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WPS05

Employee Engagement

SIES College of Management Studies

Working Paper Series

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specific areas and also to facilitate discussions and sharing of perspectives and

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should be cited accordingly. The views, findings, and interpretations expressed in this

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permission of the author. However, they can be quoted by citing the reference.2

Working Paper 05/07

Employee Engagement

Nitin Vazirani

Dean in OB and HR

SIES College of Management Studies

Nerul

[email protected]

Abstract

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. It is a positive attitude held by the employees towards the

organization and its values. The paper focuses on how employee engagement is an

antecedent of job involvement and what should company do to make the employees

engaged. The paper also looks at the Gallup 12 point questionnaire, twelve-question

survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement and the steps which shows

how to drive an engaged employee.3

Introduction

Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn, (1990) as the ‘harnessing of

organizational members’ selves to their work roles. In engagement, people employ and

express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.

The second related construct to engagement in organizational behavior is the notion of

flow advanced by Csikszentmihalyi (1975, 1990). Csikzentmihalyi (1975) defines flow as

the ‘holistic sensation’ that, people feel when they act with total involvement. Flow is

the state in which there is little distinction between the self and environment. When

individuals are in Flow State little conscious control is necessary for their actions.

Employee engagement is the thus 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. 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 with the

organization

Engagement is most closely associated with the existing construction of job involvement

(Brown 1996) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Job involvement is defined as ‘the

degree to which the job situation is central to the person and his or her identity (Lawler &

Hall, 1970). Kanungo (1982) maintained that job involvement is a ‘Cognitive or belief
state of Psychological identification. Job involvement is thought to depend on both need

saliency and the potential of a job to satisfy these needs. Thus job involvement results

form a cognitive judgment about the needs satisfying abilities of the job. Jobs in this view

are tied to one’s self image. Engagement differs from job in as it is concerned more with

how the individual employees his/her self during the performance of his / her job.

Furthermore engagement entails the active use of emotions. Finally engagement may be

thought of as an antecedent to job involvement in that individuals who experience deep

engagement in their roles should come to identify with their jobs.4

When Kahn talked about employee engagement he has given important to all three

aspects physically, cognitively and emotionally. Whereas in job satisfaction importance

has been more given to cognitive side.

HR practitioners believe that the engagement challenge has a lot to do with how

employee feels about the about work experience and how he or she is treated in the

organization. It has a lot to do with emotions which are fundamentally related to drive

bottom line success in a company. There will always be people who never give their best

efforts no matter how hard HR and line managers try to engage them. “But for the most

part employees want to commit to companies because doing so satisfies a powerful and a

basic need in connect with and contribute to something significant”.

Aspects of Employee Engagement

Three basic aspects of employee engagement according to the global studies are:-

· The employees and their own unique psychological make up and experience

· The employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee

engagement

· Interaction between employees at all levels.

Thus it is largely the organization’s responsibility to create an enviro nment and culture
conducive to this partnership, and a win-win equation.

Categories of Employee Engagement

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

people:-

Engaged--"Engaged" employees are builders. They want to know the desired

expectations for their role so they can meet and exceed them. They're 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 forward5

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.

Actively Disengaged--The "actively disengaged" employees are the "cave dwellers."

They're "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

Engagement is important for managers to cultivate given that disengagement or

alienation is central to the problem of workers’ lack of commitment and motivation

(Aktouf). Meaningless work is often associated with apathy and detachment from ones

works (Thomas and Velthouse). In such conditions, individuals are thought to be

estranged from their selves (Seeman, 1972) .Other Research using a different resource of

engagement (involvement and enthusiasm) has linked it to such variables as employee

turnover, customer satisfaction – loyalty, safety and to a lesser degree, productivity and

profitability criteria (Harter, Schnidt & Hayes, 2002).6

An organization’s 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

and its products and services, and contribute to bottom line business success.

· They will normally perform better and are more 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 company’s clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and

service levels

· It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organization’s 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. In the

workplace research on employee engagement (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002) have

repeatedly asked employees ‘whether they have the opportunity to do what they do best

everyday’. While one in five employees strongly agree with this statement. Those work

units scoring higher on this perception have substantially higher performance.

Thus employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued

employees. The Watson Wyatt consulting companies has been proved that there is an

intrinsic link between employee engagement, customer loyalty, and profitability. 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.’ 7

Factors Leading to Employee EngagementStudies have shown that there are some critical factors
which lead to Employee

engagement. Some of them identified are

Career Development- Opportunities for Personal Development

Organizations with high levels of engagement provide employees with opportunities to

develop their abilities, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and realise their

potential. When companies plan for the career paths of their employees and invest in

them in this way their people invest in them.

Career Development – Effective Management of Talent

Career development influences engagement for employees and retaining the most

talented employees and providing opportunities for personal development.

