Employee Engagement

JANKIDEVI BAJAJ INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES S.N.D.T WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI

A RESEARCH STUDY ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION LEVEL SUBMITTED BY MANALI AGRAWAL (02)

In the partial fulfillment of award of Master of Personnel Management & Industrial Relations (MPMIR)

2007-2009

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

1

PROF. PERI SHASTRI Janki Devi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies S.N.D.T Women’s University, Mumbai- 400049

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Ms. Manali Agrawal has completed the project “Employee Engagement & Retention Level” under the guidance of Prof. Peri Shastri and has been submitted to the university in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master of Personnel Management & Industrial Relations (MPMIR).

Prof. Peri Shastri

Dr. Gulnar Sharma

(Project Guide)

(Director-In-Charge)

Date: 24th March, 2008

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On successful completion of this Research Project, I, Manali Agrawal, student of Master of Personnel Management & Industrial Relations, would like to thank my institute, Janki Devi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, to give such an opportunity to take up this project. Secondly, I would like thank my Project Guide, Prof. Peri Shastri with whose guidelines and directions I was able to meet my project objective and also the other professors of my institute who were available when I needed them. Last but not the least, I would like to thank all my friends, relatives and others with whose help and support I was able to collect my sample size.

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CONTENTS

Sr. No. 1. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 3. 3.1 4. 4.1 4.2 5 5.1 5.2 6 7. 8.

Page

Topic

No. Executive Summary 1 Chapter-I 2-4 Objective of the Research 2 Research Methodology 3 Selection of Study Area and Sample Size 4 Significance of the Study 4 Limitation of the Study 4 Chapter-II 5-14 Definition of Employee Engagement 6-10 Historical Background of Employee Engagement 11-12 Employee Engagement in India 13-14 Chapter-III 15-24 The Literature Review 15-24 Chapter-IV 25-57 Data Analysis and Interpretation of Employees 25-37 Data Analysis and Interpretation of HR Managers 38-57 Chapter-VI 58-59 Findings 58 Recommendations 59 Conclusion 60 References 61 Annexure 62-69 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Employee engagement is associated with many desirable outcomes, such as job satisfaction, intention to stay and job performance. Companies with a greater number of engaged employees typically have lower operating costs, higher customer satisfaction and higher profits. There is a tangible monetary benefit to companies investing time and resources in fostering higher engagement within their employees. The task of precisely defining employee engagement is still ongoing, but it is most often defined in terms of behaviours exhibited in 4

the workplace. Engaged employees are prepared to go the extra mile in pursuit of workplace excellence. They are ambassadors for their organisations, who will speak highly of the company and its people, even when they are not in a work setting. An engaged employee is identifiable by workplace behaviours such as losing track of time as they are so absorbed in the task at hand. This is distinct from excessive overtime in order to give the impression of ‘hard work.’ Both look the same, but one is productive for the employer- employee relationship and one is not! Academics would say that not enough is understood about what drives employee engagement as most research in the area has tended to focus on business outcomes without investigating underlying causes. As the impact of engagement on business has been positive and has been linked with higher profitability, practice has raced ahead of the underpinning research in pursuit of creating a more engaged and hence profitable workforce. I undertook research to aid understanding of the area by investigating the relationship between employee engagement and the retention level. At the same time I looked at the interplay between individual differences and engagement levels of the organization. I hoped to discover best practices of the organizations and the individual’s expectations from such strategies.

CHAPTER-I 1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH: 1. To find out the employee engagement strategies in organizations. 2. To benchmark the employee engagement practices adopted in various organizations.

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3. To study the correlation between the employee engagement practices carried out in the company and retention levels.

1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: TYPE OF RESEARCH: EXPLORATORY

PRIMARY DATA: Data collection Method through Questionnaire Method was used and employee responses on that were tabulated and represented in percentage form, which then were analyzed and interpreted. This was followed by findings and recommendations. The questionnaire consisted of both open ended as well as multiple choice questions based on 6 factors as listed below: 1. Attachment to the job 2. Agreeableness 3. Emotional stability 4. Openness to experience 5. Achievement orientation 6. Self-efficacy

The above factors are independent factors and retention of employees is dependent on it.

SECONDARY DATA:

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It was through a list of websites, books, journals, and newspaper and news magazines articles as given at the end of this project in references, webliography and bibliography.

HYPOTHESIS:

The retention of employees is dependent on the independent factors.

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SELECTION OF STUDY AREA AND SAMPLE SIZE 40 samples of employees and 9 samples of HR managers were collected from 10 companies namely: 1. EDS, Bangalore 2. Infosys, Bangalore 3. TCS, Mumbai 4. Delloite, Mumbai 5. Eureka Forbes, Mumbai 6. IDBI, Mumbai 7. CSC, Indore 8. HSBC Global Technologies, Pune 9. Amdocs, Pune 10. Impetus, Indore 11. Blue Sky, Mumbai 12. Sahara, Mumbai

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These companies were chosen as subject of study.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

People often lie in exit interviews about why they are leaving. Managers should, of course, know in advance who is leaving and why. A comprehensive list like this is of little value unless used as a guide to gather information as to how to engage the employees so that to retain the talents in the organization.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Age Limitation- I had access to the young employees that’s why the study is mainly on the youngsters. Family issues- The reason being I did not want to go into personal details and stick only to job and organisational related issues.

CHAPTER-II INTRODUCTION Success today requires a good bit more than good attendance. Yet, multiple studies in different countries and across industries show that employees who are passionate about their jobs and the organizations in which they work are in the minority. Some of the Survey conducted by few organization revealed that approximately 19% of the employees are highly 9

engaged The Corporate Executive Board, looking at levels of engagement across 50,000 employees around the world, placed only 11 percent in what they dubbed “true believer” category.1 Towers Perrin’s recent “Talent Report” is slightly more optimistic, finding just 17 percent of the 35,000 employees surveyed to be highly engaged. 40 to 70 percent of employees can be classified as neutral, middle of the road, or agnostic. Worse yet, an alarming 10 to 20 percent of employees are actively “disengaged”—just putting in their time or, worse yet, undermining or badmouthing their organizations and bosses. The economic impact of low engagement can be staggering. The global survey shows that 34 per cent of the employees in India are fully engaged and 13 per cent disengaged. As many as 29 per cent are ‘almost engaged’. What makes these numbers especially discouraging is that, supposedly, we have evolved from the dark ages of “personnel management.” On one hand, for the past two decades we have been trying to realize the benefits of empowerment, teamwork, recognition, people development, performance management, and new leadership styles. Evidently, there is a big difference between putting in place initiatives that have the overall goal of increasing employee engagement and truly seeing the payoffs. And, on the other hand, one might easily attribute low engagement to persistent downsizing, which leads to an erosion of loyalty and commitment.

