Curbing attrition through greater employee engagement

Employee Engagement has always been a burning topic amongst HR people. It is generally viewed as managing discretionary effort, that is, when employees have choices, they will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests. An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work.

In his book, Getting Engaged: The New Workplace Loyalty, author Tim Rutledge explains that truly engaged employees are attracted to, and inspired by, their work (“I want to do this”), committed (“I am dedicated to the success of what I am doing”), and fascinated (“I love what I am doing”).

Employees who have these essential traits within themselves, become the brand ambassadors of the company and make it an Employer of choice.

Different studies have been made inside and outside companies to know about the attachment/engagement of employees with the company and the results are like high current waves in a sea, which can lead to disaster.
Results show that only 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs. These employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. People that are actively engaged help move the organization forward. 84% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact quality of their organization’s products, compared with only 31% of the disengaged. 72% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively affect customer service, versus 27% of the disengaged. 68% of highly engaged employees believe they can positively impact costs in their job or unit, compared with just 19% of the disengaged. Engaged employees feel a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them. This is associated with people demonstrating willingness to recommend the organization to others and commit time and effort to help the organization succeed. It suggests that people are motivated by intrinsic factors (e.g. personal growth, working to a common purpose, being part of a larger process) rather than simply focusing on extrinsic factors (e.g., pay/reward). [Ref: Blessing White (April 2008). 2008 Employee Engagement Report].

Advantages of engaged employees
•    Engaged employees are of mindset to stay with the company, and contribute to the bottom line of the business.
•    Usually they execute better and have smiles on their faces.
•    There is a significant link between employee engagement and fostering environment for creativity for sustained profitability.
•    It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organization’s strategies and goals.
•    Increases employees’ trust in the organization and creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment.
•    Provides a high-energy working environment.
•    Makes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the company.
It shows how imperative is employee engagement for sustainable growth of the organization, especially in today’s aggressive scenario, where attrition rate is getting high.

Key drivers for engagement
Employees have different thought processes which drive them towards getting involved with the company. Here are some key drivers.
•    The importance they have in the company in terms of policy making, decision making etc
•    Their career matrix, along with the challenges of work
•    The monetary aspects/benefits
•    Other factors like health, safety, security
•    How open are they to put up their points in front of management
•    How happy they feel when they come to their respective offices
•    Reward and recognition program
•    Effective leadership; leadership by example
•    Motivation towards work, by means of mentors, coworkers
•    An assertive feedback of their work and clarity of responsibilities

Practices for engaging employees
1.    Meetings: Meetings are the best way to know about the gamut of the company we are working into. These days Intranet also helps a lot to break the ice. The more employees know their company, the more they feel involved. It has also been observed that sometimes, employees spend a good amount of time on the intranet and are taking things forward. Employers can set their default home page as their company’s portal, and see the difference it makes. In the same manner, in-house magazine also works. Inviting employees to write their own viewpoint make them feel involved with the company.
2.    Skill update: Technical trainings/soft skills trainings/certification programs/higher studies always make employees feel prouder of the company they are working with. In today’s competitive world, the skill enhancement is the only way to survive happily. That’s why when companies take care of their employees upgradation, employees also feel engaged.
3.    Reward and recognition: Another way for connecting employees and to bring a smile on their faces. On-the spot appreciation, which can be for anything advantageous for the work place or for the entire company, or the recognition award given at some very special day for the stupendous performance or contribution, are some of the ways which also add in to the value of employee-engagement.
4.    Developing organization culture: These days companies are doing a lot of brain storming for developing their culture. Celebrating events is one of the ways to do so.