CIPD Level 5: Module #7 Employee Engagement

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Employee Engagement

The below is a module 7 submission for the CIPD Level 5 certification, kindly shared by one of our clients to help you on your own HR journey. Next is, Employee Engagement.

Contents

Part One – Understand the concept and components of employee engagement and evidence showing its contribution to achieving business outcomes:

1.1 Analyse the meaning, principal dimensions and components of ‘employee engagement’ and compare with other related concepts. 1.2 Justify the need for alignment between engagement practices and other corporate components if the full benefits of high engagement are to be realised.

1.2 Justify the Need for Alignment Between Engagement Practices and Other Corporate Components if the Full Benefits of High Engagement are to be Realised.

Part Two – Understand the importance of employee engagement as a contributor to positive corporate outcomes:

2.1 Identify the principle drivers of employee engagement and evaluate the business benefits for the organisation and different stakeholders. 2.2 Explain the application of employee engagement through job design, discretionary behaviour, role autonomy and organisational citizenship.

Part Three – Know how to implement HR strategies and practices to raise levels of employee engagement in a specific organisational context:

3.1 Identify and evaluate the use of diagnostic tools for measuring employee attitudes and levels of employee engagement.

3.2 Construct an ‘employee value proposition’ and propose relevant strategies to raise levels of employee engagement and address any barriers.

3.3 Propose relevant people resourcing, development, performance and communication strategies to raise levels of employee engagement.

7 Other Submissions

Check out the other 7 module submissions here:

Part One – Understand the concept and components of employee engagement and evidence showing its contribution to achieving business outcomes:

1.1 Analyse the Meaning, Principal Dimensions and Components of ‘Employee Engagement’ and Compare With Other Related Concepts.

Close up of businesswoman's hands analysing chart documents at her desk
Start by understanding the definitions of key terms

 

There are various definitions of employee engagement such as an approach taken by an organisation to increase business success through employee’s happiness, well-being and productivity (What is Employee Engagement – Engage for Success, 2019) or according to the CIPD (Gifford, 2019), they explain it as being a two way stream where both the company and employees benefit. They say, “Employee engagement brings together and repackages older and more established concepts, in particular work motivation and organisational commitment”.

Whatever research you carry out, it will normally lead you to the MacLeod report carried out by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke in 2009 and MacLeod himself states, “This is about how we create the conditions in which employees offer more of their capability and potential”. Employee engagement is not a tool for manipulation of employees where employers might try to “pull the wool over their staffs eyes” in order for them to gain an advantage. Employees would soon see through the manipulation attempt, become distrustful, and not give their full support when future conversations are held. There are various components surrounding employee engagement and we should considered things like how employees feel about their role and the importance of it.

Do they have job security and feel like they can grow within the firm? What are their relationships like with their colleagues and managers and whether or not the employee feels their employer is one of choice; when an employer has a solid brand that is reputable, people will wait for an opportunity to work there. Employee engagement is not to be confused with job satisfaction or employer involvement as these are different concepts. Job satisfaction is when an employee is content in doing their job and may enjoy what they do, but they are happy to do what is asked and nothing more; they are not engaged or invested in the end goal.

However, in a company where employee engagement is high, employees are more motivated, focused and will go above and beyond without being asked because they want to and are invested in the company and its goals and vision. (Taylor and Woodhams, n.d.) Quote Kahn (1990, p694) who suggested there are three dimensions of employee engagement and by delving deeper with (Cartwright, 2014).

I can give the below examples:

Emotional engagement – This is where someone has a passion for their work and they want to get up and attend each day with no question around it. They get a sense of pride, happiness and fulfilment from their role and feel rewarded for their commitment towards the company. They trust their managers, colleagues and company and feel trusted in return.

Cognitive engagement – This is where someone is fully committed to achieving the goal and therefore concentrates so hard on fulfilling their role because they enjoy it. They may start work at 9am and the next time they look up from their computer, it is 12pm because they are invested in delivering an excellent job and are completely aligned with the company objectives.

Physical engagement – Physical engagement is based upon how much physical and mental energy an employee puts into their work. How resilient they are, and how much energy they draw from the work they do in order to keep pushing for the result and achieve a high level of performance.

1.2 Justify the Need for Alignment Between Engagement Practices and Other Corporate Components if the Full Benefits of High Engagement are to be Realised.

Alignment is vital to a successful, high performing organisation. Although they are very different, and target different audiences with alignment having a top down approach and engagement a bottom up one. If executed correctly, they can produce an extremely effective organisation (Why combine organisation alignment with employee engagement? n.d.).

Where employers can make a link between what employees are doing and what the company is working towards, they are more likely to succeed in retaining engaged staff. By aligning people’s duties, objectives and goals with the company strategy, we are more likely to achieve a higher level of engagement because people understand what they need to do, the outcome that is expected, the end result and how it will benefit them. The below diagram shows very clearly the link between alignment and engagement (Alignment and Engagement – purpleworks, n.d.)

