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A Study on Employee Engagement

Article · September 2011

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Kasinathan Subramanian
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To cite this paper: Kasinathan S, Rajee M, “A study on Employee Engagement”, Knowledge
Economy, Vol: 1, Issue No. 2, Sep 2011.

A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

*Mr. S. Kasinathan M.B.A. M.Phil.,
** Mrs. M. Rajee M.B.A. M.Phil.,
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ABSTRACT:

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. 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.
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.
The aim of this paper is to present the importance, effect of employee engagement in the
manufacturing sector, examined from a mid size company’s point of view, where they are
manufacturing sheet metal press components. The study has been carried out in a company
located near Chennai (July 2011) on a convenience sample of 118 respondents through the
distribution of structured Questionnaires to employees of the company. The study has found the
satisfactory level of the employees regarding various factors related to their commitment towards
their company. In general, there is a positive attitude has been found among employees and they
are actively engaged towards their company.
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*Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, JNN Institute of Engineering,
Kannigaipair, Tamilnadu 601-102. The Author can be reached at s.kasinathan.hr@gmail.com

** Lecturer, Department of Management Studies, Mohamed Sathak College of Arts and Science,
Sholinganallur, Tamilnadu 600-119. The Co-Author can be reached at laya.meera09@gmail.com

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INTRODUCTION:

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.
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. Employees are
said to be engaged when they show a positive attitude toward the organization and express a
commitment to remain with the organization.
Job engagement is a characteristic where an individual approaches his or her work with
enthusiasm, energy, focus, and commitment such that the person is entirely present in his/her
work and is able to bring his or her full potential to the work effort.
Stay – Desire to be a member of the organization
Say – Speak positively about the organization
Strive – Go beyond what is minimally required.
Engagement Dimensions
• I feel energized by the work that I do
• My co-workers and I help each other out when the pressure is on
• Our company vision and mission is clear to me
• I feel responsible for my own success here
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.

IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:

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.
Makes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the company.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

 To identify and diagnosis the factors for employee engagement.
 To examine the effort of engagement on individual outcomes.

