8/8/2019 Employee Engagement Only Way to Retain Them Today

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/employee-engagement-only-way-to-retain-them-today 1/2

34  Appare lOnline SEPTEMBER 16-30, 2010

Engagement is a bout motivating

employees t o do their bes t. This is

what makes the difference in an

industry where the most valuable resource

of a corporation walks out of the door every

evening. “This is of particular importance in

an export-import industry. The eminence of 

output a nd competitive a dvantage of a

company depends on t he quality of its

people,” says Samidha Bhatnagar,

Manager, HR, at Sha hi Exports .

“It has been proved that there is an inherent

link between employee e ngagement,

cust omer loyalty, and profita bility,”

elucidates Anil Sharma , HR Head, Nahar

Spinning Mills Ltd. “When employees ar e

effectively and optimistically engaged with

their organ ization, they form an emotional

connection with the organization. This

influences their attitude towards the

company’s clients, and thereby develops

customer satisfaction and service levels,”

reasons Sharma  who points out tha t a

successful employee engagement program

helps create a community at the workplace

and not just a workforce.

Nee d to Connect

Global studies r ecommend three ba sic

aspects of employee engagement – The

employees a nd their own distinctive

psychological makeup and experience; the

employers a nd their capa bility to crea te the

conditions tha t pr omote employee

engagement; and interact ion between

employees at all ranks .

Virtua l work pra ctices being the flavour in

businesses today, one of the grea test

organizational benefits than pers onal goals.

This consequently reduces feelings of 

acrimony and inter nal rivalries. “They also

project a positive image to new recruits and

this motivates t he latter t o perform better

and a ssimilate them in the office culture .Research also shows that engaged employees

in customer-facing roles a re more likely to

treat customers in ways that positively

influence customer satisfaction,” adds Samidha.

Organiza tion Initiatives

Most organizat ions have a ra nge of programs

to perk u p the enga gement level of their

employees. One of the most upfront

initiatives ha s been ma de by Bangalore-

based Integr a, which esta blish ‘right’ at the

select ion sta ge itse lf. Some of the initiatives

made by the organization include choosing

the r ight fit an d giving a pra gmatic job

preview, str ong induction a nd orienta tion

EMPLOYEE

ENGAGEMENT ONLYWAY TORETAINTHEM TODAY

HRSTORY

challenges for global organizations ha s been

engaging a dispers ed workforce. Samidha

focuses on the significance: “As businesses

globalize and become more dependent on

technology, there is a greater need to connect

and e ngage with employees t o provide themwith an organizational ‘identity’. Especially

in Indian culture, this becomes more

relevant given the community feeling which

organizations provide in our society.”

All companies ar e awar e that the y need to do

a bet ter job of managing their people.

According to S. Kothanda pani, Manager

HR at SP Apparels , “A grea ter number of 

loyal employees ens ure low recruitment and

tra ining costs, in effect enha ncing the

productivity of the organization. They ar e

also more willing to put in ext ra effort when

the organizat ion needs it.”

Their impact on t he working environment is

also significant a s they ar e more focused on

Most apparel & textile organizations today are realizing 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 and feels passionately about its goals. He goes the extra mile beyond the basic job

responsibility and is associated with the actions that drive the business. Moreover, in times when loyalty is

losing ground, employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy, the fact that it has a strong impact on thebottom-line, adds to its significance.

8/8/2019 Employee Engagement Only Way to Retain Them Today

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/employee-engagement-only-way-to-retain-them-today 2/2

SEPTEMBER 16-30, 2010  ApparelOnline  35

program, meticulous tra ining & development

– from technical to soft skills to leader ship

development programs . Apar t from this,

there are other events like community meet,

HR meet, etc. which has regular industry

updates . Integra a lso has a certification

program for s ix sigma, which empowers

young employees.

To keep up t he mora le of group a nd drive

them towards excellent performance,

Integra has various incentives such as

recognition awards, family involvement,

regular feedback to all employees,

communication forums like the in-house

magazine One Voi ce@APG (Ashok Pir amil

Group), and regular surveys and conferences.

Further, to uphold the quality of work-life

and a balance between personal/professional

lives, ther e ar e re crea tional activities like

festivities, get-togethers, sports, e tc. There

is also an open and clear cultur e to empower

its people and develop entrepreneurs. “The

upshot of these practices is evident

through the re gular feedback from our

employees collected thr ough conferences

and surveys; apart from the employee

engagement survey conducted. The proof 

is the latest increa se in employee

engagement and decrease in attrition,”

informs Partha Sarath i Bhat tacharya,

General Mana ger, HRD, Integra .

