The best companies now know, without a doubt, where productivityreal and

limitless productivitycomes from. It comes from challenged, empowered, excited,

rewarded teams of people. It comes from engaging every single mind in the organization,

making everyone part of the action, and allowing everyone to have a voicea rolein

the success of the enterprise. Doing so raises productivity not incrementally, but by

multiples.

Jack Welch

Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric

Human Resources, 10 September 2003

Introduction:

It is the need of the hour that, Organizations should increasingly convert from

traditionalism to the contemporary learning and individualized corporations. With

growing opportunity and greater flow of information, employees today want to be in the

best workplaces handling the best suited responsibilities and enjoy greater autonomy.

Therefore, engaging the employees to the work as per their competency level must

occupy the centre stage not only for the HR department but also for the immediate

bosses.

The extent that an employee believes in the mission, purpose and values of an

organization and demonstrates that commitment through their actions and their attitude

towards the employer (both internal & external) will determine the employee satisfaction

towards his/her work. Employee engagement is high when the statements and

conversations held reflect a natural enthusiasm for the company, its employees and the

products or services provided.

Employee engagement is 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.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:

In other words, employee engagement can be described as:

The degree to which an employee is emotionally bonded to his/her organisation and is

passionate about the work that really matters. 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 within the organization.

Engagement can also be defined as the extent to which people enjoy and believe in what

they do and feel valued for doing it.

Employee commitment and engagement is measured by three primary behaviours

Say, Stay and Strive.

'Say' is evidently achieved if the employee consistently speaks positively about the

organisation to co-workers and refers potential employees and customers.

'Stay' refers to the employee's intensive desire to be a member of the organisation,

despite opportunities to work elsewhere.

'Strive' indicates an extra effort and behaviours that contribute to business success.

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. Employee engagement plays a greater

role in the current era where every contribution by each of the employee counts.

Employee engagement programmes throw light into the success of the company in

engaging its employees in the productive activities.

Employee engagement is not just the process of engaging the employees productively. It

also expects the organization to pave the way to ensure that the employees are motivated

to put in their best efforts for the wealth maximization. This requires building loyalty

which can inject commitment in doing quality work. The mission must be well defined

and supported by well set organizational plans and policies for its attainment. The

management is also to provide with the set of tools and material that are necessary for

performing the task effectively.

Engagement

Enjoyment

Belief Value

WHAT DOES AN ENGAGED EMPLOYEE THINK, FEEL & DO?

Various researches have been conducted in the past and all of them have one thing in

common that if an organization wants to sustain in the long run then it is really essential

for it to have an engaged workforce. Employees feel engaged when they find personal

meaning and motivation in their work, receive positive interpersonal support, and

operate in an efficient work environment. All efforts are made on maximizing employee

output and making the most of organizational resources. An engaged workforce takes an

organization to great heights.

LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT

Engaged

Work with passion

Feel connected to work, employer

Drive innovation

Not engaged

Checked out or retired on the job

Putting in their time, not their energy

Actively disengaged engaged

Interfere with others productivity

BEHAVIOURIAL

ACT

AFFECTIVE

FEEL

COGNITIVE

THINK

I understand how my unit/

department contributes to

the success of the

organization

I understand how my

role in the organization

is related to the

organizations goals,

objectives & direction.

I would recommend

my organization to a

friend as a good place

to work

I am personally

motivated to help

my organization to

be successful

I am willing to

put in a great deal

of effort beyond

what is normally

expected to help

my organization

to succeed I am proud to tell

others that I work for

my organization

ENGAGED BEHAVIOUR

High levels of effort

Persistence at difficult tasks

Providing assistance to others

Going above and beyond

Making recommendations

Expanding personal

Adapting to change

CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

According to the Gallup, the Consulting organization there is there are different types of

people:-

I. ENGAGED:

"Engaged" employees are builders. They want to know the desired expectations for their

role so that they can meet and exceed them. They are 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.

II. NOT ENGAGED:

Not-engaged employees tend to concentrate on tasks rather than the 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 feel this way because they

don't have productive relationships with their managers or with their coworkers.

III. ACTIVELY DISENGAGED:

The "Actively Disengaged" employees are the "cave dwellers." They are "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.

IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGEMENT:

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 company

products and services, and contribute to the bottom line of the business success.

They will normally perform better and are Self-Motivated.

There is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability.

They form an emotional connection with the company. This impacts their attitude

towards the companys clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and

service levels.

It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organizations strategies and

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.

Employee Engagement Begins From Day 1:

Research has proved that employee engagement begins from day one repairing

employees for their new roles and communicating how they can help the firm meets its

goals can go a long way toward determining whether new employees ultimately succeed.

The main requirement is to focus on improving communication, both to managers who

do hiring and to employee's themselves. Thus for this there should be structured

inductions.

