Introduction to Employee Engagement in Information Technology Industry
Employee engagement is one of the main concepts in human resources. (Ugargol, J.D. and Patrick, H.A., 2018). It is a way of connecting employees to the organization's activities in order to achieve the company goals. (V. Prabhakar, G. and Reddy, S., 2016)When it comes to the information technology industry, employees are considered a resource to be taken to the fullest extent possible, with the opportunity for participation in decision-making. (Sasikala and S. Jeganathan, 2018). Most companies now know that a "satisfied" employee is not always the "best" employee in terms of loyalty and production and this is only felt by an 'engaged employee,' who is intellectually and emotionally attached to a relevant IT organization. (V. Prabhakar and Reddy, 2016).
Today, engagement is about inspiring employees to do their best work, and a company's quality of output and competitive advantage are dependent on its people. (Al-dalahmeh, M., Masa’deh, R., Abu Khalaf, R. and Obeidat, B. 2018). There are numerous alternatives for activities that promote employee engagement in IT. (Kompaso, S. and Sridevi, M., 2010) Many firms start with dynamic and interesting onboarding activities that explain the culture and establish early relationships with IT undergraduates to increase employee engagement in the IT sector.(V. Prabhakar, G. and Reddy, S., 2016)
Some organizations utilize goal-setting to help with employee engagement, setting weekly or monthly objectives to keep employees motivated. (Malik, P. and Lenka, U., 2019). Others emphasize teamwork, as studies suggest that employees who have more buddies at work are more engaged in IT industry. (Hoque, A.S.M.M., Awang, Z., Siddiqui, B.A. and Sabiu, M.S., 2018). Concrete initiatives, such as professional development possibilities, company-paid education options, flexible hours that promote work-life balance, and even on-site childcare, can all help to boost employee engagement in IT. (Kim, J.S. and Ausar, K., 2018). Below Figure shows the circle of employee engagement in IT industry.
Figure 1: The circle of Employee Engagement in IT Industry
Firms with high levels of employee engagement are more beneficial and have higher customer satisfaction ratings than organizations with low levels of employees. (Silverthrone, V., 2018). As well as have lower absenteeism and attrition. (Malik, P. and Lenka, U., 2019). Employees who have a good work-life balance and high levels of employee satisfaction are less likely to return to another job in a competitive employment market in the information technology Industry. (Hoque, A.S.M.M., Awang, Z., Siddiqui, B.A. and Sabiu, M.S., 2018).
1. Organizational Support
2. Intrinsic Motivators
3. Employee oriented organizational culture
4. Distributive justice
5. Effective goal-setting
6. Hygiene elements
7. Equity
8. Appraisal Transparency
9. Customized Training
10. Feedback and Peer Cohesiveness
It can be seen that Vetrivel, S.C., Krishnamoorthy, V. and B. Dhas, D. (2020), also has added some additional factors which contribute to employee engagement such as, respect, openness, acknowledgement, and rewards Leadership, goal-setting clarity, work-ability, and motivation are all important.(Netigate 2020), has simplified three primary factors for employee engagement based on various research findings; Leadership, Company goals and vision, Work task and development discussed in the video below.
Video 1: Three Factors that influence employee engagement
(Source: Netigate, 2020)
Employee engagement in the IT industry is a leading topic in the current society. Employee engagement is important for all IT businesses because effective solutions by good employees help to improve work culture, minimize employee turnover, increase productivity, improve work and customer connections, and impact corporate revenues.
References
Al-dalahmeh, M., Masa’deh, R., Abu Khalaf, R. and Obeidat, B. (2018). The Effect of Employee Engagement on Organizational Performance Via the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction: The Case of IT Employees in Jordanian Banking Sector. Modern Applied Science, 12(6), p.17. Available at: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/mas/article/download/75309/41555 [Accessed 20 April 2022].
Hoque, A.S.M.M., Awang, Z., Siddiqui, B.A. and Sabiu, M.S., (2018). Role of employee engagement on compensation system and employee performance relationship among telecommunication service providers in Bangladesh. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 8(3), pp.19-37.[Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
Sasikala and S. Jeganathan, (2018), A Study on Employee Engagement in Information Technology (IT) Industry. ResearchGate. Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326381015> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
Kim, J.S. and Ausar, K., (2018). The impact of using a virtual employee engagement platform (VEEP) on employee engagement and intention to stay. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Kompaso, S. and Sridevi, M. (2010). Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance. International Journal of Business and Management, [online] 5(12), pp.89-94. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0ca0/6a76e3f030dc2b58294498300c121fa4b112.pdf [Accessed 20 April 2022].