Feeling

valued

&

Involved

Career Development- Opportunities

for personal development

Career Development – Effective

Management of talent

Leadership- Clarity of company

values

Leadership – Respectful treatment

of employees

Leadership – Company’s standards

of ethical behavior

Empowerment

Image

Equal opportunities & fair treatment

Performance Appraisal

Pay & benefits

Health & Safety

Job satisfaction

Communication

Family friendliness

Co-operation8

Leadership- Clarity of Company Values

Employees need to feel that the core values for which their companies stand are

unambiguous and clear.

Leadership – Respectful Treatment of Employees

Successful organizations show respect for each employee’s qualities and contribution –

regardless of their job level.

Leadership – Company’s Standards of Ethical Behaviour

A company’s ethical stand ards also lead to engagement of an individual

Empowerment

Employees want to be involved in decisions that affect their work. The leaders of highengagement
workplaces create a trustful and challenging environment, in which

employees are encouraged to dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy and to input and

innovate to move the organization forward.

Image

How much employees are prepared to endorse the products and services which their

company provides its customers depends largely on their perceptions of the quality of

those goods and services. High levels of employee engagement are inextricably linked

with high levels of customer engagement.

Other factors

Equal Opportunities and Fair Treatment

The employee engagement levels would be high if their bosses (superiors) provide equal

opportunities for growth and advancement to all the employees

Performance appraisal

Fair evaluation of an employee’s performance is an important criterion for determining

the level of employee engagement. The company which follows an appropriate

performance appraisal technique (which is transparent and not biased) will have high

levels of employee engagement.9

Pay and Benefits

The company should have a proper pay system so that the employees are motivated to

work in the organization. In order to boost his engagement levels the employees should

also be provided with certain benefits and compensations.

Health and Safety

Research indicates that the engagement levels are low if the employee does not feel

secure while working. Therefore every organization should adopt appropriate methods

and systems for the health and safety of their employees.

Job Satisfaction

Only a satisfied employee can become an engaged employee. Therefore it is very

essential for an organization to see to it that the job given to the employee matches his

career goals which will make him enjoy his work and he would ultimately be satisfied

with his job.

Communication

The company should follow the open door policy. There should be both upward and

downward communication with the use of appropriate communication channels in the

organization. If the employee is given a say in the decision making and has the right to be

heard by his boss than the engagement levels are likely to be high.

Family Friendliness

A person’s fa mily life influences his wok life. When an employee realizes that the

organization is considering his family’s benefits also, he will have an emotional

attachment with the organization which leads to engagement

Co-operation

If the entire organization works together by helping each other i.e. all the employees as

well as the supervisors co-ordinate well than the employees will be engaged.10

How to measure Employee Engagement?

Gallup research consistently confirms that engaged work places compared with least

engaged are much more likely to have lower employee turnover, higher than average

customer loyalty, above average productivity and earnings. These are all good things that

prove that engaging and involving employees make good business sense and building
shareholder value. Negative workplace relationships may be a big part of why so many

employees are not engaged with their jobs.

Step I: Listen

The employer must listen to his employees and remember that this is a continuous

process. The information employee’s supply will provide direction . This is the only way

to identify their specific concerns. When leaders listen, employees respond by becoming

more engaged. This results in increased productivity and employee retention. Engaged

employees are much more likely to be satisfied in their positions, remain with the

company, be promoted, and strive for higher levels of performance.

Step II: Measure current level of employee engagement

Employee engagement needs to be measured at regular intervals in order to track its

contribution to the success of the organisation.

But measuring the engagement (feedback through surveys) without planning how to

handle the result can lead employees to disengage. It is therefore not enough to feel the

pulse—the action plan is just as essential.

Knowing the Degree in which Employees Are Engaged?

Employee engagement satisfaction surveys determine the current level of employee

engagement. A well-administered satisfaction survey will let us know at what level of

engagement the employees are operating. Customizable employee surveys will provide

with a starting point towards the efforts to optimize employee engagement.

The key to successful employee satisfaction surveys is to pay close attention to the

feedback from the staff. It is important that employee engagement is not viewed as a one-11

time action. Employee engagement should be a continuous process of measuring,

analyzing, defining and implementing.

The employee survey is a diagnostic tool of choice in the battle for the hearts of
employees. Studies of Gallup, Mercer, Hewitt and Watson Wyatt (consulting companies)

asked workers number of questions relating to their job satisfaction. Gallup being one of

oldest the consulting organisation {in conducting engagement survey} creates a feedback

system for employers that would identify and measure elements of worker engagement

most tide to the bottom line. Things such as sales, growth, productivity and customer

loyalty are all accessed. After Hundreds of focus group and thousands of interviews with

employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with Q. 12, a twelve-question

survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. They have identified 12

questions that most effectively measure the links (the Gallup Q12).