 

Blue and orange cycle diagram linking alignment and engagement to represent staff employee engagement
Staff engagement results from employees doing what the company is working towards

 

The financial crash in 2007 highlight Allied Irish Bank as being a prime example of a company in need of change through alignment and engagement. They needed to turn their brand name into a positive one and instill faith in their customers once more as they stated “customers, employees and the media turned against us” (Making Allied Irish Bank a great place to work again – Engage for Success, 2015) and come away from being owned by the government.

Allied Irish bank recognised that something needed to change within their organisation and the fact that they had never really focused on people management before; this is a very important step in showing they actually wanted to change and it was not just a tick box exercise. They set two main initial visions that focused on the people side of their business as they realised that by aligning employees with the end goal and telling them what the strategy was and increasing engagement and motivation, they could once again be proud of the bank they once were.

Examples of what they did were things such as providing extensive training for managers to enhance their people skills; they spoke to their staff and explained the strategy clearly and concisely, ran their first engagement survey along with many more strategic initiatives.

However, they did not just focus on the people side but they realised that to engage all levels of staff and customers alike, they needed to communicate regularly through comms that had a positive language that everyone understood; many businesses use extremely long and complicated words that’s confuses people.

Once they had set their strategy and everyone knew the part they had to play, they could hit the ground running and start their journey of achieving their goal. As you can see by the above example, the importance of aligning all areas of a business is vital to ensure employee engagement is successful and can be achieved to its fullest potential.

Part Two – Understand the importance of employee engagement as a contributor to positive corporate outcomes:

2.1 Identify the principle drivers of employee engagement and evaluate the business benefits for the organisation and different stakeholders.

Businesswoman presenting from a whiteboard in a room of engaged employees raising their hands
Applying employee engagement creates a better understanding

 

The main drivers of employee engagement are according to (The four key drivers of employee engagement, 2018) are leadership, ensuring line managers are engaged, giving the employee a voice and ensuring integrity is apparent. Leadership provides employees with the opportunity to have a voice so beliefs and opinions are listened too.

Having engaged line managers will result in communications being genuine, effective and produced in a timely manner so employees understand what is happening in the company and their role within it. If employees trust their line manager, they are more likely to be invested in the end goal and go the extra mile. Acas cited MacLeod and Clarke in a research paper where the four main principle drivers (or enablers as they called them) were explained. (MacLeod and Clarke’s Concept of Employee Engagement: An Analysis based on the Workplace Employment Relations Study, 2014) They suggest that by utilising the four enablers, you are highly likely to achieve an engaged organisation.

Similar to the ones I have listed above, they list:

Strategic narrative – This is based around how an organisation culturally identifies the vision and company strategy to employees. It gives a simple and clear message of what is expected of everyone to help achieve the ultimate goal.

Engaging managers – An engaging manager is someone who cares about their team as individuals as well as collectively. They understand how to get the best out of each person and have their well-being in mind. They support, listen, and ensure everyone can work to the fullest potential by providing autonomy (where applicable) and empowerment.

Employee voice – When giving employees a voice, they should be encouraged to speak openly and honestly but with integrity at all times. A team, department and company are only as good as the people employed; if organisations listen and discuss ideas with employees either face to face or by survey’s and then communicate if those ideas are implemented, this forms the basis of a very strong relationship which leads to a high engagement level.

Integrity – A company that visibly lives and breathes its values, shows integrity and this in turn instils a bond of trust with the employee. It is important for employees to see genuine integrity for them to go that extra mile and establish the same beliefs and values. Where you have a highly engaged employee, customers, the company and the employee will benefit from feeling satisfied that a good or excellent job has been delivered. Well-being is more prevalent in employees who are more engaged, as they feel focused with a clear goal in mind and this would more than likely shine into their personal lives and when speaking to customers.

Everyone benefits from engagement whether it is the person as stated above or the company achieves less absenteeism, higher retention, increased profits or just a general sense of happiness with the drive to push forward that extra bit more than normal. As you can see by investing in your people, you can achieve amazing results!

2.2 Explain the Application of Employee Engagement Through Job Design, Discretionary Behaviour, Role Autonomy and Organisational Citizenship.

Job design is very important because naturally, a company wants to attract and retain the best candidates. Firstly, if a job advertisement is dull and boring you are less likely attract a wide audience of candidates and that reduces the scope of talent you could interview and employee. Roles should be as interesting as possible (without being misleading) and offer a variety of tasks.

