stated, employees must be involved in decision-making or when changes are happening. For instance, while using the Kubler-Ross model of change, which focuses on employees (Jouany and Martic, 2020), companies can walk through the stages until they have accepted the transition. Successful change in the organisation requires the involvement of the employees because they are the ones that will work under the new conditions.
Engaged employees provide better products and services to customers. They also serve customers well at the front desk. This is where you find that employees go beyond to make sure the customers have gotten what they need. In return, customers become pleased and loyal to the organisation. Employee engagement also means that employees have a say in how employees can better be served and how they can produce better products. Their innovative ideas could be beneficial for customers. Customer loyalty, therefore, increases the organisation’s sales hence increasing profits.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EMPLOYEES
Increased employee engagement leads to high performance from employees. This is because a high employee engagement means that employers are providing them with the opportunity to be actively involved in its operations (Mendonça et al., 2021). This enables employees to put in more work to make the organisation successful. Employees become attached to the organisation’s goals and put more effort into their work. Similarly, employee engagement leads to more rewards for the employees. Employees are putting in the effort to develop the company, and once it is recognised, they receive promotions and increase in salaries.
Employee engagement also leads to positive attitudes towards work. Employees are recognised for their work, rewarded, and receive support from their leaders. They then feel happy and satisfied with their job. They feel motivated to work not from external sources but from within themselves. Intrinsic motivation becomes their driving force to work since they know that they are appreciated. Positive attitudes towards one job and organisation continue to increase further an employee’s effort and performance in the organisation. Employee engagement also fosters a good relationship with other employees avoiding workplace conflicts.
Employee engagement is viewed as a positive concept; what could be its downsides? No studies have explicitly mentioned the disadvantages of employee engagement; however, they have pointed out if there are limits to the engagement. How far should a company go for employee engagement? Too much employee engagement leads to stress and fatigue. Many suggestions have been given concerning the army, whereby militants are expected and “forced” to work for so long under harsh environments (Johnston, 2019). This is part of why some of them develop depression and PTSD. When employees want to show their effort towards the company, they sometimes go overboard and forget to rest. The limits involved in employee engagement have also not been mentioned in most studies because it is assumed that employee engagement is a positive concept on its own. Therefore, it is important to analyse the limits of employee engagement and its relation to company ethics. Moreover, employee engagement requires a company to have finances for them to deliver the needs of the employees. For instance, renovations require a lot of money to be invested so that the company can be well ventilated. In addition, the costs incurred in training and mentoring of employees make employee engagement a challenge for companies that don’t have the financial resources.
CONCLUSION
Employee engagement is driven by leadership, motivation drivers, vision and mission, CSR, organisation’s environment, and communication which result in increased productivity for the employee and organisation. Employee engagement is the practice of involving employees in an organisation’s operations. Employee engagement provides employees with the opportunities or resources they require to develop the company. Managers can provide motivational tools such as financial rewards and promotions to increase employees’ engagement. They can also provide transformational leadership that allows employees to use their skills to be innovative. Employee engagement can also be harnessed through communication, where they feel valued when decisions are being made. Aligning the vision and values of the company with that of employees makes employees feel that they are working towards an achievable goal. Similarly, providing employees with the right environment to carry out their duties contributes as motivation for productivity. Using this driver to foster employee engagement ensures customer and employee loyalty, and it also increases the organisation’s performance. Organisations should adopt employee engagement based on the needs of their employees to achieve maximum productivity. Further studies can be done on the qualitative implications of employee engagement.
REFERENCE LIST
Beheshti, N., 2019. 10 Timely Statistics About The Connection Between Employee Engagement And Wellness. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2019/01/16/10-timely-statistics-about-the-connection-between-employee-engagement-and-wellness/?sh=7b07ed7022a0
Johnston, N., 2019. The good and bad of employee work engagement. [online] Assimilatedsafety.com. Available at: https://assimilatedsafety.com/the-good-and-bad-of-employee-engagement/
Jouany, V. and Martic, K., 2020. 5 Change Management Models to Take a Look At. [online] Blog.smarp.com. Available at: https://blog.smarp.com/5-change-management-models-to-take-a-look-at
Mendonça, P., Soares, A.D.C., Riana, G. and da Costa, C.A.D.J., 2021. The Influence of Employee Involvement, Work Environment, and Teamwork on Employee Performance (Case Study: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dili Timor-Leste). Timor Leste Journal of Business and Management, 3, pp.12-23.
PWC, 2021. Corporate responsibility. [online] PWC. Available at: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/corporate-responsibility.html
Ryba, K., 2021. What is Employee Engagement? What, Why, and How to Improve It. [online] Quantumworkplace.com. Available at: https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/what-is-employee-engagement-definition
Turley, C., 2015. The 8 elements of employee engagement. [online] Achievers. Available at: https://www.achievers.com/blog/8-elements-employee-engagement/
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