1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

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

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

5. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about you as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

7. At work, do your opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

9. Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

10. Do you have a best friend at work?

11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress? 12

12. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The interpretation of the questionnaire and one of the companys engagement level is

summarized in the table below.

Some of the discussions which come from Gallup’s questions are: -

Know what is expected of me at work- employees should know exactly what is expected
of them. If expectations are unclear, employees will inevitably face frustration, and will

be open for other opportunities where they do know what's expected of them, and whree

their contributions are measured and recognized.

Materials and equipment- Employees need the right tools and equipment to support their

skills, experience and talents & perform their jobs at an optimum level.

Do what I do best every day - Are your employees cast in the right roles? Knowing the

critical demands for every role is a key to ensuring that talents fit those demands.13

Supervisor/Someone at work cares -Managers must spend most of their time with their

most productive talent. Many managers give their greatest degree of attention to

employees who are falling behind. Talented, productive people crave time and attention

from their managers, and will leave your company if they have a weak relationship (or no

relationship) with their manager or supervisor.

Co-workers committed to quality.-Many companies arbitrarily put teams together without

considering that employees only psychologically commit to teams if they perceive their

team members will support their high level of commitment and performance. Talented

employees set high standards and depend upon those around them to support their growth

toward excellence.

Opportunities to learn and grow- The Company should create an environment that

encourages employees to drive towards innovation or to create better systems for more

productive results. Great managers always ask what skills and knowledge need to

accompany talent to result in the greatest outcome for each

As discussed the Gallup study Q12 is based on positive Psychology and emotions.

Having a best friend at work or receiving recognition every week makes you feel cared

for and proud respectively. If you want to keep recreating those positive emotions, then

you keep coming back to work.

So the Q. 12 measures engagement, and engagement is a positive emotional connection

to the work. Thus the mechanism of the broaden- and – build theories and the action

tendencies of positive emotions help in understanding why the Q. 12 has been so

powerful for Gallup in terms of predicting outcomes. Borden – and Build theory is about

evolutionary significance of positive emotions. Positive emotions are better observed

over the long haul. Their effects accumulate and compound overtime and the adaptive

benefits are evident from later, when people face new challenges. The Gallup research

has thus made a contribution in adding an additional ‘P’ to the 4 P’s of marketing i.e.

product, price, and promotion place and now people to the mix. In the combination of 14

engaged employees, Gallup brings engaged customers to form the concept of human

sigma. These include customer engagement, loyalty and emotional attachment. Customer

engagement hierarchy, customer engagement scores and developing the culture of

engagement and customer focus. The Gallup Organization decided to initiate a multi-year

research project to try and define a great workplace - a great workplace was one where

employees were satisfied with their jobs and this thus helps to produce positive business

outcomes.

According to the study of Watson Wyatt, the service – profit chain establishes

relationship between profitability, customer loyalty and employee satisfaction, loyalty

and productivity. The links in the chain (which should be regarded as propositions) are as

follows: profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty. Loyalty is a

direct result of customer’s satisfaction. Satisfaction is largely influenced by the services

provided to customers. Satisfied, loyal and productive employees create value.

Employee’s satisfaction inturn results primari ly from high quality support services and

policies that enable employees to deliver results to customers. While many organizations

are beginning to measure relationship between individual links in the service only a few
have related the links in the meaningful ways that can lead to comprehensive strategies

for achieving lasting competitive advantage of building employee engagement. In a study

of its seven telephone customer service centers (MCI found that there is a clear

relationship between employee’s perceptions of the quality of services and employee

engagement.

Step II1: - Identify the problem areas

Identify the problem areas to see which are the exact areas, which lead to disengaged

employees

Step IV: Taking action to improve employee engagement by acting upon the

problem areas

Nothing is more discouraging to employees than to be asked for their feedback and see

no movement toward resolution of their issues. Even the smallest actions taken to address

concerns will let the staff know how their input is valued. Feeling valued will boost 15

morale, motivate and encourage future input. Taking action starts with listening to

employee feedback and a definitive action plan will need to be put in place finally.

Conclusion

Employee Engagement is the buzz word term for employee communication. It is a

positive attitude held by the employees towards the organization and its values. It is

rapidly gaining popularity, use and importance in the workplace and impacts

organizations in many ways.

Employee engagement emphasizes the importance of employee communication on the

success of a business. An organization should thus recognize employees, more than any

other variable, as powerful contributors to a company's competitive position.Therefore

employee engagement should be a continuous process of learning, improvement,

measurement and action.

We would hence conclude that raising and maintaining employee engagement lies in the

hands of an organization and requires a perfect blend of time, effort, commitment and

investment to craft a successful endeavor.16

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