Employee Engagement & Leadership

This assignment delves into the crucial link between employee engagement and leadership. It requires you to examine existing frameworks that explore this connection and analyze their implications for leadership development within Human Resource Development (HRD). You'll need to draw upon scholarly sources to support your analysis and provide insightful conclusions about the convergence of these two critical concepts.

Employee Engagement

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Employee engagement............................................................................................................4
Leadership in relation to engagement.....................................................................................5
Motivation in relation to engagement.....................................................................................6
FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................................8
Employee engagement at British Airways.............................................................................8
Motivation effect in relation to engagement at British Airways............................................9
Leadership effect in relation to engagement at British Airways..........................................10
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

ABSTRACT
Employee are an important asset of the organization that help them in achieving the
success in the market. The employee engagement is based on the British airways that explains
the importance of the leadership in the organization. There are some factors such as trust,
communication that can affect the motivational level of the workers. It also explains that how
rewards and incentives can help them in improving the motivation level of the staff members.
The present article focuses on the employee engagement and how they can achieve success in the
market through effective engagement practices. Leadership and motivation can affect the
employee engagement. If workers will not get proper guidance or direction from their leader then
their dissatisfaction level can be increased and their involvement level will not get enhanced. For
this, self motivation of the staff members is also important in increasing the engagement of
employees. If employees motivation level is low then their overall job satisfaction is also low
and they will not be able to achieve goals in an efficient manner. On the other hand, if a leader
will not communicate with their group members in an efficient manner then they will not be able
to perform the task in an effective manner.

INTRODUCTION
Employees are an important factor of the organization. Workers help an enterprise in
achieving their objectives so that they can get success in the market. Employee engagement is
related to their emotional attachment that they have towards the goals of the company and their
workplace (Shuck and Herd, 2012). Along with this, this will lead towards the quality services,
higher sales and higher customer satisfaction. Through an effective leadership and motivation the
employee engagement can be improved. The manager can also provide some rewards and
incentives to their workers so that their overall motivational level can be increased. Through this,
the employee engagement can be improved and their satisfaction towards their job can be
increased. On the other hand, leaders can also motivate their team members by solving their
issues that they faced at the workplace (Dalal and et. al., 2012). The present report is based on
British Airways which perform their operations in United Kingdom. They have approx 183
destinations through the world and number of employees who are working in the industry are
approx 143, 000. They all are responsible to offer quality services to their customers. For this,
the leaders of British Airways focuses on their workers so that their performance level will be

enhanced. The below mentioned report explain the role of the leadership in improving the
employee engagement.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Employee engagement
According to the Shuck, Reio Jr and Rocco, (2011) employee engagement is a term that
refers to the extent to which an employee is get involved and committed towards the task and job
in the organization. It has been analysed by Biswas, Varma and Ramaswami (2013) that this is
an approach that is used by the firm in order to increase the motivation among all the workers so
that overall performance can be improved. It is directly related to the job satisfaction and the
sense of belongingness of the worker with the enterprise. As per the view point of Welch (2011),
he said that for the business organization it is related to their growth, profits, low turnover, high
retention, productivity, their brand recognition and so on. They can improve their brand image at
global level and along with this they will be able to achieve their competitive advantage in the
market than any other market leader. Gruman and Saks (2011) believe that every staff member
have their own attitude, behaviour and beliefs. On the basis of these their engagement can be
measured in an efficient manner. Some are committed towards their work and some are focusing
on their customers so that they will be able to get the quality services (What Is Employee
Engagement?. 2016). Employee engagement is related to the communication, trust, integrity
between the organisation and workers. Through this approach, an organisation will be able to
achieve the success in the market and that will lead towards the high productivity level. When
staff members are highly motivated then they get involved in the goals of the firm and contribute
to the success so that their overall performance can be improved.
Leadership in relation to engagement
Leadership can be defined as the particular action that helps in leading a people or group
in an organisation. It can also be defined as the direction, guidance , control that is being applied
on the group of people working (Abraham, 2012). It is the responsibility of the manager to retain
their employees in the enterprise so that their motivation level get increased and they will be able
to accomplish their specified goals.
There are some issues that are related to the leadership in the firm such as trust,
communication, transparency, team building, motivation and so on. Leadership styles are not