They should be challenging but achievable and one that offers a level of satisfaction when undertaken. When jobs are designed in this way, you are more likely to attract and retain candidates and therefore achieve the higher employee engagement that we all strive for. (Job Design and Engagement – Engage for Success, n.d.) Discretionary behaviour contributes positively to overall company effectiveness. If an employee is motivated and engaged, it generally results in a positive performance but this does not happen without engagement. To increase discretionary behaviour the company needs to create a culture where the employee has a voice, has trust within their manager, feels listened too, valued and as if, they are appreciated.

This will then automatically develop discretionary behaviour and they will start going beyond their job profile. If managers ensure they do not break the psychological contract with their employees, they are more likely to see discretionary behaviour from their staff. (Discretionary Behaviours, n.d.) Role autonomy is vital to employee engagement. If you do not allow employees to get on with projects or their day-to-day duties, they will feel untrusted, morale will start to deteriorate and they will not show any initiative to push things forward.

They will wait to be told what to do almost every time. Managers can help with role autonomy by building a culture of trust within their team and this can be done by starting to increase someone’s responsibilities slowly and allowing them the freedom to carry out the task without being micro-managed. Communication is key so once responsibilities have been broadened, regular meetings give both sides the chance to update on progress or assistance that may be needed and again build on that trust.

Where role autonomy has been granted, it is important clear guidelines and expectations are provided to help the employee succeed. (Why job autonomy is vital for success – and how to encourage it – CIPHR, 2019) Organisational Citizenship is where people feel like they are “as one” and are willing to put more effort and go the extra mile for colleagues and work. This can be very powerful in affecting employee engagement because where people feel like they are part of a community or have friendships; they are generally happier and will do things that they do not receive any reward for.

Social activities promote connections with other people and this could lead to employees being more engaged and productive. Volunteering days where groups of people get together to help a charity or other good cause is a great way of encouraging people to feel that citizenship and once back in the office they have that connection that will help them to form a solid relationship and thus build on the organisational citizenship and increase employee engagement. (Editor, 2010)

Part Three – Know how to implement HR strategies and practices to raise levels of employee engagement in a specific organisational context:

3.1 Identify and evaluate the use of diagnostic tools for measuring employee attitudes and levels of employee engagement.

Two yellow tape measures tools crossing each other on a table
Utilise diagnostics tools for measuring employee engagement and attitudes

 

To measure employee attitudes and engagement you can run focus groups where small numbers of people are asked structured questions and then details answers are encouraged. This can lead into a more in depth discussions that allow people to think outside the box, feel empowered to give their opinions and like they have a voice that is being listened too. It is more of a conversation than a questions and answer session. On the contrary, a quarterly electronic survey can be sent where the questions are generally, either “give a score out of 1-10 or Yes/No answers with minimal comments allowed.

However, an electronic survey that allows comments will not normally get the full answers a focus group would, as people may not understand the boundaries of what they can say and this will restrict them or they may not know how to articulate their feedback and just give very short basic answers. You could look at running pulse surveys more frequently and ask different questions like “how are you feeling at work today?” or “do you feel valued this week”.

Although they are Yes/No answers, they give a consistent “feel” on how employees are coping; and you can see the trend in weekly/monthly behaviour and feelings and then look at what was happening in the organisation at that time to highlight and pin point any potential triggers that could have caused the behaviour. (How To Properly Measure Employee Engagement, 2017) Alternatively, if you are just starting to look at employee engagement you could start simple and look at Employee Net Promotor Score (eNPS) which is taken from the NPS measurement used to gage how loyal customers are.

It asks a simple question of “How likely is it that you would recommend my product/service to a friend or colleague” so when using the eNPS you would ask, “On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend this organisation as a good place to work?” (Employee Net Promoter Score: The Complete Guide | Officevibe, 2016) This would also give you an understanding around your company brand. You could use absence statistics captured, look at trends of why employees are off, and then target those areas i.e. if you see an increase in mental health issues, you can look at ways to increase the well-being.

Maybe you will train some mental health first aiders to increase awareness and be a point of contact for people if they need someone to talk to or you can promote your EAP provider etc. This is particularly good for focusing and targeting areas to raise engagement but it could add a lot more work to managers who need to address the issues and in some cases start absence management and result in the loss of staff.

Once you start focusing on targeted areas you can look at how the company can increase employee retention, improve engagement and attitudes and that should naturally lead to an increased on turnover. The tools used for measuring employee engagement all have pros and cons as highlighted above but it is about finding the right tools that work for your business and not be afraid to change the way you measure or confront issues head-on but in a productive manner.

3.2 Construct an ‘Employee Value Proposition’ and Propose Relevant Strategies to Raise Levels of Employee Engagement and Address Any Barriers

(What is an Employee Value Proposition? – HR Daily Advisor, 2016) state, “an EVP encompasses everything an employer is doing to attract and retain employees” It consists of everything like, financial and non-financial benefits, salary, rewards like bonus, private health care, positive culture and whatever else the business uses to stand out against competitors. A good EVP would encompass and promote the culture of the business as being different from competitors.

