Employee Engagement

A study conducted by BlessingWhite Research on Employee Engagement in early 2011 with HR & Line leaders as well as online survey responses of nearly 11000 individuals from North America, India, Europe, China, Australia & South East Asia reflects:

Fewer than 1 in 3 employees worldwide (31%) are engaged & nearly 1 in 5 (17%) are actually disengaged 2011 will be a challenging year for retention as more employees are looking for new opportunities outside their organization Strong correlation between engagement levels and age, role/ level, tenure in the organization Managers are not necessarily doing the things that matter the most Engagement surveys without visible follow up action may actually decrease engagement levels

What is it?

A positive attitude towards, and pride in, the organisation Belief in the organisations products/services A sense that the organisation enables the employee to perform well A wish to behave collaboratively and be a good team player A willingness to go beyond the requirements of the job. A desire to work to make things better An understanding of business context and bigger picture Being respectful of, and helpful to, colleagues Keeping up to date with developments in the field.

Components of Employee Engagement:

Career DevelopmentOpportunities for personal development Career Development Effective Management of talent Leadership- Clarity of company values Leadership Respectful treatment of employees Leadership Companys standards of ethical behavior

Empowerment Image Equal opportunities & fair treatment Performance Appraisal Pay & benefits Health & Safety Job satisfaction Communication Family friendliness Co-operation

Employee engagement occurs when employees feel satisfied, motivated, and effective in their jobs.
Employee engagement has a direct and measurable impact on employee retention, productivity, customer satisfaction, and financial results.

Difference between Engagement & Satisfaction

Being satisfied with your job doesnt mean that youre engaged with it (you can be happy at work but do a poor job of it!) If youre engaged with your work you will not only be more satisfied with it, but you will also be more productive, create higher quality results, and demonstrate better customer service Satisfied Employees Comfortable Content Gratified Pleased Engaged Employees Deeply connected with their work Work environment Team/ colleagues Sense of ownership Commitment

There are three types of employees in an organisationEngaged

Actively Disengaged

Effects of low employee engagement

Low turn over Productivity is down Deadlines are being missed Morale is low Lack of cooperation No fair communication Employees leave the minute clock turns 5 Poor customer interface No commitment towards job Spreads bad word of mouth

Employee Engagement Program at HCL

Choosing the right fit and giving a realistic job preview

HCL also has a certification programme for freshers which empowers young engineers
To keep up the morale of people and drive them towards excellent performance, HCL has various incentives such as recognition letters, profit sharing schemes, long performance awards, ESOPS, building assets like own home

HCL Continued.

Regular feedback to all people Communication forums like the in-house magazine Intouch, innovate@HCL (an e-forum to develop entrepreneurship), and regular surveys and conferences

To maintain the quality of work-life and a balance between personal/professional lives, there are recreational activities like festivities@HCL, get-togethers@HCL, sports@HCL, etc
An open and transparent culture to empower its people and develop entrepreneurs.

Employee Engagement Program at INFOSYS

Annual Excellence Awards Facilitating employee - employer dialog Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESAT) Inclusivity Survey Quarterly Town Hall (QTH) Sparsh-Intranet

Employee Engagement Program at INFOSYS

CEO-employee column
InfyTV HRD Blog Hearing Employee and Resolving (HEAR) Strategic and Action Planning meet (STRAP) Voice of Youth (VoY) Infosys Women Inclusivity (IWIN) Management Council (MC)

Employee Engagement Program at CTS

Day 1 @ Cognizant Fun@Work Music Club, C-Sharp Octaves (annual music concert) The Annual Day celebrations Autumn Fest Rockshows Cricnizant Rangoli

Employee Engagement Program at WIPRO

Picnic at regular intervals Movie at interval of 2 months A daily column, written by CEO, on the intranet with company announcements / programs etc. Update via an overhead paging system, which is used to recognize employees for significant business achievements.

Employee Engagement Program at WIPRO

Employee suggestion systems / quick responses. Replay on the intranet about the presidents / CEOs press conference. Live version of internal house magazine. CEO spending time in face to face communication with staff. CEO based FAQ questions on company business

Employee Engagement Program at WIPRO

ONLINE ask the CEO mailbox. Monthly staff awards Annual staff awards Weekly blog related to serious business issues and staff to read / comments. Appointment of disaster management team Appointment of emergency management team

Employee Engagement Program at WIPRO

Problem solving committee. Quality assurance committee. Conducting soft skills training program as well as required training programs Online real-time tracking of progress. Employees can view company progress towards targets / goals. Provide long term strategic vision for business growth. Indoor Games as well as Outdoor games Celebration of Employees Birthday

Employee Engagement Program at AIRTEL

Provide variety Conduct periodic meetings with employees Celebrate individual, team and organizational successes Regular feedback and dialogue with superiors Career advancement/improvement opportunities Reward to engage

Employee Engagement Program at HDFC

Corporate Volunteering Program English speaking courses Academic support classes Organizing special events in order to celebrate festivals with the underprivileged. Give India-employee donations to charities of their choice

Employee Engagement Program at HYUNDAI

Compliance survey Compliance Training Compliance On-line Training Compliance Theme Training Z.T.P (Zero Tolerance Policy) Training Sales Channel Training

Employee Engagement Program at HYUNDAI

Internal System Whistle-blowing system Ombudsperson system Gift & Entertainment approval/reporting system Competitor Contact approval/reporting system Conflicts of Interest approval/reporting system Compliance Plaza Compliance Review Board Collection of acknowledgement from employees Evaluation system

Defining Employee Engagement

Say

: Speak positively about the organisation

Strive : Go beyond what is minimally required

Defining Employee Engagement

The Drivers
Work Work Activities Resources Processes

Total Rewards Pay Benefits Recognition

Engagement

Opportunities Career Opportunities Learning/Development

Company Practices People Practices Policies Performance Assessment Company Reputation

Quality of Life Work/Life Balance

Essential Measures of employee engagement

Best practice for new employees recommends starting right at the selection and recruitment stage from giving realistic job previews to a strong induction programme, rigorous training and development Approaches for all employeesCommunication activities- feedback sessions, participative management, stay interviews, in house magazines, online forums, regular updates on corporate goals Reward schemes- ESOPS, profit sharing, best employee of the month, innovative idea of the month, timely recognitions, etc Activities to build the culture of the organization- humane HR policies, equal opportunity practices, initiatives to create work-life balance, QC Team building activities out bound activities, sports days, festivals, CSR acivities, Buddy system

10 Engagement Commandments

Strong leadership to build confidence in employees Robust and employee friendly systems, processes & programs Communication, including periodically sharing of future plans of the organization

Open, fair and transparent work environment Defined goals and expectations Better support from immediate manager Focus on employee development Rewards and recognitions for the good performance Competitive compensation and benefits

Work life balance & fun at work place

Conclusion

The competition for talent means that we have to be very good at attracting, motivating and retaining talent Our talented human capital is our biggest asset and liability and we need to measure how well its adding value Engagement is an increasingly important human capital metric because:

Engagement levels correlate with business performance Measuring Engagement tells us how well we are doing in the competition for talent Driving Engagement levels higher improves our ability to attract, motivate and retain talent and so generate value from our human capital investment.