2.1 Definition of Employee Engagement Employee engagement can be defined as an employee putting forth extra discretionary effort, as well as the likelihood of the employee being loyal and remaining with the organization over the long haul. Research shows that engaged employees: perform better, put in extra efforts to help get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated and optimistic about their work goals. Employers with engaged

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employees tend to experience low employee turnover and more impressive business outcomes. Employee engagement is more than just the current HR 'buzzword'; it is essential. In order for organizations to meet and surpass organizational objectives, employees must be engaged. Research has proven that wholly engaged employees exhibit, •

Higher self-motivation.

•

Confidence to express new ideas.

•

Higher productivity.

•

Higher levels of customer approval and service quality.

•

Reliability.

•

Organizational loyalty; less employee turnover.

•

Lower absenteeism.

Need of Employee Engagement The general principles of employee engagement have been around for decades. During the past five years, though, there has been a surge in the popularity of employee engagement. There are four primary drivers. 1. People have become the primary source of competitive advantage. The Brookings Institute (2003) examined the primary source of market value in today’s organizations and how it has changed over time. In 1982, 62 percent of an organization’s market value came from tangible assets and 38 percent from intangible assets. Tangible assets include things like machinery, products, facilities, etc. Intangible assets, on the other hand, include factors such as brand, intellectual property, and, most important, the quality of the workforce. By 2002, 20 years later, the source of value had almost totally flipped. Almost 80 percent of market value today comes from the intangible with a scant 20 percent coming from tangible assets. As we all have heard before, products can easily be copied, a technological edge can prove fleeting, and more facilities can be built, but the quality of an organization’s talent, its passion and commitment, is nearly impossible to replicate. Engagement is the fuel that drives the value of intangible assets.

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2. Retention and the war for talent. The landmark 1998 McKinsey study, The War for Talent, was among the first to talk about the potential for workforce shortages due to the aging population. The study’s authors called upon organizations to take more seriously their efforts to attract and retain talent, to assure that they would be able to survive and thrive in the future. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the slump in the global economy quickly took the spotlight off of the anticipated talent shortage. And some predict that a portion of today’s aging workers will delay their retirements out of necessity, attenuating the expected talent shortage. Since 2003 the picture is once again changing, albeit not as quickly as expected. For example, the Society for Human Resources Management reported that 48 percent of the employees it polled are actively seeking new jobs. Additionally, the workforce is getting older, with many of the baby boomers hitting 60 in 2006 and ready to retire. Over and above the workforce cost of increased retirements, companies are beginning to take heed of the enormous financial costs of turnover and increasingly viewing employee engagement as an imperative for keeping their key employees— and attracting new ones—as the war for talent heats up once again. 3. Popular appeal. Remember the reengineering wave? Even those who used it as more than just a guise for massive layoffs found it painful. Six Sigma implementations are invaluable to business performance, but most companies are finding them too complex to implement well. Engagement is a different matter altogether. While it still takes patience to implement, engagement gets to the “hard stuff” by focusing on the “softer stuff.” As one manager said: “It’s about appealing to the head and the heart.” Engagement is about creating passion, it’s about focusing on what people do well, and it’s about development and recognition. Some have called employee engagement a form of positive psychology which, on the whole, is an easy pill for organizations and their employees to swallow. 4. Overwhelming impact. The human resources function has been under pressure for decades to prove that it makes a difference. While CEOs may espouse the importance of their workforces in their annual reports, when times get tough, HR is among the first to get the budget axe. Why? A lack of convincing evidence on the value of HR initiatives. HR professionals are scrambling, according to a recent Conference Board report, to prove that their activities and investments are both efficient and positively influential to business strategy.The positive relationship between engagement and performance (documented in hundreds of studies, with the evidence mounting every day) provides a way for HR to prove 12

its contribution. It’s a fact: The higher the level of engagement, the higher the performance of the business. The research is not inconclusive, not limited to one country or industry, and not contained to a few hundred people—it’s overwhelming.

How to Make Employees Engage •

Growth and development - An exciting position, with plenty of opportunity for growth, learning, and advancement for employees is always helpful in retaining employees.

•

Support and recognition - Giving those rewards and recognition.

•

In many instances, employee retention starts just as soon as an employee is hired. If a company sees an unusual amount of potential in a new hire, management could make them feel appreciated right off the bat. In a way, this practice can be considered a combination of recruitment and retention tools.

•

Employee Participation in decision making is also a very effective engagement activity in the organization.

•

Aligning effort with strategy—Engagement begins with employees’ clear understanding of what they should be doing on the job. Each employee needs a solid job description and a clear set of performance expectations.

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Empowerment—Empowerment is a feeling of job ownership and commitment brought about through the ability to make decisions, be responsible, be measured by results, and be recognized as a thoughtful, contributing human being rather than a pair of hands doing what others say.

•

Teamwork and Collaboration - In the context of engagement, teamwork and collaboration require good relationships both within the work group and across work groups. Many organizations have strong teams with members who work well with each other.

The Benefits of Employee Engagement The power of employee engagement is that it is closely connected to business results. When employees work in an environment in which they can focus their attention on their work and have a drive to do their best, organizations experience higher levels of productivity and

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profitability. Engaged employees look for better ways to do their work, spend less time on wasted activities, and make effective use of resources. In the end, companies deliver better products or services and have more resources left to invest in further improvements. Although it is an important consideration, high financial compensation is not the only driver of increased employee retention. As addressed previously, employees decide to stay with organizations for other reasons, such as growth and development opportunities, strong leadership, and meaningful work. Turnover costs organizations millions of dollars each year, and engagement has a proven relationship to employee retention. No one likes going into a store where the sales clerks are sullen, absent, or uncooperative. It’s easy to see why customers notice engaged employees and are more satisfied and willing to purchase again. For example,Tom Labadie, director of training and development at CompUSA states,“When you walk into a store with high engagement scores, you can sense the positive tone. Employees whistle and smile, they approach customers, and the store gives off that elusive approachable feeling that customers appreciate.” Organizations with engaged employees have more satisfied customers, but it’s not just because employees have better interactions with customers. Engaged employees are more likely to improve other critical factors affecting customer satisfaction, such as responsiveness, product quality, thought leadership, innovation, etc. Finally, higher engagement translates into higher and faster revenue growth. Engaged employees are more innovative and place more emphasis on meeting customer needs. The “what can I do better or differently” attitude of engaged employees versus the “it’s not in my job description” attitude of the unengaged simply leads to better financial performance.