only used to improve the growth of the company but it is also used to maintain the relations
among a leader and their followers. If this relationship get improved than the trust and an
effective communication can be build among the workers and their superior (Brad Shuck, Rocco
and Albornoz, 2011).
Leaders should know their staff or followers that is key for employee engagement, there
should be a clarity of goals and actions so that the workload will not hinder employees and they
can get engaged in their work. In this way leadership can be helpful for employee engagement in
an organisation that will increase productivity as well.
It has been argued by the Shuck, (2011) that leadership is the another factor that may
affect the employee engagement and due to this disengagement of workers are get increased in
the industry. The employee engagement is based on the salary, rewards, proper guidance from
the leader and so on.
According to the Brad Shuck, Rocco and Albornoz, (2011) in every organization there
are different types of people such as engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged. Engaged
workers are more highly involved or committed in the objectives of the firm and they don't want
to leave their job. On the other hand, actively disengaged workers are highly negative people in
the entity and they increases the cost of the company due to their law quality work. Employee
engagement is directly related to the productivity of the organization. If engagement is get
increased than quality of work is also get increased.
There is relationship between the Employee engagement and the overall productivity,
profitability of the organisation. If employee engagement is high at the workplace then due to
their their job satisfaction is high. When all workers perform well then their overall productivity
is get increased and that will lead towards the high profits. When high profits are achieved by an
enterprise then the higher authority can share their benefits among all the people. So, in this
manner so their overall satisfaction level can be enhanced at the workplace.
According to the Mone and London, (2014) he said that line managers have to play an
important role in the firm so that their day to day activities and operations can be managed in an
efficient manner. They have to make the strategies, set the targets, decision making and
implementation of the policies so that overall goals can be accomplished. On the other hand, all
managers are actively involved in the team work of their department so that morale of group
members can be enhanced and they get the right direction in order to accomplish the task

(Fairlie, 2011). Along with these, the manager have to face many challenges while working in a
the enterprise such as poor relations among all the co-workers.
It is the responsibility of the leader to provide the proper guidance to their group
members so that they can increase the employee engagement at the workplace. As per the views
of Slack, Corlett and Morris (2015) the satisfaction level of the workers is depends upon the
direction and guidance of the leaders. For this, they have to adopt some of the styles such as
autocratic, democratic so that they can enhance their performance. On the contrary, through these
approach the overall employee satisfaction can be improved.
Motivation in relation to engagement
Motivation can be defined as the particular way of behaving or a set of facts that are used
in the support of any activity or proposal. It can also be defined as the external or internal factor
that create energy and desire in people and motivates to do a work with full energy and positive
vibes.
According to Shuck and Herd (2012), trust is a factor that can build a strong relationship
among all employees so that problems get reduced and overall performance can be improved.
Trust is related to the beliefs, values and attitude of the workforce towards the company and their
culture. Role of leadership is also important for the engagement of employees, leader should
maintain a proper communication with employees, a good culture should be maintained. Proper
coaching to the managers should be provided and good relationship must be maintained for the
engagement of employees (Anitha, 2014). Along with this, it is related to the intrinsic motivation
of the members. So, the industry focuses on the trust factor in order to improve the relationship
among all the people who are working as a team at the workplace. If this type of environment is
created then all staff members will feel comfortable for performing their work and they will be
able to accomplish their pre specified goals. Mishra, Boynton and Mishra, (2014) suggest that
workers engagement can be increases on the basis of proper and clear communication among all
the employees. It is a kind of tool that is used by the enterprise so that all managers can
communicate with their internal stakeholders.
As per the given case of industry, they are also conducting some of the strategies in the
firm in order to improve their overall growth and their position in UK market (Wollard and
Shuck, 2011). They proposed a plan such as pulling people first that explains that if an employee
feel comfortable with own in the organisation then they can deal with the different kind of