Liew, E. (2011). Employee Engagement Models. e-hrminc.blogspot.com. Available at: https://e-hrminc.blogspot.com/2011/05/employee-engagement-models.html [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
Malik, P. and Lenka, U., (2019). Exploring the impact of perceived AMO framework on constructive and destructive deviance: Mediating role of employee engagement. International Journal of Manpower.[Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
Netigate (2020). Three factors that influence employee engagement. https://www.youtube.com/. [Accessed on 4 May 2022].
Silverthrone, V. (2018). employee engagement. [online] https://www.techtarget.com/. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/employee-engagement [Accessed 4 May 2022].
Ugargol, J.D. and Patrick, H.A., (2018), The relationship of workplace flexibility to employee engagement among information technology employees in India. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, 5(1), pp.40-55.
V. Prabhakar, G. and Reddy, S. (2016). Employee Engagement in the IT Industry – Evidence from India. [online] smqnet.com. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.15640/smq.v4n1a4 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
Vetrivel, S.C., Krishnamoorthy, V. and B. Dhas, D. (2020). Drivers of employee engagement to job satisfaction in modern industries. PsychoSocial. Available at: https://www.psychosocial.com/article/PR300190/23504/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2022].
Hi Pavani, Agreed with the Post. According to Kompaso & Sridevi (2010) employee engagement plays a vital role in achieving higher business outcomes. They further say that employee engagement is a 2-way relationship between the employer and employees. Further explain that a workforce that is less engaged is costly and less productive.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your comment Nilushi. Employee engagement surveys are used to determine how motivated and engaged staff are to give their best every day at work and can learn about employees' ideas and attitudes toward their jobs and the workplace. Ugargol, J.D. and Patrick, H.A., (2018)
DeleteHi Pavani, to add more to your comments, Social cohesion, feeling supported by one's supervisor, information sharing, common goals and vision, communication, and trust can all have an impact on engagement and productivity. Employees want to feel valued and respected; they want to know that their work matters and that their ideas are being heard. Employees who are highly engaged are more productive and committed to the organizations for which they work (Kumari and Singh, 2018)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Chamara, Not only your summary but also Employee engagement in the IT industry is a leading topic in the current society. Employee engagement is important for all IT businesses because effective solutions by good employees help to improve work culture, minimize employee turnover, increase productivity, improve work and customer connections, and impact corporate revenues. Malik, P. and Lenka, U., (2019)
DeleteHi Pavani, to add more to your post "Most often employee engagement has been defined as emotional and intellectual commitment to the organisation (Baumruk 2004, Richman 2006 and Shaw 2005) or the amount of discretionary effort exhibited by employees in their job (Frank et al 2004). Although it is acknowledged and accepted that employee engagement is a multi-faceted construct, as previously suggested by Kahn (1990), Truss et al (2006) define employee engagement simply as ‘passion for work’, a psychological state which is seen to encompass the three dimensions of engagement discussed by Kahn (1990), and captures the common theme running through all these definitions."
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding some information Nishad, addition to that, Today, engagement is about inspiring employees to do their best work, and a company's quality of output and competitive advantage are dependent on its people. (Al-dalahmeh, M., Masa’deh, R., Abu Khalaf, R. and Obeidat, B. 2018).
DeleteHi Pavani. interesting and comprehensive post. Further to point 1 in the post, according to Georgeet et al (1993), organizational support is seen as welcomed reassurance that help be provided from the organization when needed to do one's job well and deal with difficult situations. Furthermore, extrinsic rewards are less important now as daily motivation is more strongly driven by intrinsic rewards (Ram & Prabhakar, 2011).
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding a point on this Ashanthi. However, Most companies now know that a "satisfied" employee is not always the "best" employee in terms of loyalty and production and this is only felt by an 'engaged employee,' who is intellectually and emotionally attached to a relevant IT organization. (V. Prabhakar and Reddy, 2016).
DeleteHi Pavani , I concur with you and like to add here ,Employee engagement has been characterized as emotional and intellectual commitment to the organization or the degree of discretionary effort demonstrated by individuals in their employment, according to Kular et al. (2008).
ReplyDeleteHi Maheshani, I agree with your comment. Apart from that, Firms with high levels of employee engagement are more beneficial and have higher customer satisfaction ratings than organizations with low levels of employees. (Silverthrone, V., 2018).
DeleteHello Pavani. To elaborate furthermore your comprehensive post, Employee engagement is defined by employees' willingness to work extra hours, trust the organization and what they stand for in order to contribute to the organization's success, according to (Muthike, 2016).