ASSESSING ENGAGEMENT Over the past eight years, The Gallup Organisation has been conducting exhaustive studies of employee engagement to try and answer these fundamental questions. One of a handful of engagement evangelists, Gallup has promoted the value of measuring employee engagement through a series of books, seminars and programmes; it has also taken the lead in identifying and managing the factors that impact engagement levels. 14

In order to rate the engagement of a workforce, first Gallup assesses employees to determine whether they are engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged. Engaged employees are the stars in a company. Passionate about what they do, they feel a strong connection to their company and perform at high levels every day while looking for ways to improve themselves and the company as a whole. Not engaged employees, according to Gallup, are the company zombies who show up every day and put in just enough effort to meet the basic requirements of their jobs. Without passion or innovation, these employees neither commit to the company’s direction, nor do they work against it. Actively disengaged employees are those who present a big problem for businesses. Negative by nature, these people are unhappy in their work and they compound their lack of productivity by sharing this unhappiness with those around them. They are the proverbial bad apples who revel in their discontent while undermining the accomplishments of others; as a result, not only do they achieve little themselves, they also prevent others from being productive too.

2.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Over the past decade, the way in which people are managed and developed at work has come to be recognized as one of the primary factors in achieving improvement in organizational performance. This is reflected by popular idioms such as “people are our most important assets”. Back in the good old days of corporate world, things were pretty simple. Companies put people on career tracks straight out of college; they gave employees a job for life and waved

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them goodbye with a gold watch at retirement. The promise of the stable life as a company employee kept both morale and productivity high. Then things changed. Competition increased, margins shrank and shareholders got more demanding. Suddenly, company staff were finding the very job security they’d counted on was disappearing, and at speed. This upheaval meant companies had to find new ways to motivate their employees in order to make them more productive since, without stability, employees were looking for something else from their employers. And thus, Engagement was born. In itself, engagement isn’t really a new idea; owners and managers have been talking about engagement, in one form or another, for centuries… they just used different words to express it. In former times, engagement focused more on productivity and achieving results through threat of punishment or by means of reward. But common sense - and good communication eventually won out and, today, organizations everywhere are spending serious money on all forms of employee engagement. Boiled down, it simply means ‘developing a happy and loyal workforce’. Enlightened managers now realize that any company as a whole will benefit when its employees know what’s going on and they feel part of the team. The tricky part is in defining what makes a workforce happy, and in understanding how this good will translates into company success. From the extant literature review, it is acknowledged that successful organizations share a fundamental philosophy of valuing and investing in their employees. In fact many research studies have described human resource management as a means of achieving competitive advantage. Consistent with this it is an equally important issue for the organization to retain their critical (core) employees. Most organization today continues to struggle with retention because they are relying on salary increases and bonuses to prevent turnover. Essentially more organizations are now realizing that retention is a strategic issue and continues to be a competitive advantage. The term “engagement” stems from the work of Kahn (1990) who distinguished between being engaged and disengaged at work. Putting the humanistic factors together, Beer, Specter, Lawrence, Quinn-Mills and Walton (1984) created the ‘Harvard Business School’ model of HRM which focused on people in an organization to be the key resource. In light of such critical emphasis being placed on human capital, Paula Ketter has aptly noted, 16

“Engagement is all about creating a culture where people do not feel misused, overused, underused or abused.” At a very basic level, employee engagement draws from the tenets of the ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ as conceptualized by Maslow, the highest stage of which is self-actualization; the pinnacle of an individual’s fulfillment of talent and potential. This theory of ‘higher order needs’ was largely overlooked in the heydays of scientific ‘assembly line’ manufacturing.

2.3 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN INDIA

The recent WorkAsia research study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide indicates that India has the highest percentage of highly engaged workers at 78% in Asia as compared to Japan, which has the lowest employee engagement level at 39%. Head to head with China, the engagement level of the Indian worker is 20% more than his Chinese counterpart. These are all encouraging signs - but the challenges and the opportunities ahead are manifold. The imminent US slowdown, shrinking of talent pool,

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slowdown in hiring, larger employee expectations are all challenges for internal communicators to cope with. The Gallup Organization describes employee engagement as the "the involvement with and enthusiasm for work". The challenges faced by organizations in India are around attrition, communication, career development and engagement while trying to keep pace with the explosive growth. Outsourcing outfits have the highest attrition rates losing staff at a rate of between 100% and 200% a year. It is widely believed that organizations spend an average of 36% of their revenues on their employees but do not have a tangible way to measure its impact. A Mercer study – ‘What’s Working’ – a series of national research on worker insights, highlights factors that make a difference to employee engagement. The survey’s 125 questions elicit views in the areas defined by Mercer’s Human Capital Strategy Model and cover training and development, work environment, leadership, performance management, work/life balance, communication, compensation, benefits, and engagement. The India study throws up some fascinating directions for HR and internal communication professionals. Employee engagement is no more just about the employee’s intent to leave. The employee’s commitment to the organization and motivation to contribute to the organization’s success plays a significant role. The top three drivers in India are trust in senior management, how the organization is perceived for customer service and fair pay. Surprisingly, from an Indian context, the least valued factors in the continuum were benefits, compensation and performance management. In India, having a long-term career is considered positive and stable. Frequent job changes are viewed negatively and therefore the high scores around the commitment count are in line with the mindset. Internal communication and HR professionals need to take note of the employee’s need for giving feedback and to observe action taken from this. Employees seem to be getting very little information on the organization’s vision and future plans, a cause of concern. Other areas for action include the organization’s reputation in the market – congruent to other research in this space which believes that organization’s which are socially responsible are considered better places to work. In the talent management bracket, managers fare poorly for their involvement, understanding and support as well as for merit based appraisals.