NEED AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

This will help to reduce the attrition and to increase the productivity and profit. It will
examine and focus on how to make the employee more engaged and committed towards the
organizational growth.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
Topic: story telling (A new tool for Employee Engagement) HRM-Review, December 2009.
Storytelling is a very powerful tool for business leaders to get across their business
messages and engage their employees deeply. Of late, business leaders seem to have discovered
the virtues of storytelling and its power to engage employees. This article details why a company
uses storytelling, the process involved in storytelling, and the vehicles of communication
available in company to tell stories, so much so that employees engagement can be realized.
Business leaders and executives can make use of their strong emotive power to tell
the story to those who really matter-the employees. Stories can give life to the business messages
the leaders want to convey and engage them deeply in every conceivable manner. Stories allow
leaders to convey messages in an effective, engaging and compelling fashion. Stories can
motivate, elevate, inspire, challenge, spur, exhilarate, excite, and mold the employees.
Storytelling also helps to demonstrate a few exemplary leadership practices, such as sharing an
exhilarating vision, providing the appropriate settings, space and relevance and engaging the
heart, mind and soul of the employees and help the company realize its avowed goals.
Employee engagement towards retention - Insight from the real world, HRM review
March 2009
This article says a bird’s eye view of the motivation practices followed by
industries in various sector. An enthusiastic team will be better equipped to succeed while
lackluster employees will drag the company down with them. a 2005 Gallup organization survey
found that 24% of Japan’s workers are “actively disengaged” at work- vocalizing and acting out
their job- and that their lowered motivation accounts for an amazing estimated $232 bn in lost
productivity per year for Japan. In the US, the 14% are actively disengaged and in Singapore, it
was 12% who cost $6 bn.
A recent report says that failing to retain one’s best people can cause a company to
lose up to 40% of its profit. An individual is in a great place to work if he trusts the people he
works for, takes pride in the work he does and enjoy the company of the people he works with.
So, trust, pride, personal safeties are the corner stone’s.
Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy: - Fred Luthans, Suzanne J. Peterson,
(2002), Journal of Management Development, Vol. 21 Iss: 5, pp.376 – 387
Although technology still dominates, human resources and how they are
managed is receiving increased attention in the analysis of gaining competitive advantage. Yet,
many complex questions remain. This study first examines the theoretical understanding of
employee engagement. Then an empirical investigation is made of the role that a wide variety of
managers’ (n = 170) psychological state of self-efficacy plays in the relationship between their
employees’ (average of about 16 per manager) measured engagement and a multiple measure
(self, subordinates and peers) of the managers’ effectiveness. Results of the statistical analysis
indicate that the manager’s self-efficacy is a partial mediator of the relationship between his or
her employees’ engagement and the manager’s rated effectiveness. Overall, these findings
suggest that both employee engagement and manager self-efficacy are important antecedents that
together may more positively influence manager effectiveness than either predictor by itself.
Implications for effective management development and practice are discussed.
Employee engagement (A mantra for HR Managers) HRM-Review, August 2009
An organization’s productivity is not only measured in terms of profit, new products,
customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction, but also in terms of employee engagement.
Employees are said to be engaged, when there is a positive attitude towards the work and also a
high degree of commitment. This article focuses on the challenges faced by the human resource
(HR) managers to improve employee engagement for an organization’s survival. It is also throws
light on other aspects of employee engagement like the benefits, key indicators and the factors
influencing employee engagement.
Topic: Employee engagement, The Human Factor, July 16-August 15, 2010
HR professionals have always known that an engaged workforce is good for the
organization. The human factor, with inputs from practicing managers and industry leaders,
reviews the engagement landscape and the factors that contribute towards successful employee
engagement initiatives.
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, MD and CEO, Mercedes-BENZ India Pvt. Ltd.
For me, Employee engagement is about, knowing that you are making a
difference, creating an impact, while having a good time at your job, much time to work, enjoy
what you do.
Dr. Mukesh Batra, CEO& Founder, Dr. Batra’s Positive Health Clinic Pvt. Ltd.
To keep the medical team motivated to perform, our pay packages are fixed at a rate
higher than the industry standard, and for those working outside the city, there is always the
motivation of a good accommodation.
Kishor Patil, CEO & MD, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.
Employee engagement at KPIT Cummins is about participation of employees and
their ability to become intrapreneurs.
Ajai Chowdhry, Founder, HCL, and Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystem Ltd.
Employees’ engagement is the most critical part in the running of an organization and
we undertake many initiatives to enable that. We find out what employees think about
engagement and based on that feedback, we analyze each input received and take action.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
This study is basically analytical in manner i.e. in this paper the use of facts or
informations already available, and analyzes these to make critical evaluations of the material.
The sampling technique is non-probability (convenience) sampling which includes study objects,
which are conveniently located, willing to operate in offering the necessary data, and in the
process one would derive the advantage of economy in cost/time. Out of 214 employees 118
were selected on the basis of the convenience and the structure questionnaire has been used to
collect the data. Chi-square test has been conducted to find out the significance relationship
between the variables.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

Table 1.1

S. No Statement SA A NA-NDA DA SDA

1. When working, my company inspires 14 59 34 10 1
and motivates me to perform to the (11.8%) (50%) (28.8%) (8.6%) (0.8%)
best of my abilities – every day
2. The people here are pleasant and co- 18 71 27 2 0
operative to work with (15.3%) (60.2%) (22.8%) (1.7%) (----)
3. There is someone at work who 12 59 38 7 2
encourages my development (10.2%) (50%) (32.2%) (5.9%) (1.7%)
4. My opinions and ideas seems to be a 14 50 42 11 1
matter (11.8%) (42.4%) (35.6%) (9.3%) (0.9%)
5. I feel the way my company treats the 18 58 33 6 3
existing employees and the new (15.3%) (49.2%) (27.9%) (5.1%) (2.5%)
joiners is quite fair
6. All employees in this organization 10 56 42 7 3
are treated equally (8.5%) (47.5%) (35.6%) (5.9%) (2.5%)
7. Our company vision and mission is 26 69 20 3 0
clear to me (22.1%) (58.5%) (16.9%) (2.5%) (----)
8. I have a clear idea of the role of my 18 67 22 9 2
present job in my company (15.3%) (56.8%) (18.6%) (7.6%) (1.7%)
9. As compared to other places the 3 12 39 44 20
benefits that I get here are (2.5%) (10.2%) (33.1%) (37.3%) (16.9%)
competitive enough
10. Overall, I am extremely satisfied 9 43 57 3 6
with my job/company/work place (7.6%) (36.4%) (48.3%) (2.6%) (5.1%)
11. I would recommend the organization 10 49 46 12 1
as a good place to work (8.5%) (41.5%) (38.9%) (10.3%) (0.8%)
Chi-Square Test:
H0: There is no significant relationship between overall extremely satisfaction with the company
and Employee recommend the company as a good place to work.
H1: There is a significant relationship between overall extremely satisfaction with the company
and Employee recommend the company as a good place to work.

