Motivation and Employee Development
Employee development refers to initiatives taken by organizations to constantly enhance their employees’ skills and upgrade their existing knowledge with time. Employee development activities and trainings make an individual self dependent and prepare him/her for unforeseen circumstances. Employees as a result of trainings can deliver their level best and contribute more effectively towards the organization. […]
Role of Motivation in Employee Relationship
A healthy employee relationship leads to an increased level of satisfaction among the employees and in turn an increased productivity. Workplace becomes a much happier place and employees tend to concentrate more on work rather than unproductive things. Motivation plays an important role in a healthy employee relationship. A motivated employee works better and at […]
Principles of Talent Management
There are no hard and fast rules for succeeding in execution of management practices, if you ask me. What may work wonders for one organization may ruin another one! For convenience sake however there are certain principles of Talent Management that one should follow or keep in mind. Principle 1 – Avoid Mismatch Costs In […]
Reasons for Failure of Participative Management
Participative management is an effective decision making tool. It is often the managers who implement it the wrong way. Participative management calls for a change and this change can not come overnight. You require patience and consistency before employees realize the usefulness of the management style. There are other problems that often arise with the […]
Role of Managers in Performance Management
The success of performance management practices in any organization depend upon the commitment and involvement of the different stakeholders like top management, line managers, employees and the HR specialists. Role of Top Managers in Performance Management The top managers play a lead in the entire process by setting trends for the lower rung and acting […]
Organizations have come to realize that in today’s constantly changing business scenario, the most valuable resource that needs to be leveraged is human resource. This means not just attracting the creme-de-la-creme and retaining them but keeping them motivated and committed to achieving the organization goals.
Though Employee Engagement (EE) as a business buzzword has generated research and steam since the new economy service industries like IT (Information Technology) and ITES (IT enables services) have taken off, the origins of engagement are as old as mankind itself.
We shall try and decode and define employee engagement as used and implemented by organizations today by looking at the very origins of engagement practices.
History records that about 2300 years ago, Alexander (356 BC – 323 BC) was able to march ahead and conquer unknown lands by battling for years across continents, miles away from home, because he had an engaged army that was willing to abide by its commander.
Alexander is known to have achieved the engaged workforce by ensuring that he spent face time with his men, listening and addressing grievance, ensuring on time payment of salary, dressing like the rest of his army and most importantly by leading from front.
More recently, in World War II, Americans funded a lot of money for researching the behaviour of its soldiers to be able to predict their battle readiness.
History is dotted with examples of leaders who have led their men by building a psychological commitment between their men and their ideology to achieve greatness. In this psychological contract lies the roots of today’s Employee Engagement theories propounded by organizations.
An engaged workforce produces better business results, does not hop jobs and more importantly is an ambassador of the organization at all points of time. This engagement is achieved when people consider their organization respects their work, their work contributes to the organization goals and more importantly their personal aspirations of growth, rewards and pay are met.
The Hay Group defines enagaged performance as “a result that is achieved by stimulating employees’ enthusiasm for their work and directing it toward organization success. This result can only be achieved when employers offer an implicit contract to their employees that elicits specific positive behaviours aligned with organization’s goals...”
Lanphear defines EE as “the bond employees have with their organization” Lanphear further espouses that “when employees really care about the business, they are more likely to go the extra mile.”
The definitions, as seen, focus on employer as well as the employee. Today’s millennial workforce is more informed, connected, willing to work given learning opportunities. Personal growth, opportunities to learn and explore is becoming a primary driver. Equity more then pay is a driving force. Catering to the changing needs to foster engaged employees is the need of the hour.
In conclusion, understanding employee engagement drivers, measuring and enhancing engagement offers promise of better business performance by ambassadors of the organization who work like entrepreneurs and help sustain organization growth through innovation and lower employee turnover.
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