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In India, with a large number of global players entering the market, the talent pool has now a plethora of choices and even these multinationals are finding it tough to retain staff. The Canadian HR Reporter writes that employees want to know where their careers are heading and that is a critical component of the talent retention strategy organizations need to focus on. Softer styles of leadership have a better impact in India and China leaving organizations to develop or seek leaders who can fill this need.

Chapter-III 3.1 THE LITERATURE REVIEW Employee retention continues to remain a top priority at many organizations and one that companies increasingly view as a driver of business strategy. Business-critical knowledge can walk out the door when an employee leaves the company. While employee retention figures have long been used by companies as a measure of their performance in developing an effective organization, this view of employee retention is not only outdated, but these figures may not be comprehensive enough to truly determine the organization's effectiveness. The concept of employee retention is more complex than simply evaluating employee 19

turnover from one year to the next. These figures of employee retention can be somewhat misleading — it isn't necessarily the number of employees an organization loses, it's the number of top-performing employees that leave the company that should be of concern. For example, management is one of the key reasons employees decide to stay or leave an organization. If there is high turnover among the management ranks, employees may also feel unstable in this ever-changing environment. Yet, on the other hand, it may not be the best business

strategy

to

retain

a

manager

that

is

disliked

by

employees.

The business strategy of employee retention actually lies with employee engagement; retention is an outcome of engagement. What most organizations fail to realize is that employee engagement is the biggest retention factor they have control over. Engaged employees not only stay longer with the organization, they are more productive, more conscientious, make fewer errors, and take better care of customers. The business strategy of employee retention must incorporate methods that achieve a high level of employee engagement among the organization's top performers, not necessarily the entire workforce. The Importance of Retaining Top Performers Many organizations ponder the questions, "What should the goal be for retention?" and "What is an appropriate level for employee turnover?" Yet, in asking these questions, many organizations don't realize that there are no set answers. If, for example, an organization loses five percent of its top performers every year, the results from this turnover could be potentially devastating to the company. On the other hand, if the company is losing 20 percent of its least productive employees, this could actually be very beneficial for the organization and an opportunity to increase the strength of its workforce each year. In other words, it's not just about retention anymore — it's about retaining the very best people at each level within the organization. The key to effective retention of top performers is to determine the factors that currently do, and will, keep them engaged. The Starting Point an organization must first determine who the top performers and high potentials are within their workforce. Of the many ways this can be accomplished, some include involving management at every level to create a list of those employees who are performing at levels that exceed expectations and those who exhibit the potential to become top performers, or utilizing the results from employee performance reviews to separate those who

scored

the

highest

from

those

who

scored

the

lowest.

This method of gaining a clear understanding of who the top performers are within an organization is called employee segmentation. Once an organization has segmented its 20

workforce, it can then start to measure retention among its highest potential and highest rated, or most productive, employees. By viewing each segment separately, organizations are creating a more appropriate benchmark to measure employee retention, i.e., is the organization retaining or losing a high percentage of its best people? Understanding Employee Engagement Employee engagement can be defined as an employee putting forth extra discretionary effort, as well as the likelihood of the employee being loyal and remaining with the organization over the long haul. Research shows that engaged employees: perform better, put in extra efforts to help get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated and optimistic about their work goals. Employers with engaged employees tend to experience low employee turnover and more impressive business outcomes. Employee engagement is more than just the current HR 'buzzword'; it is essential. In order for organizations to meet and surpass organizational objectives, employees must be engaged. Research has proven that wholly engaged employees exhibit, §

Higher self-motivation.

§

Confidence to express new ideas.

§

Higher productivity.

§

Higher levels of customer approval and service quality.

§

Reliability.

§

Organizational loyalty; less employee turnover.

§

Lower absenteeism.

Current studies show that organizations are focusing on the meaning of employee engagement and how to make employees more engaged. Employees feel engaged when they find personal meaning and motivation in their work, receive positive interpersonal support, and operate in an efficient work environment. What brought engagement to the forefront and why is everyone interested in it? Most likely, the tight economy has refocused attention on maximizing employee output and making the most of organizational resources. When organizations focus attention on their people, they are making an investment in their most important resource. You can cut all the costs you want, but if you neglect your people, cutting costs won’t make much of a difference. Engagement is all about getting employees to “give it 21

their all.” Some of the most successful organizations are known for their unique work environments in which employees are motivated to do their very best. These great places to work have been recognized in such lists as Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. The concept of engagement is a natural evolution of past research on high-involvement, empowerment, job motivation, organizational commitment, and trust. All of these research streams focus on the perceptions and attitudes of employees about the work environment. In some ways, there are variations on the same fundamental issue. What predicts employees “giving their all?” Obviously, all organizations want their employees to be engaged in their work. Hierarchy of Engagement

Employee Engagement at Each Level In addition, employee segmentation is an important method to utilize when evaluating employee engagement at each level. For instance, the factors that engage the most productive employees in an organization may not be the same as the factors that engage the least productive employees. Those employees who receive the highest rankings on their performance reviews may tend to express higher levels of job satisfaction when they are presented with challenging opportunities that allow them to grow and learn. Those that receive the lowest rankings might be more focused on issues surrounding work/life balance and job security. While some factors, such as good communication, are important among all employees, the attempt to focus on the full spectrum of factors that engage the entire

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workforce may cause an organization to omit some of the factors that are the most important to the company's most productive people. Employee Satisfaction Does Not Equal Engagement While organizations may be aware "through the grapevine" that employees are unsatisfied, it's the reasons for the dissatisfaction that elude them. While employee satisfaction is important, it's not the end game — it is only one piece of employee engagement. Satisfaction is imperative in that, for those individuals who are top performers, satisfaction may be derived from their achievement orientation, their ambition, or their sense of responsibility. On the other hand, the attempt to satisfy an under-performer who will only be content with a lightened workload may not be a worthy cause. Again, the focus is on ensuring that those individuals who have been identified as top performers and high potentials are engaged in the organization. As stated, employee engagement incorporates employee satisfaction, but also includes the essential elements of pride, commitment and loyalty in the organization. Engaged employees aren't concerned with meeting the minimum requirements to complete a task, they are focused on what they can do to better the company. Essentially, they take ownership in the company despite whether or not they actually own a share of stock. Drivers of engagement •

A two-way relationship between the employer and employee

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The importance of the individual being able to align themselves to the products,

•

services and values of the organisation

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The ability of the organisation to communicate its vision, strategy, objectives

•

and values to its staff so that they are clearly understood

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Management give staff sufficient ‘elbow room’ and autonomy to let them fulfil their potential

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The employer is highly effective at engaging in two-way communication with

•

its staff, in particular encouraging upward communication

•

Lastly, that management from the top to the bottom of the organisation are ‘committed leaders’ and that the key role of the immediate line manager/supervisor is recognised as one of the most important conduits to achieving effective employee engagement.

