Drivers of Employee Engagement
According to many studies, a devoted employee would perform one step higher than the others (Robinson, Perryman and Hayday, 2004). Training and development increase the efficiency in operations, resulting in higher overall performance where ultimate outcomes benefit the employer (Nawaz et al., 2014). Further, Rawas and Seddaway (2015) stated that the capacity to encourage and inspire people so offering praise in feedback little and frequently builds an excellent leader (Rawas and Seddaway, 2015).
The key driver
The key driver of engagement is a sense of feeling of appreciation and engagement. This key driver makes real sense, given that the components of ‘feeling valued and involved’ indicate multiple elements to which previously recognised as essential to engagement (Robinson, Perryman and Hayday, 2004).
- Involvement in decision-making.
- The extent to which employees feel able to voice their ideas, and managers listen to these views and value employees ‘contributions.
- The opportunities employees have to develop their jobs.
- The extent to which the organisation is concerned for employees’ health and well-being.
Employee engagement is influenced by several factors that must be understood. The followings are a few key drivers. (Bailey et al., 2013).
- Job challenge - Challenging employment allows staff to build, develop, and gain skills pertinent to an individual’s professional environment and personal growth.
- Autonomy - This offers the right or condition of self-government. Allow workers to perform their duties in their way, complying with the rules and regulations.
- Variety - Being able to undertake various tasks that need different skill levels that make the work enjoyable.
- Feedback - Providing frequent feedback to the staff regarding the efficacy of their performances.
- Fit - The compatibility between the employee and the work environment helps employees working manner.
Siddhanta and Roy (2010) also added more aspects that lead to employee engagement, such as respect, transparency, recognition and incentives, Leadership, clarity in defining objectives, enablement to do the task, and motivation.
Five powerful drivers identified in employee engagement (Singh, 2016)
2 - Training & development
3 - Support to balance the work-life
4 - To develop personally and professionally
(Singh, 2019) stated that research has revealed that employee engagement is intimately related to numerous critical aspects in terms of drivers. These are,
- Employee’s view on the organisation.
- Trust based on prior heuristics.
- Tasks related to the present work function.
- Managers and their interaction with workers.
- Team environment.
- Enablement of personal employee growth.
- Enablement of employee development.
Research by Aon Hewitt (2015) has identified an employee’s engagement as an employee’s intellectual and emotional condition, which simulates the individual to function in an optimal efficiency (Kanwar, Soni and Sharma, 2017). As Kanwar et al. (2017) mentioned, Aon Hewitt (2015) has also developed a model that depicts engaged employees in 3 primary behaviours, as displayed in the graphic below. These behaviours are defined as “Say, Stay and Strive.”
Figure : 1
Aon Hewitt’s Employee
Engagement Model
Source: (AON Hewitt, 2015)
Aon Hewitt (2015) describes an engaged employee as someone who speaks positively about the organisation and would not hesitate to recommend it. The employee intends to have long-term plans within the organisation with minimum intention to leave. Also, the engagement employee is highly energetic to put an extra effort in making a successful outcome to the organisation.
Employees are the prime asset of any firm as nothing could be
replaced with intellectual capacities. The total potential capacity
of the workforce rests significantly on the fact that how readily people desire
to accomplish their assigned tasks to attain corporate goals
and objectives. Hence engaged employees play a significant role in
developing a high-performance workforce. Employee engagement needs to be overlooked
mainly from an intellectual standpoint based on the employees’ physiological
attitude towards the company, other workers, management, and job
responsibilities.
References
AON Hewitt (2015) ‘Aon Hewitt’s model of employee
engagement’, Aon inc., (January), pp. 1–9. Available at: https://www.aonhewitt.co.nz/getattachment/77046028-9992-4d77-868a-32fbf622fec6/file.aspx?disposition=inline.
Bailey, C., Delbridge,
R., Alfes, K. and Shantz, A. (2013) Employee Engagement in Theory and
Practice | Request PDF. Routledge. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262313406_Employee_Engagement_in_Theory_and_Practice
(Accessed: 13 November 2021).
Kanwar, D., Soni, D. V.
and Sharma, D. P. (2017) ‘The Paper Titled “Employee Engagement Bridging Gap
Between Anticipated Success and Actual Success Status’, IOSR Journal of
Business and Management. IOSR Journals, 19(03), pp. 98–102. doi:
10.9790/487X-19030398102.
Nawaz, M. S., Hassan, M.,
Hassan, S., Shaukat, S. and Asadullah, M. A. (2014) ‘Impact of employee
training and empowerment on employee creativity through employee engagement:
Empirical evidence from the manufacturing sector of Pakistan’, Middle - East
Journal of Scientific Research, 19(4), pp. 593–601. doi:
10.5829/IDOSI.MEJSR.2014.19.4.13618.
