Employee engagement

Muhammad Shahid Shams

 Well-being

Wellbeing, Information sharing, Fairness,

Involvement Model
Well-being

The state of being happy , healthy or successful.

Well-being is as much a state of mind as it is a

physical characteristic.
Aim of this chapter..

What managers could do to ensure

employees’ well- being within the
organization?
Point to ponder…

•Name the organization you

would love to work with?
Why? What appeals you to be
a part of that organization?
What do you know about that
organization?
Why Invest in Employee Wellbeing?
(Reference Document attached)

• Better performance
• Better customer experience
• Reduced staff turnover
• Reduced costs
• Higher creativity
What does ‘good work’ look like?
Well-being

It is fundamental to the degree to which

employees feel motivated to give
discretionary effort.
MOTIVATION

• Certainly this is a complex area in terms of human energy and

behavior. What most specialists agree, however, is that:

• 􏰁  Motivation comes from within; it is drawn out of individuals,

not imposed on them.

• 􏰁  Motivation is multi-dimensional and there is no single

universal answer about what motivation is, true for all time and
all people.
 Motivation
•􏰁 Clear goals are an aid to motivation:
they enable individuals to know what to
aim for, and feedback gives an
energizing sense of progress.
•􏰁  Increasingly, ‘carrots’ are seen as
generally more effective to foster
sustained motivation than ‘sticks’.
Fundamental Needs
• Spitzer (1995) outlined some fundamental needs that motivate
employees in the long term and which are shared to varying degrees by
us all. These are:

• 􏰁  Desire for activity. People want to be active and involved. In

their personal lives most people avoid boredom and monotony.
Yet at work employees are expected to accept boring,
repetitious, monotonous jobs without complaint.

• 􏰁  Desire for ownership and power . Owning things makes

people feel better about them- selves. ‘Psychological’
ownership is even more important than ‘physical’ ownership.
Employees want to psychologically own their work. They want
input into their work and want to feel responsible for their
jobs.
• 􏰁  Desire
for affiliation. People are social creatures.
They like to interact and socialize with one
another, though the degree of sociability will vary.
Social support and helping relationships are
among the many benefits provided by work.

• 􏰁  Desire for competence. This is the core of self-

esteem. People welcome opportunities to feel
more competent. Work can provide these
opportunities.
•􏰁  Desire for achievement. It is important for
people to succeed at some-thing. Under the right
conditions, employees will be willing to work hard
and overcome obstacles to achieve a goal.

•􏰁  Desire for recognition. People want to feel

appreciated by others and be positively recognized
for their efforts. Recognition is a powerful force
which has the capability to unleash energy and
motivation.

•􏰁  Desire for meaning. People want a reason for

doing something. They want reassurance that their
efforts, however small, are making a difference.
AFFILIATION AND MEANING

• Businesses today have three key tools to use in

appealing to this aspect of employee well-
being:
• 􏰁  corporate social responsibility;
• 􏰁  employer branding;
• 􏰁  organizational values.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

• Many organizations now look to put back into

society a contribution that involves helping the
wider community or environment.

• CSR refers to how companies conduct their

business and the impact that they have
economically, socially, environmentally and in
terms of human rights.
The effect of CSR on employee engagement?

•Cynically people may see corporate social

responsibility as just another way of
attracting good candidates to an
organization and also to establish a ‘feel
good’ factor for existing employees. But
organizations that do CSR well genuinely
have a commitment to altruistic causes.
When done well, engaging in CSR can also
bring financial pay-offs.
 Case studies (Coca-Cola)

• Nothing symbolizes globalization quite as powerfully as Coca-Cola. It

established a presence in Africa as early as 1928 and the company’s
growth across the continent accelerated from the 1960s as African
countries gained their independence. Today, Coca-Cola has operations
in all 56 African countries, with 40 bottling firms operating 170 plants
under license as part of its ‘franchise’ system. This makes it Africa’s
largest private-sector employer, with over 60,000 employees in the
Coca-Cola system.

• Coca-Cola has embraced CSR in Africa via its support of HIV/AIDS

workplace policies. These include confidential screening and
antiretroviral provision for workers and their immediate families. Coca-
Cola puts in excess of 1 per cent (to date, over US$140 million) of its
profits before tax into its corporate social responsibility programs.
 Case study(Timberland )

• The Timberland Company, a manufacturer and

retailer of footwear, outdoor apparel and
accessories, committed itself to instituting and
communicating a core set of values to its employees,
stockholders and consumers. One of its core beliefs
emphasized community service. Central to this
commitment was an alliance with the national youth
community service organization, City Year.
Employees from throughout the organization are
encouraged to work on a voluntary basis with the
charity. They are given paid leave to do so.
 THE EMPLOYER BRAND

•"the image of your organization as a

'great place to work' in the mind of current
employees and key stakeholders in the
external market” (Minchington, 2005)
•Employer branding has been defined as
‘the company’s image as seen through the
eyes of its employees and potential hires’.
The outward face of the brand

The challenge to employers is not only to make

potential employees aware of the company as
a good place to work and bring the best
applicants successfully through the
recruitment and hiring process, but to retain
them and ensure their understanding of the
company’s goals and commitment to them.
Companies have found employer branding
programs provide a real edge in competing for
talent. (David Dell, former research director)
Living the brand

•The key to creating a strong employer brand

is to ensure that employees become ‘brand
ambassadors’

•As the search for high-quality candidates for

jobs becomes increasingly difficult,
companies are now more conscious of the
brand image they project and the need to be
seen as ‘the employer of choice’.
 ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES

•Psychologically there is also attraction in

working for an organization that is clear
about the guiding principles of “how people
in the organization should behave towards
each other and how they can expect to be
treated by the organization”. This is
especially so when the organization’s values
align with employees’ own. If they don’t,
there is a mismatch.
 Case(Vodafone)

•Arin Sarun, CEO of Vodafone, is a strong believer in the power

of organizational values. He explains:
•Our statement of values defines our culture. It reflects our
four passions – customers, employees, results, the world
around us. These passions are the guide-post for our 60,000
employees worldwide. We use them to identify the people we
want. We look for team players, we look for people who are
customer focused, we look for people who embody our brand
and we look for people who will go the extra mile to enhance
our reputation.
•Strong brands have well-defined values. Vodafone uses these
to ensure that it attracts and retains team members who will
embody the brand.
Difference between Values and culture

Values guide decision-making and a sense of

what's important and what's right. 

Culture is the collection of business practices,

processes, and interactions that make up the
work environment. ... They are the
uncompromising core principles that
the company is willing to live and die by, the
rules of the game
A quick feedback..

• What is your organization doing in terms of

CSR, employer brand, organizational values?
• What can your organization do to increase the
activities it undertakes in the area of CSR?
• What can you do to strengthen your employer
brand?
• What are your organizational values?
Thank you 