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Elements of Engagement Some researches conclude that personal impact, focused work, and interpersonal harmony comprise engagement. Each of these three components has sub-components that further define the meaning of engagement. Personal Impact-Employees feel more engaged when they are able to make a unique contribution, experience empowerment, and have opportunities for personal growth. Past research concurs that issues such as the ability to impact the work environment and making meaningful choices in the workplace are critical components of employee empowerment. Some research on retaining talent found that the perception of meaningful work is one of the most influential factors determining employees’ willingness to stay with the organization. Focused Work-Employees feel more engaged when they have clear direction, performance accountability, and an efficient work environment. Aside from the personal drive and motivation to make a contribution, employees need to understand where to focus their efforts. Without a clear strategy and direction from senior leadership, employees will waste their time on the activities that do not make a difference for the organization’s success. Additionally, even when direction is in place, employees must receive feedback to ensure that they are on track and being held accountable for their progress. In particular, employees need to feel that low performance is not acceptable and that there are consequences for poor performance. Finally, employees want to work in an environment that is efficient in terms of its time, 24

resources, and budget. Employees lose faith in the organization when they see excessive waste. For example, employees become frustrated when they are asked to operate without the necessary resources or waste time in unnecessary meetings. Interpersonal Harmony-Employees feel more engaged when they work in a safe and cooperative environment. By safety, we mean that employee trust one another and quickly resolve conflicts when they arise. Employees want to be able to rely on each other and focus their attention on the tasks that really matter. Conflict wastes time and energy and needs to be dealt with quickly. Some researches also find that trust and interpersonal harmony is a fundamental underlying principle in the best organizations. Employees also need to cooperate to get the job done. Partnerships across departments and within the work group ensure that employees stay informed and get the support they need to do their jobs. Making Use of Engagement Measurement of employee engagement can have many applications in the organization. Earlier, it is mentioned that engagement could serve as a general index of HR effectiveness in an HR scorecard. Also, engagement measures serve as an easy way to benchmark the work climate against other organizations. Other uses include: Needs Analysis-The fundamental issues measured in engagement provide a quick index of what leaders and HR need to do to make things better. In addition, items in engagement surveys tend to be very actionable. This means that leaders or others in the organization can take action that will affect the score on a single item. Evaluation-Many learning and performance interventions are designed to impact some aspect of engagement. When an engagement measure is used as a pre-implementation baseline, the impact of the intervention can be gauged by measuring post-implementation changes in engagement. Climate Survey-Some organizations like to use engagement measures as simple indexes of the workplace culture. While more extensive surveys are valuable, sometimes it’s easier to focus attention on a few simple and proven factors. Leader or Department Feedback-Depending on the demographic information collected when the engagement measure is implemented, one can create breakout reports by department or leader. This means departments and leaders can gain a better understanding of how engagement in their groups differs from the rest of the organization. This information can be used to create development plans or plans for larger-scale interventions. 25

Measuring the Impact of Employee Engagement

BENCHMARKING BEST PRACTICES HSBC Global Resourcing The companies try to make a match of it by positioning their organisations as a ‘fun workplace’ to engage employees. Speaking to the youth in the language they understand, companies organise ‘dress down’ days based on festival themes, distribute soft sports equipment which can be used inside the processing floor and organise regular trips to movies as well as dining out. Acknowledging that recognising employees for a job well done is a key retention tool, HSBC Global Resourcing has regular rewards and recognition programmes where outstanding agents get to bask in the glory of their achievements. Leadership development is taken very seriously with first line managers getting to hone their skills in various tools required to lead a team successfully. Empowerment is a key ingredient in engaging employees and ensuring they stay that way. On cue almost all BPO outfits organise 26

regular focus group discussions and interaction with the senior management to ensure everyone is heard. Internal communication channels like intranets and message boards are liberally used to reach out and branded goodies are regularly distributed to foster a sense of belonging Sun Microsystems At Sun the virtual nature is partly due to flexible working practices. While flexible working arrangements are a plus for many employees and reduces facility costs for the organization, that flexibility comes with some downsides like; isolation, loneliness and an increase in personal distractions. Isolation, especially when paired with the demands of work in an increasingly competitive environment, can wear down the sense of connection, commitment and excitement about any job. Thus a critical challenge for managers of virtual teams is how to keep remote employees engaged. At Sun, the concept of employee engagement starts right from the top: · The CEO interacts with Sun employees through WSUN, a forum on Sun’s intranet. He uses this to sustain an active an ongoing dialogue on the corporate goals and direction. Through this interactive on-line resource he also solicits their feedback and opinions · Other senior management members engages with employees on technology directions through his personal blog · Business Unit Heads and Executive Vice-presidents have a target of holding six ‘town halls’ with employees every year across the globe · At the country level, Senior Management is tasked with constantly engaging employees through various forums, communication media and events to build excitement and passion including some that also reach out to the employees’ families. Standard Chartered Group They believe in the importance of building a work environment where every employee feels highly engaged to apply their individual talents to deliver sustainable business performance. They have been measuring employee engagement worldwide since 2000 with a voluntary response rate consistently over 95%. In 2007, the survey covered all 57 countries with 95% of employees participating voluntarily. This is a significant achievement and a clear indication that employees are committed to improving individual and team performance. 27