Red stop sign on a closed gate with a nature background
It’s important to identify any barriers that are lowering employee engagement

 

It should be built around qualities that are genuine and people can relate to. They should be aligned with the company goals, strategy, and give a true and honest picture of what the company is like now as well as what it wants to be in the future so the potential employee can see the desire to achieve success and a company that is not afraid to change and adapt along the way. L’Oréal evidences a positive and solid example of how an EVP could be built (or rebuilt in this case). (How L’Oréal Developed a New Employee Value Proposition (EVP), n.d.). Marie-Dominque Jacquet explained that instead of taking a top down approach to evaluate themselves, they took a bottom up one.

They knew they had a strong brand, recognised by most of the world but they had not conquered certain countries and that was there vision; to achieve “1 billion L’Oréal consumers worldwide today and 2 billion L’Oréal consumers in the 10 coming years”. To build a good EVP you need to look at the company you are and L’Oréal did this by undertaking a complete business audit of values conducted by their employees. This could have presented a barrier if the employees did not have an understanding of what they were being asked and why so it is important that employees be communicated to fully.

They knew they were an attractive employer but they needed to ensure they continued to be the employer of choice for existing and potential candidates worldwide. Who better to give a clear and honest picture than the current employees! Marie-Dominque explained how they asked employees to give honest reasons why they liked working for the company and asked them to share experiences with others.

This is a very good example of how you can start to understand your business and highlight the gaps in line with the vision you want to achieve. They identified their strengths so they could keep the focus on them but then increase the focus on the weaknesses and the work that was needed to improve them. In order for a good EVP to be built, you need to understand whom you are, where you want to be and how you are going to get there.

Once you have captured that you can start the hard work of change, however, it is vital that employees are involved in the process as it is they who will help promote the business by word of mouth and on social media. The EVP should be relevant to your market i.e. insurance, it should highlight how you are different from other insurers and why that is a positive thing, it needs to be credible and honest; you don’t want employees saying or thinking “well that’s not true” as it will lead them to be disengaged. Lastly, the EVP should explain what the vision is and if possible a little around plans to achieving it; make people excited to be part of the company and journey! (Marritt and Marritt, 2011)

3.3 Propose Relevant People Resourcing, Development, Performance and Communication Strategies to Raise Levels of Employee Engagement

A strong recruitment strategy can make all the difference in increasing employee engagement. As candidates normally look for roles that fit with their personal values and beliefs it is important to show that we encourage someone to bring their whole self to the workplace and not to try to be someone their not. Employees need to fit with the company as much as the company needs to fit with the employee. When a role advertisement is being written, it should focus on someone being a good cultural fit as well as having the skills to fulfil it; if they have both they are more likely to retain a high level of engagement.

Resourcing is not just about the advert but also the communication before the candidate starts the role and then the on boarding. Both of these need to be fluid to ensure the new starter feels confident, excited, engaged, and ready to hit the ground running. Once the candidate becomes an employee it is vital you continue to develop them and allow them to grow in the role, however, this is important for all employees, not just new starters. Work shadowing is an excellent way of developing a new starter as they get to see a task being completed first hand.

Female coach teaching a training course to businesspeople
Training courses are a great way for improving employee engagement

 

Providing training courses of interest and outside of the core business is a good way to keep employees engaged and raise their level of engagement as it shows that you are supportive of them as individuals and not just the work that they do. If an employee shows an interest in a different department, let them explore it; it will more than likely enhance their learning, develop good relationships with other colleagues, and again increase the level of engagement.

To increase employee engagement through performance you should be having regular conversations and ‘check-ins’ that are meaningful and focused. If an employee has a clear direction that is aligned with the company strategy and goals, they are more likely to go beyond what is expected. According to Towers Watson, “when leaders were seen as effective, 72 percent of employees were highly engaged” (5 Ways Performance Management Can Inspire and Engage Employee, 2017). If managers are highly motivate and engaged, they will lead their team in a positive way, whilst investing in them to understand what they need as individuals to achieve success and this will develop into a highly engaged team. In all of the above, communication is key.

From the initial advertisement to regular updates, if you get this part wrong it will prove very difficult to retain a high level of employee engagement and attitude. The communication should be relevant and informative but interesting to read. Make it proactive and ensure everyone is made aware of changes, risks, improvements and be honest about what is needed to achieve success; do not dress things up for employees, they will find out the truth and you will lose their engagement.

Ensure the communication is a two way street and encourage employees to give honest feedback in a constructive and professional manner; give them the voice they need to feel like they are a part of the business and not just a number. If you cover these four areas when trying to increase employees engagement, are prepared to listened and change when needed. You will succeed in the vision of having a completely engaged company that is a force to be reckoned with.

 Bibliography

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