Involvement, development and recognition

Employee engagement has been an important component of an organization’s success. An engaged employee displays effort and dedication toward the attainment of organizational goals, is committed to the organization, satisfied with the job, and intends to stay in the company. So what drives employee engagement? How can organizations ensure that their employees are highly engaged?

To answer these questions, a longitudinal study was conducted in two companies in the Philippines. Company A belongs to the hotel and accommodation industry while Company B belongs to the business process outsourcing industry. Employees of these two companies were asked a set of questions measuring employee engagement in terms of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to stay. After a year, the same set of questions was asked to the same respondents. In addition, the respondents were asked about the changes that happened in their organizations.

Company A

Results revealed that employee engagement increased by an average of 5 percent for Company A after a year. Organizational commitment increased from 90 percent to 94 percent; job satisfaction increased from 82 percent to 87 percent; and intention to stay increased from 77 percent to 83 percent. Results further revealed that Company A made substantial changes in the area of human resources management including improving HR rewards systems, having more opportunities for training and development, and instituting more programs that foster team building and camaraderie.

In addition, Company A also made significant changes in their physical facilities including upgrading rooms and offices as well as improving IT for greater efficiency.

Company B

For Company B, results showed a significant decrease (10 percent) in employee engagement after a year. Organizational commitment decreased from 91 percent to 85 percent; job satisfaction decreased from 85 percent to 78 percent; and intention to stay decreased from 84 percent to 72 percent.

Results revealed that Company B made substantial changes in terms of improving the physical environment and IT facilities in the company. Employees mentioned that working conditions have changed and facilities have been added like biometric systems.

In addition, there is better lighting in the workplace and there are new office fixtures. However, despite these changes in the physical facilities employee engagement still dropped.

What drives employee engagement?

Results of the study emphasized the critical role of involving, developing and rewarding employees to enhance engagement. It likewise showed that efforts at improving physical facilities alone may not be sufficient to drive employee engagement. This must be done together with other organization development initiatives such as improving HR systems and processes.

How can we strengthen employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a “positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption” (Schaufeli et al., 2002). It is a state that can jolt an employee to contribute more and do more so as to achieve organizational goals.

Developing engagement

Some ways that can help develop and maintain engagement are as follows:

Involve employees. In a collectivistic culture like the Philippines, the workplace is oftentimes considered as an extension of one’s family. The sense of belongingness and being part of an in group is important among Filipinos. Involving and consulting employees on major changes happening in the organization can elicit that sense of belongingness and can bring the feeling that they are being valued and given importance as members of the organization.

Develop employees. Employees who are given opportunities to continuously develop themselves are more likely to be highly engaged. Therefore, it is crucial to have training programs and other developmental activities in the organization.

Recognize and reward employees. Engagement is manifested through efforts and dedication to fulfill the organizational goals. To maintain high level of engagement, employees that go the extra mile and strive to perform well have to be rewarded and recognized. If not, engagement may decline and diminish.

Employee engagement can be crucial in an organization’s success. The commitment, dedication and the willingness of employees to go the extra mile can facilitate and help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives. Therefore, human resources (HR) practitioners are challenged to develop and design HR processes and programs that would enhance and elicit maximum levels of involvement, development and recognition within the organization.

Participative management styles and approaches can also be instituted to ensure high levels of participation and engagement among the employees.

(Alfred Presbitero is a research scientist at the Center for Innovation Research in Cultural Intelligence and Leadership, Nanyang Business School. He is also an affiliate of the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development. For comments or queries, send e-mail to [email protected].)