Employee Engagement and Empowerment
Contents
Contents 2
Introduction 3
Employee Engagement 4
Employee Empowerment 5
Elements of Empowerment 6
Methods to Empower Employees 7
Present Scenario 8
Employee Engagement Approaches for Employees 10
Communication Activities 10
Reward Schemes 11
Activities to Develop the Culture of the Organization 12
Team building activities 12
Leadership development activities 12
Employee engagement in action: Sun Microsystems 13
Employee empowerment in action: Verisign 14
Interview 16
Conclusion 17
References 18
Introduction
Establishing and strengthening emotional bonds between employees and organization is not a new concept by any means. Employee engagement is not a new buzz word or an old adage that is being revisited. In today’s extremely competitive marketplace, where companies are vying for that one unique advantage that sets them apart from their counterparts; employee engagement and empowerment programs gain paramount importance. Every organization consists of employees with their unique background and personal experiences. How an organization embraces this wealth of uniqueness is a different issue altogether. Employees can be a company’s greatest asset. It has been proven time and again that organization that invests in the recruiting, development and retention of these assets gain exponential returns. However, it is important to ensure that everyone participates from the ground up. Employees alone do not drive engagement. The entire organization, its managers and its employees comprise the level of engagement. For employees to truly “work” employees must both feel satisfied and produce quality work. In other words employees need to be happy and productive. Managers have an important role to play in this process. They must communicate and lead their employees towards the goals of the organization. Organizations and leaders must set forth clear visions and goals, and
Contents 2
Introduction 3
Employee Engagement 4
Employee Empowerment 5
Elements of Empowerment 6
Methods to Empower Employees 7
Present Scenario 8
Employee Engagement Approaches for Employees 10
Communication Activities 10
Reward Schemes 11
Activities to Develop the Culture of the Organization 12
Team building activities 12
Leadership development activities 12
Employee engagement in action: Sun Microsystems 13
Employee empowerment in action: Verisign 14
Interview 16
Conclusion 17
References 18
Introduction
Establishing and strengthening emotional bonds between employees and organization is not a new concept by any means. Employee engagement is not a new buzz word or an old adage that is being revisited. In today’s extremely competitive marketplace, where companies are vying for that one unique advantage that sets them apart from their counterparts; employee engagement and empowerment programs gain paramount importance. Every organization consists of employees with their unique background and personal experiences. How an organization embraces this wealth of uniqueness is a different issue altogether. Employees can be a company’s greatest asset. It has been proven time and again that organization that invests in the recruiting, development and retention of these assets gain exponential returns. However, it is important to ensure that everyone participates from the ground up. Employees alone do not drive engagement. The entire organization, its managers and its employees comprise the level of engagement. For employees to truly “work” employees must both feel satisfied and produce quality work. In other words employees need to be happy and productive. Managers have an important role to play in this process. They must communicate and lead their employees towards the goals of the organization. Organizations and leaders must set forth clear visions and goals, and
References: • Employee Engagement White Paper – 360 Solutions Business Consulting • Employment Engagement: Leading the Way to an Engagement Culture – Deborah Schroeder-Saulnier • Employee Engagement: A Literature Review – Sandeep Kular, Mark Gatenby, Chris Rees, Emma Soane, Katie Truss: Kingston University • To empower or not to empower: The case of students employed in one Midwestern university’s dining services - Swathi Ravichandran, Shirley Gilmore • Employee Empowerment Through Training: A Literature Review – Shafiq-Ur-Rehman, University of Balochistan, Pakistan • http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2004/12/31/top-7-methods-to-empower-employees.html • http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/company-information/about-verisign/corporate-responsibility/index.xhtml ----------------------- Employee Engagement and Empowerment