They have a continuous rise in both the number of engaged employees and teams since the survey was introduced. We provide team-specific data to each manager, which they use to discuss and develop action plans with their teams to increase engagement 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 it’s 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 generates value from our human capital investment. Engagement is not a simple matter. Nothing is more dangerous than measuring engagement without making the commitment to act on the feedback. Engagement has to be a leadershipdriven initiative from the most senior level all the way to the front line. No one affects an employee’s engagement as much as his or her immediate leader. Engaged leaders coach proactively for success, inspire loyalty and trust, and build an environment in which employees are motivated and engaged. To foster an environment of engagement, organizations need strong systems and strategies that promote and support engagement. Hiring and selection systems that measure motivation and the propensity for engagement, leadership training in certain skills (coaching, influencing others, managing change), performance management and accountability systems that provide direction, support, and objective assessments—all work together to provide a foundation and environment in which engagement can flourish. Ultimately, engagement lies in the heart of the employee. Measuring motivational and job fit during the hiring process ensures that you select people who can and want to find meaning in their work. Some people have personal characteristics that correlate with higher levels of engagement, and those characteristics can be screened for during the hiring process. Once you’ve hired the right people, engagement can be either fuelled or hampered by the work environment and quality of leadership. Building an engaged workforce is a long-term, ongoing initiative. Because it requires a coordinated, consistent effort from leaders, organizational systems, and individuals, it must be aligned and linked 28

with the most important organizational business drivers, or it will get pushed aside by the daily press of work, and languish. In the end, the rewards are many. A fully engaged workforce is a loyal workforce—expect turnover to drop. In addition, an engaged workforce will give the extra effort your organization needs to remain competitive. Employee engagement is no longer just a buzzword or a management fad. It’s no longer a fancy tool which can be taken off the shelf, dusted and pressed into service; rather it’s a strategic imperative which can’t be taken for granted. As customers increasingly demand enhanced levels of service and value for money, alienating the hearts and minds of the employees is no longer possible without organisational demise. Thus, the onus is now on the organizations to make the first overture.

CHAPTER-IV 4.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF EMPLOYEES Q1. Do you know what is expected of you at work? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

68% of the sample agreed to the fact that they are aware about the work which they have to perform while 32% are strongly agree on this fact.

Q2 At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

Majority (53%) of the employees get the opportunity to do best of their work everyday while 28% of them disagreed on this and 18% of them strongly agreed.

Q3 In the last three months, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

84% of the employees have received recognition or praise in the last three months for doing good work while 11% of the employees are highly satisfied with recognition in their organization and 5% of them has not received any praise in the last 3 months.

Q4 Is there someone at work who encourages your development? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

Generally people feel sense of belongingness when someone is their at their workplace to support them and 84% of the employees agreed on this fact while 8% have strongly agreed and the other 8% disagreed.

Q5 At work, do your opinions seem to count? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis: 33

d) Strongly Disagree

Employees participation in decision making is again a criteria of

measuring employee

engagement. 87% of the employees have agreed that their decision seems to count, 10% strongly agreed to this and only 3% have disagreed.

Q6 Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis: 34

d) Strongly Disagree

79% of the sample agreed that their fellow employees are committed to do quality work while 11% have disagreed on this fact. 5% of them have chosen strongly on this and the other 5% has given no comments on this.

Q7 In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

Learning and Development is one of the most important aspect to find out the employee engagement in the organization. 66% have agreed that they get the opportunity to learn and grow in the organization while 21% of them have strongly agreed on it. 8% of the employee have not given any reply and 5% were disagree.

Q8 Are the pay and benefits in your organization comparable to similar companies? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

42% of the sample is satisfied with pay and packages of their organization while 32% are highly satisfied with it. 16% disagree on the competitive pay and benefit packages.

Q9 Are job promotions in this organization fair and objective? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis: 37

d) Strongly Disagree

Half the percentage (50%) of the employees believe that the promotions are done objectively, 31% strongly agree to the fairness of the same while 13% doubt the fairness and objectivity of the process.

Q10. Are organization policies clearly communicated in the organization? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis:

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d) Strongly Disagree

47% of the sample has agreed to be clear on the policies that prevail in their respective organizations. A good proportion of 42% strongly agreed on the clarity while only 11% reported ambiguity on the policies.

Q11. Do you see yourself continuing to work for this organization two years from now? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis: 39

d) Strongly Disagree

A majority of 50% has agreed to continue to serve in the same organization for next two years, 24% are very much willing to do the same whereas a stricking 26% of the employees are those who are on the verge to leave the organization since they are not even commiting for next two years.

Q12. Do you recommend your friends/relatives in your organization? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable Analysis: 40

d) Strongly Disagree

24% of the sample surveyed strongly believe in recommending friends and relatives to their organizations, 63% agreed to this while 13% has disregarded the option.

Q13. Select and rank the following engagement tools applicable in your organization. Please rate the options, from 1- 8 (1 being the lowest and 8 being the highest). a) Stress Management b) Work life balance c) Career development 41

d) Employees Participation in decision making e) Counselling/ Feedback f)

Rewards and Recognition Schemes

g) Employee Referral Scheme h) Retirement Plans Analysis:

Rewards and recognition schemes to be the most popular engagement tool amongst the employees, next is efforts on Career develoment. Employee participation in decision making and Counseling/ Feedback seem to be equally effective, next in line is Employee referral scheme. Stress management is then regarded as important but Retirement plans and Work life balance surprisingly seem to be of least effective.

CHAPTER-V

5.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF HR MANAGERS 42

1. Does your company have a clearly stated and published employment policy? a) Yes b) No Analysis:

A whooping majority of 89% of the managers has agreed to the existence of a clearly stated and published employment policy and only 11% has denied it.

2. Does your company communicate its corporate goals to all employees? a) Yes

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b) No Analysis:

Everyone (100%) has agreed on communicating corporate goals to all the employees.

3. Do you communicate what is expected out of the employee? a) Yes b) No 44

Analysis:

100% positive response has been received when asked about whether the expectations are communicated to the employees.

4. Do you allow your subordinates to take their own decisions? a) Yes b) No 45

Analysis:

A majority of the sample surveyed has responded that they allow their subordinates to take their own decisions and only 11% informed that this is not the case.

5. Is there any involvement of employees in their performance appraisal? a) Totally involved b) Partially involved 46

c) Not involved Analysis:

45% of the managers agreed in totally involving the employees in the performance appraisal process, 33% agreed on a partial participation while 22% said there is no involvement at all.

6. After appraisal do you communicate to the employees the areas in which they are lacking? a) b)

Yes No 47

Analysis:

Employees are given feedback about their performance after the appraisals in view point of 89% of the managers but 11% has denied any such feedback system in place.

7. Do you involve the employees to set their Key Performance Areas? a) Yes b) No

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Analysis:

A majority of 78% of the sample has informed that the employees have a say when it comes to setting their key result areas and 22% has disregarded this option.