A Mat ter of Part ner sh ip

Samidha, is of the opinion that employeeengagement is a partners hip between a

company and its e mployees where e veryone

works together to achieve the business

objectives of the company a nd the pe rsona l

aspira tions of the employees. It is therefore

largely the orga nization’s r esponsibility to

create a n environment and culture

conducive to this partnership, and a

win-win equation. She sta tes, “Employee

engagement is a barometer that decides the

ass ociation of a pers on with the

organization. It is about creating the pa ssion

among ass ociates to do things beyond what

is expected of them. A highly engaged

employee will consistently deliver beyond

expectations. A productive employee who

has a sense of belonging and a stu rdy bond

with the company and its br and will crea te a

ripple effect tha t r esults in a positively

charged atmosphere in the organization.”

The Loyalty Factor

The key to employee engagement is

crea ting grea ter motivation for their work 

and commitment to their organization.

S. Kothandapa ni admits tha t it is not

possible to retain professionals only by paying

high salaries a nd offering attra ctive benefits.

“We need to cre ate e nthusias m for the irroles, their work and the organiza tion, and

make sure they are well integrated.

Employee engagement relat es to the

employee’s commitment to the

organization’s s uccess. Engaged employees

who are inspired a nd guided by the

leaders hip, equipped with the r ight tools a nd

managed by the right systems and processes

deliver superior per forman ce.” Employee

engagement today encompasses training,

development, work en vironment, lea dership,

performance ma nagement, work/life balance,

communication, compensa tion, benefits,

commitment, fun a nd social a ctivities. This,

asser ts Kothandapani, enhances the

bonding between e mployees a nd

commitment to the company.

Partha views employee engagement a s a

psychological association. According to him

employees want to work for an organization

that is success ful and legal; provides

opportunities to grow, has ma nager s who

help employees and is socially responsible.

Measu ring EmployeeEngagement

Employee engagement ca n be exposed in

several ways, including ‘pulse’ to annua l

surveys, tracking changes in the attrition

ra te, increase in the number of employee

referr als, and growth in productivity

and business.

In many or ganizations, the age-old Employee

Satisfaction Surveys were considered the

most popular method for measuring how

happy an employee was in the or ganization.

Shahi Exports measures employee

engagement from two dimensions: how

employees feel (their emotions towar d the

company, the leade rship, the work 

environment, etc.) and/or how they intend to

act in the future (will they stay, give extra

effort, etc.). This is conducted regular ly

through a questionnaire and is measured on

various parameters pre-defined by the HR

Team. Samidha asserts that employee

engagement needs to be measured at r egular

intervals in order to tr ack its contribution to

the success of the organization.

“Conducting a s urvey without plan ning and

how to handle the res ult can lead employees

to disengage. It is ther efore not en ough to

feel the pulse – the action plan is just a s

essential,” concludes Samidha.

Globa l s tud ies recommend th ree bas icGloba l s tud ies recommend th ree bas icGloba l s tud ies recommend th ree bas icGloba l s tud ies recommend th ree bas icGloba l s tud ies recommend th ree bas icaspec ts o f emp loyee engagement –aspec ts o f emp loyee engagement –aspec ts o f emp loyee engagement –aspec ts o f emp loyee engagement –aspec ts o f emp loyee engagement –The employees and their ownThe employees and their ownThe employees and their ownThe employees and their ownThe employees and their ownd is t inc t ive psycho log ica l makeup andd is t inc t ive psycho log ica l makeup andd is t inc t ive psycho log ica l makeup andd is t inc t ive psycho log ica l makeup andd is t inc t ive psycho log ica l makeup andeeeeexper ience ;xper ience ;xper ience ;xper ience ;xper ience ; the emplothe emplothe emplothe emplothe employyyyyererererer s and the i rs and the i rs and the i rs and the i rs and the i r

capab i l i ty to c rea te the cond i t ionscapab i l i ty to c rea te the cond i t ionscapab i l i ty to c rea te the cond i t ionscapab i l i ty to c rea te the cond i t ionscapab i l i ty to c rea te the cond i t ionstha t p romote employee engagement ;tha t p romote employee engagement ;tha t p romote employee engagement ;tha t p romote employee engagement ;tha t p romote employee engagement ;and in te rac t ion be tween employeesand in te rac t ion be tween employeesand in te rac t ion be tween employeesand in te rac t ion be tween employeesand in te rac t ion be tween employeesat a l l ranksa t a l l ranksat a l l ranksa t a l l ranksa t a l l ranks

HRSTORY