people. The manager of the entity also believes in the two way communication because this can
provide an opportunity to the people to place their own ideas in front of the top management.
Through this campaign, the company will be able to get the reviews of their customers and
change the policies as per the need of the service users (Mone and London, 2014). Along with
this, sense of belongingness can be enhanced among all the users of the company and due to the
self esteem trust can be build that will remove all the communication gap.
Shuck and Reio Jr, (2011) stated that it is the responsibility of the leader to develop the
core competencies of the employees so that they can achieve their own objectives. There are
many employees who are leaving the job due to the lack of motivation. The company provide
training and development program to their workers so that they will be able to enhance their
knowledge, experience and attitude towards the work. Mangers can motivate their staff so as to
engage employees in work, they can increase pay, raise in pay increase 30% of performance,
redesigning of job raise 17% performance, setting of goals raise 16% performance, participation
of employees in setting goals improve 1% of performance. As per the view point of Bal, Kooij
and De Jong, (2013) organization should provide an opportunity to their workforce so that they
can develop their own learning abilities.
According to the view point of Sonenshein and Dholakia, (2012) the enterprise can use
these models and theories in order to increase the motivation of the workers. Apart from theories
and models, organizations can also conduct training and development in their business
environment. Through this, all employees will be able to perform their tasks in an efficient
manner so that their overall objectives can be improved (Brad Shuck, Rocco and Albornoz,
2011). In order to provide the training and development, the industry have to plan their budget so
that they can generate more revenues.
FINDINGS
Employee engagement at British Airways
The manager of British Airways using some of the models and theories such as Herzberg
(1983), vroom expectancy (1964) and Maslows hierarchy (1943). Through this the motivation
level of the employees will get increased so their productivity also get enhanced. The employees
of the airline industry focused on their employees so that their satisfaction level can be increased
and they will be able to get committed towards the objectives of the company (Mirvis, 2012).

Through an effective leadership and motivation, the employees engagement can be improved at
the workplace.
Wollard and Shuck, (2011) says that leader should be their in the organization because
they can lead an enterprise towards success. Along with this, manager has to provide a healthy
and safe environment to their staff members then only they will feel comfortable while doing
their work. For this, they have to follow health and safety law that is made by government so that
they can ensure smooth functioning at the workplace. So, in this manner the employee
engagement can be improved in an enterprise.
Feedback should be given to the people who are working in British Airways so that their
performance can be improved and they will be able to get the positive reinforcement from their
manager. Wang and Hsieh, (2013) says that British Airways can use this approach in order to
increase the motivation among all the staff members by identifying their personal and
professional demands. By identifying these requirements, manager of airline industry will be
able to enhance the overall satisfaction level of the workers.
Leader should communicate well with their employees to increase trust between them
and to discuss their problems. Employees of the British Airways should also be given motivation
so that they can work effectively and efficiently (Saks and Gruman, 2014). Time to time training
programs, performance appraisal, involvement of employees in decision making should be their,
so that the employees get motivated and can engage in their work, employees can also be
motivated when benefits are given to them that may include medical, home etc. Further, through
training and development the satisfaction level among all workforce can be increased and that
will lead towards the success. When satisfaction level is get enhanced then they contribute in
towards the objectives and goals of the firm.
The significance of employee engagement can be measured on the basis of their
performance in the organization so that they can achieve their objectives. There is higher
competition in the environment, so it is a challenge for the firm to get success in the country.
When this communication gap get reduced then the level of satisfaction will get enhanced in the
people who are working in the company. As per the view point of Anitha, (2014) he said that
through the employee engagement the industry will be able to improve their quality services and
they can offer these quality services to the customers so that their satisfaction level can be
increased.

Motivation effect in relation to engagement at British Airways
According to the view point of Shuck and Reio Jr (2011), he said that if motivation level
is get increased of the employees then through this turnover and absenteeism can be decreased.
They can improve their growth in the market and they can retain their excellent workers in the
enterprise. Further, they can increase the employee engagement in the company.
According to the view point of Mirvis, (2012) there are many models and theories that
are used by the organization so that employees motivation level can be increased. Some of the
theories are vroom expectancy theory (1964), Herzberg two factor theory (1983), Maslows
motivational theory (1943) and so on.
The vroom theory is based on to maximise the profits and minimize the issues that
employees have in the firm. This theory also stated that the performance of an employee is based
on some factors such as knowledge, experience, skills and so on. This is based on three elements
such as valance, expectancy and instrumentality. Valence is related to the emotional needs of the
worker such as rewards and incentives. The manager should identify these needs and wants of
their staff members so that their motivation level can be increased. It is critically argued by
Abraham, (2012) that this theory will take time as they are individually focused on the
motivational factors. It is not beneficial for those who have to make long term patterns in order
to identify the need of the people who are working in the company.
Another theory is Herzberg two factor motivational theory that is based on the two
elements such as motivator and hygiene. Hygiene factors are important for increasing the
motivation among all the employees. If these factors are not present in the firm then it will lead
towards the dissatisfaction among all the employees. Some of these factors are job security,
policies, salary, fringe benefits and relationship among all the co-workers. On the other hand,
motivators are related to the rewards, recognition, promotion at workplace and so on. Through
these positive satisfaction can be increased among all the staff members. It has been argued by
Wang and Hsieh, (2013) that this theory doesn't focus on the situational factors and the blue
collar workers.
The theory of maslow is based on the needs and wants of the employees at five different
levels. He stated that these needs are divided into five stages such as physiological, safety,
belongingness, self esteem and self actualization. It is Physiological needs are the basic needs of
the employee that can be related to the salary and safety needs are related to the job security,