O = Observed frequency
E = Expected frequency

Expected frequency of any cell = (Row total of any cell) X (Column total of any cell)

Recommend this Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Row Total

Organization
Agree Disagree
Overall
extremely satisfy
Strongly Agree 2 6 1 0 0 9
Agree 5 22 12 4 0 43
Neutral 2 17 31 6 1 57
Disagree 1 1 0 1 0 3
Strongly Disagree 0 3 2 1 0 6
Column Total 10 49 46 12 1 118
(Grand Total)

O E (O-E) (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E

2 0.7 1.3 1.69 20.14
6 3.7 2.3 5.29 1.43
1 3.5 -2.5 6.25 1.8
0 0.9 -0.9 0.81 0.42
0 0.7 -0.7 0.49 7
5 3.6 1.4 1.96 0.54
22 17.8 4.2 17.64 0.99
12 16.7 -4.7 22.09 1.32
4 4.4 -0.4 0.16 0.03
0 0.4 -0.4 0.16 0.4
2 4.8 -2.8 7.84 1.63
17 23.6 -6.6 43.6 1.85
31 22.2 8.8 77.44 3.48
6 5.8 0.2 0.04 0.0068
1 0.5 0.5 0.25 0.5
1 0.3 0.7 0.49 1.63
1 1.2 -0.2 0.04 0.03
0 1.2 -0.2 0.04 0.03
1 0.3 0.7 0.49 1.63
 0 0.02 -0.2 0.04 2
0 0.5 -0.5 0.25 0.5
3 2.5 0.5 0.25 0.1
2 2.3 -0.3 0.09 0.03
1 0.6 0.4 0.16 0.26
0 0.05 -0.05 0.0025 0.05
Calculated 30.03
Value

Calculated Value = 30.03

Degree of freedom = (r-1) X (c-1) = (5-1) X (5-1)
= 16
Level of Significance = 5%
Table Value = 26.296
Here the calculated value is greater than the table value (CV > TV i.e 30.03 > 26.296).
So reject H0, hence there is a significant relationship between overall extremely satisfaction with
the company and Employee recommend the company as a good place to work.

FINDINGS & SUGGESTION:

 Through the research it has been found that majority of the respondents (50%) are agreed
that when working, the company inspires and motivates them to perform to the best of
their abilities – every day.
 Most of the respondents (60%) are agreed that the people here are pleasant and co-
operative to work with.
 Nearly half of the respondents (47%) agreed that all employees in this organization are
treated equally.
 Most of the respondents (60%) agreed that their company vision and mission is clear to
them.
 Nearly half of the respondents (48%) agreed that overall they extremely satisfied with
their job/company/workplace.
 There is a significant relationship between overall extremely satisfied with the company
and employee recommends this company as a good place to work with.
 The management could consider the valuable suggestions and the innovative ideas given
by the employees; it would help to improve the efficiency of the organization.
  Non-financial incentive plans could also be implemented; it could improve the
productivity of the employees according to their performances.
 Better career development opportunities have to be given to the employees for the
individual and group development.

CONCLUSION:
All the employees should value their potential input should be recognized. Employee
should know that their inputs matter a lot and are helping the organization in a meaningful way.
The competition for talent means that we have to be very good at attracting, motivating, and
retaining talent. Today employees feel in they are placed at jobs that break the monotony and
make them enjoy their stay in an organization. Benefits provided by the organization and thus are
engaged and committed towards the development and growth of the organization. The
organization to large extent should provide all the personal services to the employees and
motivate them to a possible extent, so that the employees put in their best performance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Archie Thomas, CMA, and Ann MacDi anmid, “Encouraging Employee Engagement”,
CMA Management, Jun/Jul 2004.
2. Fred Luthans, Suzanne J. Peterson “Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy”
(2002), Journal of Management Development, Vol. 21 Iss: 5, pp.376 – 387
3. Gretcher Hoover, “Maintaining Employee Engagement when communicating difficult
issues”, Communication World, Nov / Dec 2005.
4. Jteresko, “Driving employee engagement”, www.industryweek.com, Sep 2004.
5. Steve Batts, “Getting engaged”, HR Magazine society for Human Resource Management,
Feb 2004
6. “Employee Engagement”, The Human Factor, Jul 16-Aug 15, 2010
7. “Employee Engagement: A mantra for HR Managers”, HRM Review, Aug 2009
8. “Employee Engagement towards retention - Insight from the real world”, HRM Review,
Mar 2009
9. “Story Telling: A new tool for Employee Engagement”, HRM Review, Dec 2009.
10. http://retention.naukrihub.com/employee-engagement-drivers.html

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