ReplyDeleteHi Ruwan, I partially agree with your comment. Employee engagement is not only the willingness to work extra hours. Employees help to improve work culture, minimize employee turnover, increase productivity, improve work and customer connections, and impact corporate revenues. (Malik, P. and Lenka, U., 2019).
DeleteHi Pavani,Your article gives us a good explanation about employee engagement in IT industry.Let me add something here. We can use several employee engagement models to these organizations and Maslow's theory will be more appropriate because it defines different levels as a hierarchy.According to Maslow,man is a “wanting being” and all his needs are growing continuously and it needs to make a background where those needs can be satisfied (Trivedi, 2019). Then it will become a key factor for employee engagement of an organization.
ReplyDeleteHi Lakshan, I agree with your comment. There are numerous alternatives for activities that promote employee engagement in IT. (Kompaso, S. and Sridevi, M., 2010). Many firms start with dynamic and interesting onboarding activities that explain the culture and establish early relationships with IT undergraduates to increase employee engagement in the IT sector.(V. Prabhakar, G. and Reddy, S., 2016).
DeleteHi Pavani. I agree with your post. According to Robinson et al. (2004) employee engagement is defined as "an employee's good attitude toward the organization and its worth." An engaged employee understands the business environment and collaborates with co-workers to improve job performance for the benefit of the company.
ReplyDeleteHi Janani, I agree with your definition on Employee Engagement as well. When it comes to the information technology industry, employees are considered a resource to be taken to the fullest extent possible, with the opportunity for participation in decision-making. (Sasikala and S. Jeganathan, 2018).
DeleteHi Pavani, Agree with the post. Employee engagement is stronger predictor of positive organizational performance clearly showing the two-way relationship between employer and employee compared to the three earlier constructs: job satisfaction, employee commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Engaged employees are emotionally attached to their organization and highly involved in their job with a great enthusiasm for the success of their employer, going extra mile beyond the employment contractual agreement (Markos and Sridevi, 2010).
ReplyDeleteHi Dinith. I agree with your comment. Employee engagement's cognitive component concerns employees' perceptions of the organization, its leaders, and their working environment. The emotional aspect is concerned with how employees feel about each of those three factors, as well as whether they have favorable or negative feelings about the company and its executives. (Kahn ,1990)
DeleteHi Pavani, good insight from your post. Further, As per the IES model of employee engagement, its a three overlapping components of combination of commitment, motivation and organizational citizenship (Armstrong, 2014)
ReplyDeleteHi Nuwan, I agree with your comment. Employee engagement is commonly characterized as employees' emotional and intellectual commitment to the company or the amount of discretionary effort they put in at work. Although it is widely understood and agreed that employee engagement is a complex concept. (Frank et al 2004).
DeleteHi Pavani, very informative post. There are lot of case studies on this subject. Employment engagement, where staff are not only motivated at work but take pride in their
ReplyDeleteorganizations, is one of the more complicated HR responsibilities. In pursuit of this goal, Canon
Australia has implemented the Canon Australia Advocacy Program, which aims to break down
silos and ‘advocate’ its brand through a three-stage process. Dorney, G. (2017), Case study: Canon – picture perfect
Hi Shiran, I agree with your comment. For your information as well, There are numerous definitions exist, determining the current state of knowledge about employee engagement is difficult, as each study studies employee engagement using a different procedure. Furthermore, unless employee engagement can be uniformly defined and quantified, it cannot be controlled or determined whether or not efforts to improve it are effective. (Ferguson, 2007).
DeleteHi Pavani, I agree with your post, “Employee engagement is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values and occupied employee is responsive of business structure, and works with colleagues to improve performance with the job for the benefit of the organization" (Garg, P., 2014).
ReplyDeleteHi there, I agree with your comment. Firms with high levels of employee engagement are more beneficial and have higher customer satisfaction ratings than organizations with low levels of employees. (Silverthrone, V., 2018).
DeleteHi Pawani,
ReplyDeleteagree with your blog.
Kahn is regarded as the pioneer of employee engagement. Employee engagement is critical in an organisation, as it attaches the employees to their respective work roles (Kahn, 1990). If the work roles of the employees are not attached, it becomes easy for the employees to lose commitment and hence become demotivated, eventually leading them to leave the organisation in search of greener pastures. Deriba, Sinke, Ereso and Badacho (2017) note that three major conditions have to be in place if employee engagement has to be successful and these are: psychological meaningfulness, safety and availability.