Rawas, A. S. El and
Seddaway, A. I. B. E. S. (2015) ‘Leadership Development and Employees
Empowerment’, INternational Journal of Economic and Business management,
3(4), pp. 39–44. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283849858_Leadership_Development_and_Employees_Empowerment
(Accessed: 13 November 2021).
Robinson, D., Perryman,
S. and Hayday, S. (2004) The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Report 408.
Available at: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk.
Siddhanta, A. and Roy, D.
(2010) ‘Employee engagement Engaging the
21st century workforce’, ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH. Available
at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.214.9886 (Accessed:
13 November 2021).
Singh, Y. (2016)
‘Employee Engagement as a Contemporary Issue in HRM--A Conceptual Framework’, International
Journal of Engineering and Management Research , 6(5), pp. 364–368.
Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309563370_Employee_Engagement_as_a_Contemporary_Issue_in_HRM--A_Conceptual_Framework
(Accessed: 13 November 2021).
Singh, Y. (2019)
‘Employee Engagement as a Contemporary Issue in HRM’, pp. 20–45. doi:
10.4018/978-1-5225-7799-7.CH002.
Well explained Nirmika, according to the Vance (2006) Job and task design, Recruitment, Selection, Training, Compensation, Performance management and Career development. will affect employees’ level of engagements.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lakshan, for the comment. On a similar note, Job challenges, opportunities for development, autonomy, feedback, variety, fit, rewards, and recognition play significant roles in applying the employee engagement concept (Crawford et al., (2013). In addition to the drivers of employee engagement discussed in the post, Sundaray (2011) also highlights health & safety as one of the critical factors.
DeleteHi nirmika, agree with you, adding to your points, development of dimensions International (2005)state the five things to create a highly engaged workforce are, Align efforts with strategy, Empower, Promote and encourage teamwork and collaboration, Help people grow and develop, Provide support and recognition where appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dineth, for the Highlights. I want to add more to the comment; a solid relationship between manager and employee is crucial in employee engagement and retention (Penna, 2007). Further, Penna (2007) states that meaning at work can be a valuable way of bringing employers and employees closer together to benefit both where employees experience a sense of community, the space to be themselves, and the opportunity to contribute they find meaning. Employees want to work in organizations where they find meaning at work (Penna, 2007).
DeleteHi Nirmika Adding more to your points, The top-down commitment is an important tool which is vital in employee engagement. Bauer (2010) emphasize the fact that welcoming a new employee the 'right way' is the key to an engaged employee. His first day at work will mold a big portion of his image towards the organization, which the organization will be expecting to see in the happier side.
ReplyDeleteHi Amila, Thank you for your comment. Further, Driving an “Engagement Culture” is the essential foundation to build an organisations employee engagement initiative. Organisations must use the findings from their engagement surveys to identify the key factors that drive engagement & organisational KPIs in their context and then pick the ones of the highest importance to the business to design engagement initiatives around those specific items (Vance, 2006). Employee engagement is achieved when an employee’s enthusiasm for work is stimulated and directed towards the organisation’s success (Armstrong, 2009).
DeleteWell written Nirmika. Organizations should implement a variety of strategies to increase employee engagement, such as: developing an interesting employee value proposition; developing a total reward system that includes more than compensation; providing constructive feedback on employee performance regularly; implementing flexibility programs in terms of work-life balance; building a culture of engagement, developing and refining management skills to be effective, as it engages employees while driving motivation (Neelman, 2012).
ReplyDeleteHi Janakan. I agree with your statement. Managing diversity is about more than equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (Losyk 1996). Managers should expect change to be slow while at the same time encouraging change (Koonce 2001). Another vital requirement when dealing with diversity is promoting a safe place for associates to communicate (Koonce 2001).
DeleteI agree with you Nirmika. According to Hayday (2004), The phrase "engagement" is widely used and fashionable. Some firms have 'engagement models,' which are seeking to assess levels of engagement, possibly for inclusion in the balanced scorecard or the human capital report.
ReplyDeleteHi Isuru, Thank you for the comment. Further, Rose (2004) demonstrated that communicating organisational goals with employees helps them understand their roles in achieving them. These larger goals can then be used to develop attainable individual objectives. Setting individual goals aligned with organisational objectives promotes better employee engagement by highlighting how each employee contributes (Dutton, Ashford, O’Neill, and Lawrence, 2001). Dutton, Ashford, O’Neill, and Lawrence (2001) also confirmed that this practice provides each employee with something for which they are accountable.
DeleteHi Nirmika. Agreed with your comments. Furthermore engagement has emerged as critical for organization and leadership seems to be the driving force of engagement to happen. and also engagement produces various individual level outcomes and it's impact critical organizational outcomes (Sapna Popli,2016).