medical insurance in the enterprise. Belongingness are based on the trust and acceptance among
all the co-workers. Self esteem is related to the self respect, independence and so on (James,
McKechnie and Swanberg, 2011). Self actualization is related to the potential of the employees
that can improve the growth of an individual. By identifying these needs of an employee, British
Airways can increase the satisfaction level of their staff members. Through this approach, the
employee engagement can be increased so through the overall performance of the industry can
be improved.
Leadership effect in relation to engagement at British Airways
It is stated in the case study of British Airways that company is sharing their profits with
their staff members in order to motivate them so they will be able to offer quality services to
their employees (Fairlie, 2011). Along with this, the airline industry also provide an opportunity
to their workers that they can place their creative and innovative ideas in front of the
management. The enterprise can implement these ideas in order to increase the morale of the
people. Robertson, Jansen Birch and Cooper, (2012) stated that rewards and incentives can be
given to the employees so the satisfaction among them can be increased. The manager can
provide the reward to the workers for their ideas that they are given to the top management and
their performance. Along with this, incentives can be given to the people who do overtime or
work hard than any other employees in the organisation.
Mone and London, (2014) argues that transformational leadership is a type of style that is
followed by the leaders of the industry. This is highly linked with the job satisfaction and
motivation of the employees as well as it also increases the engagement of workers in the firm.
As per the given case when management follow bureaucratic style in the organisation then it will
lead towards the poor relations among employees and their relations with their superiors.
Through this, they will not be able to provide quality services to their customers so their brand
image is also get decreased. Along with this, British Airways will not be able to gain the
competitive advantage on the basis of their cost cutting strategy because some of the cost cannot
be controlled by the firm such as fuel and airport charges (Bal, Kooij and De Jong, 2013). So, by
improving the overall leadership styles leaders of the airline industry have to adopt the
situational style so that they can enhance the overall performance of the firm. When all staff
members are get satisfied then their employment engagement can be improved.

Leadership and motivation is very necessary in British Airways so as to increase the
employee engagement in a company. Leader of the company should clearly define objectives and
goals so that employees should have clear image regarding their description of job, that will
eventually engage them in their work if the job description will be clear. As noted by James,
McKechnie and Swanberg, (2011) a leader should focus on these issues then only they can
increase the employee engagement in the firm. So, an effective employee relation and leadership
styles can improve the overall performance of British Airways.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned report it has been concluded that employees engagement can
be measured through their performance. Shuck and Reio Jr, (2011) says that employee
engagement is related to the involvement and commitment of the workers towards the companies
goals. Engaged staff members can help the enterprise in accomplish their objectives and
disengaged people are less productive. As per the view point of Wollard and Shuck, (2011)
leadership play an important factor in increasing the motivation among all the workforce.
Leaders are the one who can lead the company towards success and they have to adopt a style as
per their capability so overall performance of British Airways can be improved. On the basis of
the finding it can be concluded that some of the theories such as Malow, Herzberg are used by
the organization so that their overall motivation level can be increased. Along with this, rewards
and incentives should be given to the workers by British Airways so that turnover and
absenteeism can be decreased in the firm. Through this, the manager can retain their employees
in the firm so that they can sustain their competitive advantage. The motivation and leadership
affect the engagement of the employees in the organisation. British Airways provide focuses on
the leadership styles so that all employees satisfaction can be enhanced and that will lead
towards the success.

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