Organizations seeking ways to build a motivated, satisfied and engaged workforce should

start by putting in place structured and well-planned orientation programmes for their

new employees.

Difference between Satisfied Workforce and Engaged Workforce.

A person who is engaged may not be satisfied while a person who is satisfied may not be

engaged. There's lot of difference between an employee being satisfied and employee

being engaged. An employee may be satisfied with the facilities that he is getting and that

would be sufficient enough to continue with the organization. On the other hand an

employee may be 100% engaged to his work yet may not be satisfied one of the reasons

could be that he does not have a supportive boss.

Engagement Is Linked To Three Essential Forces In The Organization - Attrition,

Productivity & Profitability:

Attrition is the number of people leaving the organization and it's a well-known fact that

is one of the major problem being faced by the organizations be it any sector. An engaged

workforce definitely has less chances of leaving the organization, a person who is

engaged in his work is likely to stick to the company as he offers his best and as result of

which the organizations takes due care of him in the form of hike in salary by way of

incentives and bonus.

Attrition is likely to come down in the organization, which have engaged workforce and

this will get in the likely benefits for the organization.

Productivity is the output of the workers in the form of work done by them its not the

quantity that matters it's the quality that is of importance for the organization. An

engaged workforce has an understanding of what is expected of them at work so thus

they are able to carry on their task effectively and efficiently thus adding to the

productivity of the organization and thus adding to the growth and success of the

organization.

Profitability is the ability of a company to earn a profit. It is a relative measure of success

for a business. Research has proved that an engaged workforce is likely to result in an

increase in the profitability of the concern as they have complete dedication and

commitment to their work and thus this is likely to result in an increase in the profit of

the concern and thus ensuring the success of the organization.

The organizations now days take all reasonable steps to ensure that they have engaged

workforce like organizing birthday bashes, talent shows, sports activities and many other

things. They want their employees to be committed to their work fully besides all the

above activities they also make sure that the employees have role clarity, get all the

material and equipment they require to perform their work efficiently etc.

DETERMINING ENGAGEMENT

The employee must feel that there is somebody in the organizations who cares for him

and wants his success and growth. In all this we referring to the 12 questions that Gallup

uses for studying the engagement level of employees in the organization.

Gallup is an organization that studies the engagement level of the employees.

1. I know what is expected of me at work.

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.

3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

7. At work, my opinions seem to count.

8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

10. I have a best friend at work.

11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Thus if you want the success of your organization and see it reaching great heights all

you need is an engaged workforce, i.e. all you need is justifiable answers to the above 12

questions.

Most organizations have today realized that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the

best employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an Engaged Employee who

is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization who feels passionate about

its goals and is committed towards its values thus he goes the extra mile beyond the basic

job.

FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Workplace Culture

Organizational Communication

Managerial Styles

Leadership

Company Reputation

Access to Training & Career Opportunities

Work/ life Balance

Personal Empowerment

DIMENSIONS RELATED TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

1. Physical dimension

Levels of energy or effort

Persistence

2. Emotional dimension

Enthusiasm and inspiration

Sense of significance, pride, and challenge

Feelings about job, supervisor, management, organization

3. Intellectual dimension

Mental focus

Level of concentration

Absorption in tasks

Beliefs about organization, leaders, workplace culture

LEVERAGING ENGAGEMENT

I. Job and task design

II. Recruitment and selection

III. Training and development

IV. Performance management

V. Compensation

I. Job and task design

Motivational characteristics of work

Skill variety

Task significance

Autonomy

Performance feedback

Social characteristics of work

Interdependence of job roles

Feedback from others

Advice and support of coworkers

II. Recruitment and selection Recruitment selection

Target recruitment

Choose best-suited candidates

III. Training and development

Employee orientation

Knowledge and skills training

IV. Performance management

Set challenging goals

Provide positive feedback and recognition for accomplishments

Resolve performance problems

V. Compensation

Incentive pay

Flexible benefits

VI. Managers behaviors

Commitment to diversity

Responsible for success/failure

Honesty and integrity

Problem solving assistance

Respect for employees

Setting realistic expectations

Passion for success

Defending employees

BARRIERS TO ENGAGEMENT

Outside of local control

Damaging to employees and customers

Emphasize control of employee behavior

Barriers can be removed

Root causes:

Fear

Flow of information

Organizational alignment

Reward system

Short term focus

INCREASING ENGAGEMENT:

Communicate organizational goals and objectives

Promote employee engagement culture

Align day to day work with organizational goals

Maintain open dialogue

Reward supportive behavior

Listen to employees

Provide challenges and opportunities

Do a pulse check

Hold managers accountable

Let employees know how they can contribute

Genuinely thank employees