ReplyDeleteHi Upeksha. Thank you. On a similar note, Employee engagement is a term used to refer to employees’ strength of emotional and mental connection towards the work and job (Robinson et al., 2004). When there is high employee engagement, they are committed to the work and the organisation to achieve the best results, and it is also indicated by how passionate the employees are about their jobs (Lockwood, 2007). That is why Truss et al. (2006) define employee engagement as ‘passion for work’. Since employees are considered essential resources to the organisations, concepts like employee engagement are being practised in many workplaces due to their importance.
DeleteThe drivers for engagement are industry-specific; for example, a study in the health care sector identified organizational culture, reward, working environment, training, HR practices, reputation and values, communication, and physical environment drivers (Suomi et al. 2021). A public sector study in India suggests that pay, job content, and objectivity are drivers of engagement (Mohapatra & Sharma 2010).
ReplyDeleteMohapatra, M & Sharma, BR 2010, 'Study of Employee Engagement and its Predictors in an Indian Public Sector Undertaking', Global Business Review, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 281-301.
Suomi, K, Saraniemi, S, Vahatalo, M, Kallio, TJ & Tevameri, T 2021, 'Employee Engagement and Internal Branding: Two Sides of the Same Coin?', Corporate Reputation Review, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 48-63.
Hi Ravi. According to Marko and Sridevi (2010), there are no generally accepted drivers of employee engagement. Different researchers have different views on this topic. However, most studies illustrate that feeling valued by management, two-way communication between management and employees, management’s interest in employees’ well-being and giving more opportunities for employees to grow as the top drivers of employee engagement.
DeleteTotally agree with you Nirmika. The organization today uses engaged workers as a tool for a strategic partner in the business. The concept of employee engagement has now gained even more importance since many drivers have been identified, which impact employee performance and well-being at the organization. As companies across industries strive to survive and rise above the stiff competition, the physical and mental well-being of workers will be one of the important aspects that HR managers need to tend to focus on (Aon Hewitt, 2014).
ReplyDeleteHi Dileep. Agree with you. According to many studies, a devoted employee would perform one step higher than the others (Robinson, Perryman and Hayday, 2004). Training and development increase the efficiency in operations, resulting in higher overall performance where ultimate outcomes benefit the employer (Nawaz et al., 2014). Further, Rawas and Seddaway (2015) stated that the capacity to encourage and inspire people so offering praise in feedback little and frequently builds an excellent leader (Rawas and Seddaway, 2015).
Deletehi Nirmika, Really good explanation, Further adding o your points The strongest driver of engagement is feeling valued and involved, which makes intuitive sense, given that the parts of the ‘feeling valued and involved’ indicator relates to several aspects already identified as relevant to engagement ( Robinson, Perryman and Hayday, 2004)
ReplyDeleteHi Surangi, Adding more to the comment, Job challenges, opportunities for development, autonomy, feedback, variety, fit, rewards, and recognition play significant roles in applying the employee engagement concept (Crawford et al., (2013). In addition to the drivers of employee engagement discussed in the post, Sundaray (2011) also highlights health & safety as one of the critical factors.
DeleteFeeling engaged is good for workers. Happier, healthier, more fulfiled and motivated employees drive organizations with higher performance. Employee engagement has positive relationships with other business metrics, including customer satisfaction, productivity, innovation, staff retention, efficiency, and health and safety performance (CIPD, 2021). I agreed with the argument that you have build in this blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Shazna. Thank you. Sun, Li & Bunchapattanasakda, Chanchai. (2019) states employee engagement as a personal trait of an individual based on experience associated with his work in the particular organisational context, which must evolve naturally. Also, the engaged employee uses to spend time communicating with other employees and initiating good things that add value to the organisation naturally while empowering and motivating others (Meyer & Allen, 1997).
DeleteHi Nirmika, Agree with you. However there are several other drivers as, learning and development of the employee, the working environment, fairness and safety, relationship with managers and sub ordinates as well (Popli and Rizvi, 2016). Within these drivers employee voice, integrity, leadership and engaging leaders will also help to drive the employee engagement for an organization as well (Khodakarami and Dirani, 2020).
ReplyDeleteHi Deshani. Agree with you. Moreover, according to Vance (2006), Job and task design, Recruitment, Selection, Training, Compensation, Performance management and Career development will affect employees’ level of engagement. According to (Armstrong, 2006) a reward is anything that could retain an employee in an organisation; it could be in the form of benefits, increments, training and developments or complements.
DeleteHi Nirmika , well written , further Crawford et al (2013 ) listed following drivers for employee engagement , 1.job challenge 2. Autonomy 3. Variety 4. Feedback 5. Fit 6. Opportunities for development 7. Rewards and recognition .
ReplyDeleteHi Manoj. Thank you. Further, According to various research, dedicated employee performance is one step higher than the other employees (Robinson, Perryman and Hayday, 2004). Five powerful drivers identified in employee engagement,1-Honesty between employee and the organization,2-Training & Development,3-Support to manage the work-life,4-To develop personally and professionally,5-Perspicuity (Singh,2016).
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