Introduction –Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is now a management topic and one which has quickly absorbed into the HR agenda. It is a key challenge which is capturing the attention of executives and HR professionals (Soldati, 2007; HR Focus, 2006) and, increasingly, the acceptance of academics. As cited by Armstrong ,(2010) ,The concept of employee engagement has attracted a lot of attention recently. Reilly and Brown (2008) noted that the terms ‘job satisfaction’, ‘motivation’ and ‘commitment’ are generally being replaced now in business by ‘engagement’ because it appears to have more descriptive force and face validity.

As Emmott (2006, p153) commented, ‘Employee engagement has become a new Organizations and People management mantra – and it’s not difficult to see why. Engaged employees – those who feel positive about their jobs – perform better for their employers and can promote their organization as “an employer of choice”.’ According to the CIPD (2012, p13) ‘Engagement has become for practitioners an umbrella concept for capturing the various means by which employers can elicit additional or discretionary effort from employees – a willingness on the part of staff to work beyond contract.

Markos & Sridevi (2010) exhibit employee engagement as a two way process in which organization provides employee the opportunity to grow, encourage them to speak, motivate them to flourish and eventually develop a psychological bond with the organization. Employee engagement is directly proportional to the performance of organization, employee retention, productivity and profitability. Hence, its significance is eminent and its link with employee development has been established through the literature. White (2017) states that employee-engagement tend to develop a mutual relationship between employee and organization which is beneficial to both. It aligns the needs of organization and expectations of employees. Best organization keeps their employee engage. The report establishes that employees perform at higher level when organization keeps them engaged.

Deloitte (2017) describes that extensive development opportunities reduces turnover rate. The research establishes a correlation between employee retention and employee engagement. Irresistible place to work enhance the performance of individuals as well as organizations. The study maintains two dimensions of engage path: growth opportunity and meaningful work; which identify the professional development, continuous learning and career progression. One of the key method, the study establishes is employee development. Smith & Markwick (2009) designate certain factors inevitable to establish employee engagement for example excellent line management, effective communication, active team work, attention on employee growth, pledge to employees, extrinsic HR policies etc.

References

Armstrong, M. (2010) Armstrong’s Essential Human Resource Management Practice: A Guide to People Management. 1^st edition. New Delhi India: Kogan Page Limited.

Deloitte, 2017. Employee engagement reimagined for higher education. Deloitte.

Emmott, M. (2010), "Employee engagement is a strategic issue", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 9 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209cab.011

Markos ,S & Sridevi,S.M.(2010) Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance. International Journal of Business and Management,5 (12) 89-96. [Online] Available: www.accordsyst.com/papers/engagement_wp.pdf.[Accessed 29 Sep 2018]

Reilly, M.C., Gerlier, L., Brabant, Y. and Brown, M. (2008). Validity, reliability, and responsiveness of the work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire in Crohn’s disease. Clinical Therapeutics

Smith, G. R. and Markwick, C. (2009) Employee Engagement A review of current thinking. UK: INSTITUTE FOR EMPLOYMENT STUDIES. 

Soldati P (2007), ʹEmployee engagement: what exactly is it?ʹ, www.management‐ issues.com/2007/3/8/opinion/employee‐engagement‐what‐exactly‐is‐it.asp

White B, 2017. Forget about engagement; let's talk about great days at work.