INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH

International Business School

A PROJECT REPORT ON

Employee Engagement strategies adopted by the companies

With special reference to the Human Resource Department

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the award of the degree Master of Business

Administration (MBA) offered by Bharathiar University during the year
2009 2011.
Submitted By

Nancy Agrawal
Reg No: 09P35G0131
Under the guidance of;
External

Internal

( office )

Nandeesh V.Hiremath
IBMR IBS
Centre for Participatory and Online Programs
Bharathiar University
Coimbatore 641 046
Date: 4 October, 2010

Institute of Business Management and Research

International Business School

Guide Certificate

This is to certify that this report titled Stragies adopted by the companies for
Employee Engagement with special reference to the Human Resource
Department, submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Business
Administration course is based on an original and independent work carried out by
Nancy Agrawal under my guidance and supervision.

This has not formed the basis for the award of any other degree or diploma of any
other University or Institution.

Signature

Signature

IBMR IBS

IBMR IBS

Bangalore

Bangalore

Declaration

I hereby declare that this project titled Strategies adopted by the companies for
Employee Engagement is prepared by me during the academic year 2009 - 2011
under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Nandeesh V.Hiremath of IBMR IBS and (ur
office Head name.)

I also declare that this project prepared by me has been done for partial fulfillment
of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Administration offered by
Bharathiar University. This project is not based on any previously submitted
project for the award of any degree or diploma offered by any University. It is a
result of my own efforts and hard work.

Date: 25 April, 2011

Nancy Agrawal

Place: Bangalore

Reg No: 09P35G0131

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have been
instrumental in the presentation of this project.
I would like to thank the Dean of IBMR - IBS Bangalore, Dr. C. Manohar for his
continuous support.
I wish to place on record, my profound thanks to Prof. Nandeesh V. Hiremath, a
highly esteemed and distinguished guide for his expert advice and help.
I am deeply thankful to (ur office head name and designation )Bangalore along
with the entire Human Resource Team, for their support in the project by making
the required information available.
Last but not the least; I would like to thank my Parents and Friends for their help
and support that has largely contributed to the successful completion of the project.

Date: 25 April, 2011

Nancy Agrawal

Place: Bangalore

Reg. No - 09P35G0131

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
Chapter-I
Objective of the Research
Research Methodology
Selection of Study Area and Sample Size
Significance of the Study
Limitation of the Study
Chapter-II
Definition of Employee Engagement
Historical Background of Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement in India
Chapter-III
The Literature Review
Chapter-IV
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Employees
Data Analysis and Interpretation of HR Managers
Chapter-VI
Findings
Recommendations
Conclusion
References
Annexure

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 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 individuals
expectations from such strategies.

CHAPTER-1
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.
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:
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 and bibliography.
HYPOTHESIS
The engagement of employees is dependent on the independent factors.

SELECTION OF STUDY AREA AND SAMPLE SIZE

40 samples of employees and 9 samples of HR managers were collected from 10 companies
namely:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

I Create, Bangalore
Infosys, Bangalore
TCS, Bangalore
Delloite ,Bangalore
Eureka Forbes, Bangalore
IDBI, Bangalore

7. CGI,Bangalore
8. HSBC,Bangalore
9. Amdocs, Bangalore
10. Accenture,Bangalore
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 thats 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 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 Perrins
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 disengagedjust 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 is a partnership between a

company and its employees
Most organizations today realize that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the best employee in
terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an ENGAGED EMPLOYEE who is intellectually
and emotionally bound with the organization who feels passionate about its goals and is
committed towards its values thus he goes the extra mile beyond the basic job. Employee
engagement is a powerful retention strategy. An engaged employee gives his company his 100
percent. When employees are effectively and positively engaged with their organization, they
form an emotional connection with the company. Employee engagement is a barometer that
determines the association of a person with the organisation. It is about creating the passion
among associates to do things beyond what is expected from him.

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.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT starts right at the selection stage:

Choosing the right fit, giving a realistic job preview

Strong induction and orientation programme

To keep up the morale of people and drive them towards excellent performance through
recognition letters, profit sharing schemes, long performance awards etc.

Regular feedback to all people

Communication forums like the in-house magazine, and regular surveys and conferences

By helping to maintain the quality of work-life and a balance between

personal/professional lives, there are recreational activities like festivities, get-togethers,
sports etc.

An open and transparent culture to empower its people.

The result of these practices can be evident through the regular feedback from our employees
collected through surveys,

Factors for Higher Employee Engagement

Here is a list of some contributing factors:

Understanding of corporate goals/mission

Understanding of job and how it contributes to overall corporate goals

Clear communication of goals, expectations, directions

Job design

Job fit

Support and tools

Independence & innovation

Relationship with boss/direct reports

Clear feedback on performance

Recognition

Learning and development opportunities

Opportunities for advancement

Pride in organization

Employee input

Employee involvement in decision making

Work-life balance

Workplace culture/morale

Co-worker relationships/good team environment (enjoy colleagues)

Fair HR practices

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 todays organizations and how it
has changed over time. In 1982, 62 percent of an organizations 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 organizations talent, its passion and commitment, is nearly
impossible to replicate. Engagement is the fuel that drives the value of intangible assets.