8. What are the retention tools which have gained popularity amongst the employees? Please rate the options on a scale of 1 to 8, 1 being the lowest. i) Stress Management j) Work life balance 49

k) Career development l) Employees Participation in decision making m) Counseling/ Feedback n) Rewards and Recognition Schemes o) Employee Referral Scheme p) Retirement Plans Analysis:

Employee participation in decision making to be the most popular engagement tool amongst the managers closely followed by Rewards and recognition schemes, next is efforts on Career develoment. Work life balance seem to be the next priority, next in line is Employee referral scheme. Stress management and Counseling/ Feedback are then regarded as important and Retirement plans surprisingly seem to be the least effective.

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9. Are incentives linked to achievement of individual goals? a) Yes b) No Analysis:

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78% of the managers have agreed to a close association of incentives and individual goals but 22% has denied any such association.

10. What factors of the rewards scheme contribute the most in retaining the employees? Please rate the options on a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being the lowest. a) Compensation and benefit programmes b) Stock ownership and profit sharing c) Recognition programmes d) Idea collection schemes linked to rewards for idea generation 52

e) Long service and good performance awards f) Competitive compensation packages g) Material benefits like trips, food and discount coupons, etc. Analysis:

Compensation & Benefit programs are observed as the most effective rewards scheme closely followed by Competitive compensation packages. Idea collection scheme is the next important tool and Long service & good performance awards follow that. Next in line is Stock ownership & Profit sharing. Material benefits and Recognition programs have come up as the least effective tools. 11. What are the activities you conduct to build the team-spirit in the organization? a) Small team recreational activities, such as cricket, trips to the cinema b) Social activities, such as family gatherings c) Community outreach activities such as volunteering and fund-raising d) Any other, please specify

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Analysis:

Only two of the options have received some response when asked about the efforts in the areas of team building in the organization. Here Small team recreational activities are the most preferred way and some importance is given to Social activities in the organizations surveyed.

12. How often do you conduct training programs?

Analysis:

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56% of the organizations quarterly conduct training programs in their organization while 22% conduct it monthly and 11% of the sample surveyed conduct the training sessions as and when required. 11% of them also conduct it yearly.

13. At what level of hierarchy in the organization do you conduct these training programmes? a) Higher level b) Middle level

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c) Lower level Analysis:

55% of the organizations conduct training session for each and every level of the employees while 18% of the organizations conduct it for Middle level and lower level of the employees while 9% of the samples conduct it for Higher level only.

14. What is the objective of training the employees? a) To enhance their current set of skills as per the organization’s requirement b) To unleash the hidden skills/ talent c) To update them on the technological advancements 56

d) To fill the gap of expected-actual performance e) All of the above f) Any other, please specify

Analysis:

A combination of all the options has scored the highest when asked about the objective of training the employees. Individually, enhancing the current skills as per the organization’s requirement, unleashing the hidden skills/ talent and updating them on the technological advancement have also scored well.

15. Is there a provision of flexibility in terms of working hours? Please tick the appropriate option. a) Flex-time b) Telecommuting c) Job Sharing d) Any other

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Analysis:

When questioned about providing flexibility in terms of working hours, maximum managers agreed to provide flex-time. Telecommuting, Job sharing, a combination of all these options and any other, each has scored equally.

16. Do you think the current engagement policies are effective in retaining the employees in the organization? a) Yes b) No

Analysis: 58

67% of the managers agreed that the engagement strategies of their organization help in retaining the employees in the organization while 33% has disagreed on this fact.

17. What percent-decrease range have you observed due to the efforts in retaining employees? a) 1 – 5 % b) 5 – 10% c) 10 & above Analysis:

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Half of the organizations observed 5-10% of retention due to the implementation of engagement strategies in the organizations and other half has observed 1-5% of retention due to the strategies followed.

18. In general, how do the employees respond to such engagement tools? a) Positively b) Negatively c) Indifferent Analysis:

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67% of the managers have observed positive effect on the employees of the engagement strategies while 22% said it is indifferent for the employees and 11% has responded negatively.

19. Have you come up with any innovative idea for retaining employees? Please mention. Analysis: Majority of the sample survey has not been able to come up with any of the innovative ideas in line with retaining employees.

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CHAPTER - V FINDINGS 1. To engage the workforce, most of the organization surveyed periodicaly recognise employees and provides flexible working hours. 2. Nowadays employees are involved in decision making in the organization and majority of the employees agreed on this fact. 3. Most of the organizations allow their employees to participate in performance appraisals and to set their own Key Performance Areas. 4. Compensation & Benefit programs are observed as the most effective rewards scheme 5. For team building companies generally do small team recreational activities and social activities. 6. Majority of the sample are loyal towards their organization and they also recommend their friends and relatives to join the organization. 7.

Stress management, Retirement plans and Work life balance surprisingly seem to be of least effective engagement strategies according to the employees.

8. Majority of the organizations agreed that the engagement strategies of their organization help in retaining the employees in the organization. 9. Majority has observed 5-10% of reduced attrition rate due to the implementation of engagement strategies in the organizations.

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CHAPTER- VI

6.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

1. As contrary to what managers believe that decision making is the most effective tool,

the employees still prefer rewards and recognition. The Managers should focus on the rewards and recognition schemes in their organization. 2. Practically people don’t give much importance to stress management programs, work life balance and retirement plans so there is scope of improvement in this area. 3. To increase employee engagement, the organizations should : a. Provide variety: Tedious, repetitive tasks can cause burn out and boredom over time. If the job requires repetitive tasks, look for ways to introduce variety by rotating duties, areas of responsibility, delivery of service etc. b. Conduct periodic meetings with employees to communicate good news, challenges and easy-to-understand company financial information. Managers and supervisors should be comfortable communicating with their staff, and able to give and receive constructive feedback. c. Indulge in employee deployment if he feels he is not on the right job. Provide an open environment. d. Communicate openly and clearly about what's expected of employees at every level - your vision, priorities, success measures, etc. e. Get to know employees' interests, goals, stressors, etc. Show an interest in their well-being and do what it takes enable them to feel more fulfilled and better balanced in work and life. 64

f. Celebrate individual, team and organizational successes. Catch employees doing something right, and say "Thank you." 4. As we have got a very good response from employees so the companies should have the engagement strategies to retain the employees.

