University of Essex
Strategies for Employee Engagement and
Performance in Human Resources
26 May 2024
Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................3
Employee Engagement.......................................................................................4
Employee reward strategy................................................................................4
Enhancing employee performance.....................................................................5
References...................................................................................................6
Introduction
HR professionals say that employees taking ownership of their tasks, processes, and
decisions - basically having more freedom and control at work - is key to keeping them
engaged. This idea fits with the idea of high-performing work systems, but it also goes a step
further to show how important it is for organizations to stay competitive by making sure
their employees are performing well and happy. It sounds like having engaged employees is
important for overall success, but it is also important to remember that things like
communication and relationships at work can affect performance on a day-to-day basis. If
employees are not getting the recognition or rewards, they feel they deserve, they might
start to check out mentally. So, managers need to find ways to keep their employees
engaged, no matter their role, position, age, or background.
Employee engagement and participation in the workplace is a hot topic among
leaders, managers, and HR professionals. It is not just about getting the job done - it is also
about how employees feel and behave. Employees need goals that challenge them,
feedback on how they are doing, and a work environment that supports them. It is not just
about pleasing customers, but also about making sure employees are happy and taken care
of. Looking into the theories and real-life examples in these topics shows that they all share
some common traits when it comes to things like how organizations promote engagement,
how engaged employees perform.
Employee Engagement
A crucial responsibility for HR professionals is to create effective employee relations,
which includes managing conflicts, ensuring safety and health, workforce planning,
recruitment, training and development, implementing policies that align with the
organizational culture, managing performance, and providing rewards within a structured
framework. This approach has been shown to significantly enhance both quality of work and
overall well-being. Lately, managing human resources has become a crucial part of any
organization's strategy. HR practices are key for making things run smoothly, following the
law, and being socially responsible. To meet the demands of different stakeholders, HR
professionals are getting more business-savvy by embracing 'strategic human resource
management' (strategic HRM). With ethics becoming increasingly important in the
workplace, it is clear that human values at work are more crucial than ever.
Employee engagement can be defined in a couple of ways based on how people act
at work. One approach sees engagement as passion, commitment, and interest in their job,
inspired by Kahn's social role identity theory. This means engaged employees do not just do
their job – they go the extra mile, feel excited about their workplace, and put in their best
effort day in, day out. According to Kahn, being engaged means blending your work life with
everything else going on in your world, using your skills and putting in your all mentally,
emotionally, and physically, whether you are working solo or collaborating with others.
External incentives operate on the premise that if employees excel in their work, they will
receive rewards through competition and the possibility of losing their job.
In people management, you have to plan, keep an eye on things, and see how they
are going. When it comes to keeping employees engaged and sticking around, HR's job is to
have a plan in place with clear steps to take. A solid strategy with specific goals, policies, and
practices will make sure that all the different people problems are managed in an organized
way, and that managers know what they need to do. Salaries in the market are expected to
adjust based on how well the company or individual performs. The company can produce
ways to encourage employees to do their best. These could involve outside rewards to make
sure the right people are in the right positions, or internal initiatives that focus on building
loyalty, teamwork, empowerment, and collaboration. There are a lot of ideas out there for
creating a cooperative work environment in a company.
Employee reward strategy
Compensation for employees, like how much they get paid and their other work
benefits, is incredibly important. Staff need to make enough money to take care of
themselves now and in the future. When a company has a good reward plan, employees can
have a good balance between their job and personal life. They feel like they can actually
enjoy their free time outside of work. On the other side, if employees are not feeling
motivated, they might take fewer vacations and end up taking lots of sick days. They could
be absent from work more because of stress or health issues. It is only fair that employees
get paid well for all the work they do.
Example being Specsavers. In order to push their employees and ensure they have
something to be encouraged by, HR along with managers plan incentives to win an hour off
work, free lunch, gift cards, gift basket etc. such incentives make an employee take another
step and give their best in order to enjoy the won award. Another example being additional
ways of earning bonuses. As Specsavers a part of optical and audiology business, one way to
offer a chance of a bonus is contact lens home delivery signups. With each signup, an
employee earns a specific amount of money added to their payroll that would end up being
doubled if the store reached their monthly target of signups. As another way of earning
bonuses, staff working for a retail part of optics are able to earn bonuses based to what type
of glasses their customers bought and were dispensed ex. Designer pair of glasses, and an
additional addons such as antireflective coating, thinned down lenses, polarised sunglasses
etc.
The company also needs to understand what motivates each employee. Would it be
better to give bonuses to the whole team instead of individuals? The company knows it
needs to pay its employees fairly, but it is not as focused on providing extra benefits like
healthcare, gym memberships, and discounts on fun activities and shopping. However, in a
competitive job market, employees can choose where they want to work. They will be
happier if a company offers benefits that are cheaper for them but still valuable.
Enhancing employee performance
It is crucial to have a workforce that is dedicated to enhancing employee behaviour,
leadership, management, engagement, and performance. Creating a work environment that
values employee input and provides meaningful feedback is key. Focusing on work goals that
directly impact employees and offering flexibility in the workplace can help foster
communication and involvement. Essentially, employee engagement is not just about
employees doing their work, performing well, and staying loyal to their company. It involves
having an emotional, mental, and behavioural connection with the organization.
Providing incentives such as commission-based pay and encouraging teamwork to
develop innovative ideas can greatly benefit both employees and the organization as a
whole. Just like how engagement drivers are viewed as a whole and shaped by the
organization and its surroundings, employee engagement is measured in a comprehensive
way through how an employee sees different aspects of their work environment and the
significance of their job. It is up to management to make sure that employee engagement
drivers are in place, along with incentive systems and tools for employees.
In the example with Specsavers, what they do not offer but would be very sought
after are benefits for healthcare. While they offer certain rewards at work, they do not offer
discounts to products outside of the workplace. However, even without offering such
benefits, Specsavers still remains as one of the good employers. Managers with the help of
HR department plan summer parties, Christmas partied, bowling night, game night and on a
more educational side offers courses to better knowledge and gain new skills with perfecting
existing ones. In both optical and audiology department of the Specsavers, there are many
opportunities for further education. Paid college for a dispensing optician would be offered
to the staff working in optical department, while for staff working in audiology department,
courses such as Assistant practitioner (AP), to help with ear health checks; Audiology clinical
support (ACS), to help with admin work for appointments and help with hearing aid repairs
alongside ear health checks. They are additionally provided with an opportunity to attend
paid college to get qualified as a hearing aid dispenser, becoming a certified audiologist.
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