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 studys 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 todays 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 onesas 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: Its
about appealing to the head and the heart. Engagement is about creating passion, its about
focusing on what people do well, and its 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 its contribution. Its 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 peopleits
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 strategyEngagement 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.
EmpowermentEmpowerment 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
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. Its 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 its 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 its
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.
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 companys 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 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 theyd 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 isnt 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 whats 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, 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
individuals 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 Work Asia 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, 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 Whats Working a series of national research on worker insights, highlights
factors that make a difference to employee engagement. The surveys 125 questions elicit views
in the areas defined by Mercers 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 employees intent to leave. The
employees commitment to the organization and motivation to contribute to the organizations
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 employees need for
giving feedback and to observe action taken from this. Employees seem to be getting very little
information on the organizations vision and future plans, a cause of concern. Other areas for
action include the organizations reputation in the market congruent to other research in this
space which believes that organizations 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.
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 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 topperforming 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 everchanging 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
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 wont make much of a difference.
Engagement is all about getting employees to give it 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 Fortunes
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 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

The importance of the individual being able to align themselves to the products,
services and values of the organisation
The ability of the organisation to communicate its vision, strategy, objectives
and values to its staff so that they are clearly understood
Management give staff sufficient elbow room and autonomy to let them fulfil their

potential
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.

People

Senior
Leadership

Manager

Total Coworkers

Engage
Rewards

ment
Pay
Company
Benefits Practices
Recogniti
People Practices
on Policies

Performance
Assessment

Company
Reputation

Work

Work Activities

Resources

Processes
Opportunities

Career
Opportunitie
s

Learning/De
Quality of Life
velopment

Work/Life
Balance

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 organizations 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, 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 its 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.
Measuring the Impact of Employee Engagement

BENCHMARKING BEST PRACTICES

HSBC
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
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 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 Suns 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.
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 its adding value. Engagement is an increasingly important human capital
metric because:
Engagement levels correlate with business performance
Measuring Engagement tells us how well we are doing in the competition for
talent
Driving Engagement levels higher improves our ability to attract, motivate and
retain talent and so 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
employees 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 assessmentsall 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 youve 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 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 workforceexpect 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.

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q1
Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

32%
68%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q2
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

29%

Disagree

18%

53%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q3
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Disagree

5% 11%

84%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q4
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Disagree

8% 8%

84%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis:

Q5
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable
3% 11%

87%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis:

Q6
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

11% 5% 5%

79%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q7
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

5% 8%

66%

Disagree

21%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q8
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Disagree

16% 3%
39%
42%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable

Analysis:

Q9
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

13%

3%3%

50%

Disagree

32%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q10
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Disagree

11%
42%
47%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q11
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Disagree

24%

26%

50%

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Analysis:

Q12
Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

13%

63%

Disagree

24%

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
d) Employees Participation in decision making
e) Counselling/ Feedback
f) Rewards and Recognition Schemes
g) Employee Referral Scheme
h) Retirement Plans
Analysis:

Q13
Retirement Plans
Employee Referral Scheme
Rewards and Recognition Schemes
Counseling/ Feedback
Employees Participation in decision making
Career development
Work life balance
Stress Management
0

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

Q1
Yes

No

11%

89%

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
b) No

Analysis:

Q2
Yes

No

100%

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
Analysis:

Q3
Yes

No

100%

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?

Analysis:

a)

Yes

b)

No

Q4
Yes

No

11%

89%

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
c)
Analysis:

Not involved

Q5
Totally involved

Partially involved

Not involved

22%
44%
33%

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

Analysis:

Q6
Yes

No

11%

89%

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
Analysis:

Q7
Yes

No

22%

78%

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
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:

Q8

es
ch
em

Em

pl
oy
ee

Re
fe
rra
lS

Fe
ed
ba
ck
el
in
g/

en
t
Co
un
s

Ca
re
er
D
ev
el
op
m

St
re
ss

M
an
ag
em

en
t

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

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

Q9
Yes

No

22%

78%

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
e) Long service and good performance awards

f)

Competitive compensation packages

g) Material benefits like trips, food and discount coupons, etc.

Analysis:

Q 10

M
at
er
ia
lB
en
ef
ts

sc
he
m
es
co
lle
ct
io
n
Id
ea

Co
m

pe
ns
at
io
n

&

Be
ne
ft
Pr
gm

s.

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

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
Analysis:

Q 11

ab
ov
e
Al
lo
ft
he

ac
tiv
iti
es
ou
tre
ac
h
un
ity

m
Co
m

Sm

al
lt
ea
m

re
cr
ea
tio
na
la
ct
iv
iti
es

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

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:

Q12
As per requirement

Monthly

Quarterly

Yearly

11%

11%
22%

56%

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

c) Lower level
Analysis:

Q 13
Higher level

Middle level

Lower level

All of the above

9%
18%
55%
18%

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 organizations 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

Analysis:

Q 14
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
To enhance their current set of skills as per the organizations requirement

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 organizations
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

Analysis:

Q 15

ab
ov
e
Al
lo
ft
he

ot
he
r
An
y

sh
ar
in
g
Jo
b

m
Te
le
co
m

Fl
ex
-t
im

ut
in
g

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

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:

Q16
Yes

No

33%
67%

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:

Q 17
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

1-5%

5-10%

10% & above

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:

Q18
Positively

Negatively

Indifferent

22%
11%

67%

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.

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.

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 dont 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.
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 engagement 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 topperforming 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 everchanging 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.

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-Business-Outcomes
http://forewordcommunications.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/what-is-employee-engagement/
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&sectionName=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

ANNEXURE
Dear Sir/Madam,
I, Ms. Nancy Agrawal of IBMR-IBS,student of HRM currently undertaken a research project on
Employee Engagement strategies adopted by the companies 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,
Nancy Agrawal

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES

ORGANIZATION

NAME

DESIGNATION

EMAIL ID

Q 1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?

a) Strongly Agree
e)

Q 2.

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

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

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

d) Strongly Disagree

e) Not Applicable
Q 10. Are organization policies clearly communicated in the organization?
a) Strongly Agree
e) Not Applicable

b) Agree

c) Disagree

d) Strongly Disagree

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

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
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.
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 organizations 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
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 employees in an organization? Please
mention.

___________________________________________________________

THANK YOU