CONCLUSION

Employee retention continues to remain a top priority at many organizations and one that companies increasingly view as a driver of business strategy. Business-critical knowledge can walk out the door when an employee leaves the company. While employee retention figures have long been used by companies as a measure of their performance in developing an effective organization, this view of employee retention is not only outdated, but these figures may not be comprehensive enough to truly determine the organization's effectiveness. The concept of employee retention is more complex than simply evaluating employee turnover from one year to the next. These figures of employee retention can be somewhat misleading — it isn't necessarily the number of employees an organization loses, it's the number of top-performing employees that leave the company that should be of concern. For example, management is one of the key reasons employees decide to stay or leave an organization. If there is high turnover among the management ranks, employees may also feel unstable in this ever-changing environment. Yet, on the other hand, it may not be the best business

strategy

to

retain

a

manager

that

is

disliked

by

employees.

The business strategy of employee retention actually lies with employee engagement; retention is an outcome of engagement. What most organizations fail to realize is that employee engagement is the biggest retention factor they have control over. Engaged employees not only stay longer with the organization, they are more productive, more conscientious, make fewer errors, and take better care of customers. The business strategy of employee retention must incorporate methods that achieve a high level of employee engagement among the organization's top performers, not necessarily the entire workforce.

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If effective engagement practices are in place, the organizations can curb the growing attrition rates especially in IT and Banking sectors. Thus the research study proves the significance of engagement activities as a part of retention strategy in an organization.

REFERENCES

http://bw.businessworld.in/PDF_upload/hrspecial_survey.pdf http://www.scribd.com/doc/3071101/Employee-Engagement-Impact-on-BusinessOutcomes http://forewordcommunications.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/what-is-employeeengagement/ http://ebn.benefitnews.com/asset/article/524821/staying-current/understanding-employeeengagement-through-global-lens.html http://week.manoramaonline.com/cgibin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/theWeekContent.do? contentType=EDITORIAL§ionName=COVER %20STORY&programId=1073755753&BV_ID=@@@&contentId=2504208 http://www.bayt.com/job/career-article-1681.adp http://www.contentwriter.in/articles/hr/employee-engagement.htm http://hromanager.com/blog/hr-metrics-series-i-employee-engagement/ http://www.insightory.com/view/503/employee_engagement__running_on_people_power http://www.thcu.ca/workplace/sat/pubs/sat_0076_v102.pdf

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ANNEXURE Dear Sir/Madam, I, Ms. Manali Agrawal, am pursuing Masters in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Janki Devi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, S.N.D.T Women’s University, Mumbai. I have currently undertaken a year long research project on “Employee Engagement & Retention level” which is a part of the curriculum in partial fulfillment of my Degree. I request your kind co-operation in filling up the questionnaire and returning it at the earliest. Kindly tick the relevant boxes and re-send the questionnaire after completion. Thanking You. Regards, Manali Agrawal

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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES ORGANIZATION

NAME

DESIGNATION

EMAIL ID

Q 1.Do you know what is expected of you at work? a) Strongly Agree e)

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Q 2.

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Q 3. In the last three months, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

68

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Q 4. Is there someone at work who encourages your development? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 5.At work, do your opinions seem to count? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 6.

Are

your

associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 7.

In

the

last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 8.

Are the pay and benefits in

your organization comparable to similar companies? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 9.

Are job promotions in this

organization fair and objective? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

e) Not Applicable

69

d) Strongly Disagree

Q 10.

Are

organization policies clearly communicated in the organization? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 11.

Do you see yourself continuing to work for this organization two years from

now? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q 12. Do you recommend your friends/relatives in your organization? a) Strongly Agree

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable Q13. Select and rank the following engagement tools applicable in your organization. Please rate the options, from 1- 8 (1 being the lowest and 8 being the highest). a)

Stress Management

b)

Work life balance

c)

Career development

d)

Employees Participation in decision making

e)

Counselling/ Feedback

f)

Rewards and Recognition Schemes

g)

Employee Referral Scheme

h)

Retirement Plans

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“THANK YOU”

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HR MANAGERS ORGANIZATION

NAME

DESIGNATION

EMAIL ID

1. Does your company have a clearly stated and published employment policy? a) Yes b) No 2. Does your company communicate its corporate goals to all employees? a) Yes b) No 71

3. Do you communicate what is expected out of the employee? a)Yes b) No 4. What are the engagement tools which have gained popularity amongst the employees? Please rate the options on a scale of 1 to 8, 1 being the lowest. a) Stress Management b) Work life balance c) Career development d) Employees Participation in decision making e) Counselling/ Feedback f) Rewards and Recognition Schemes g) Employee Referral Scheme h) Retirement Plans 5. Are incentives linked to achievement of individual goals? a) Yes b) No 6. What factors of the rewards scheme contribute the most in engaging the employees? Please rate the options on a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being the lowest. a) Compensation and benefit programmes b) Stock ownership and profit sharing c) Recognition programmes d) Idea collection schemes linked to rewards for idea generation e) Long service and good performance awards f) Competitive compensation packages g) Material benefits like trips, food and discount coupons, etc.

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7. What are the activities you conduct to build the team-spirit in the organisation? a) Small team recreational activities, such as cricket, trips to the cinema b) Social activities, such as family gatherings c) Community outreach activities such as volunteering and fund-raising d) Any other, please specify 8. How often do you conduct training programs?

9. At what level of hierarchy in the organization do you conduct these training programmes? a) Higher level b) Middle level c) Lower level

10. What is the objective of training the employees? a) To enhance their current set of skills as per the organization’s requirement b) To unleash the hidden skills/ talent c) To update them on the technological advancements d) To fill the gap of expected-actual performance e) All of the above f) Any other, please specify

11. Is there a provision of flexibility in terms of working hours? Please tick the appropriate option. a) Flex-time b) Telecommuting

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c) Job Sharing d) Any other 12. Do you think the current retention strategies are effective in reducing attrition rate? a) Yes b) No

13. What percent-decrease range have you observed due to the efforts in retaining employees? a) 1 – 5 % b) 5 – 10% c) 10 & above 14. In general, how do the employees respond to such engagement policies? a) Positively b) Negatively c) Indifferent 15. Have you come up with any innovative idea for engaging & retaining employees? Please mention.

___________________________________________________________

“THANK YOU”

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