The Impact of Employee Engagement on Human Resource Development

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges posed by a lack of employee engagement and commitment to development within organizations. It highlights how declining engagement weakens productivity and leads to a loss of competitive advantage. The report identifies key reasons for this decline, including a focus on quantity over quality, lack of open communication, and insufficient incentives. Examples from companies like Walmart and Apple illustrate the negative consequences of poor employee engagement. Recommendations to improve engagement include providing flexibility, fostering a people-focused culture, and implementing motivational theories like Maslow's Hierarchy and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory. The report concludes that employee engagement is crucial for increasing productivity, retaining talent, and enhancing organizational culture, ultimately driving success and creating a positive workplace environment.

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Human Resource Management
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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on the overall analysis of the different kinds of issues related to
engagement among employees in various companies. Furthermore, the different types of
recommendations have been provided which has helped improve the overall efficiency of the
firm in a positive manner. With the help of the different kinds of examples from various
companies, it has been helpful for companies to become successful.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Reasons for Declining Employee Engagement in Organizations..............................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Topic- Lack of Employee Engagement or Commitment to Development
Introduction
The report throws light on the overall analysis on the challenge related to the lack of
engagement among employees or commitment to development in the different organizations.
As commented by Albrecht et al. (2015), the employee engagement in the workplace
approach which has resulted in right conditions for the various members of the organization
to provide their best results each day. However, the main aim and focus of the report are to
analyze the threats of the lack of employee engagement in the organization weakens the
overall productivity, and it will be the loss of competitive advantage for the organizations as
well.
Reasons for Declining Employee Engagement in Organizations
As commented by Huang et al. (2016), it is difficult for the different managers along
with CEOs to find the top talent and hold on to the respective talent. In the present scenario,
employee engagement is harder to achieve than ever before. The main reason for the lack of
employee engagement is that the different companies prefer to focus on quantity and not
quality and the recent study surveyed that business leaders are struggling with keeping up
with their best employees. The various reasons include the following aspects which are as
follows:
Lack of the engagement among employees weakens the overall productivity of the
company is the first aspect wherein from the statistical perspective, it has been seen that in
2014, more than 26% of the leaders felt that retention of employees is essential, however in
the year 2015, more than 50% of the leaders think that keeping the best talents is essential
(Mone & London, 2018). However, the leaders prefer that engagement of employees’ matter;

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however the companies do not have any such kind of program to improve and measure the
engagement.
Lack of open communication is the second aspect that is affecting the engagement
among the employees in the organizations. It can be seen that there can be different problems
which are being faced by the employees and they are uncomfortable the same sharing at work
(Ruck, Welch & Menara, 2017). The not feeling free to communicate will be causing low
morale with the different employees and it can decrease the overall productivity of the
company as well.
Lack of Incentives is the third aspect wherein it has been noticed that the employees
are being paid the same amount for years for the same tasks. It causes low morale among the
employees and it affects the overall productivity of the organization as well (Ruck, Welch &
Menara, 2017). Moreover, it has been noticed that most of the employees have more
significant roles than the ones in which they are currently working. If the employees feel
stuck in the career, it will be the risk of having low employee morale and high turnover in the
workplace.
For instance- In Walmart, there is a lack of employee engagement as they face harsh
working conditions that have affected their morale (Forbes.com, 2019). The mistreated
employees at Apple speak out against the company as they have been made done with
overtime work and no extra pay was being offered to the employees working in the
organization as well (Forbes.com, 2019).
Recommendations to Improve and Increase Employee Engagement

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One of the main secrets of the engagement among the employees is the providing of
flexibility to the different employees working in the company. It will be providing the
different employees with the freedom to adjust with the work schedules and location to better
suit their needs. Instead of being rigid with the policies of the company, it is required that the
organisations provide flexible working hours which will make the people more productive,
happier and engaged in the workplace and better suit their needs.
For instance- In case of Apple, there has been more than 81% of the retention rate of
the employees due to the proper communication as they provide the ability to speak among
employees within the organization and the organization was committed towards continuous
improvement. Moreover, the employees are provided with proper training for increased
opportunities and the employees are internally posted and promoted in their respective
departments which increased the engagement among employees (Businessinsider.in, 2019).
Moreover, the development of the people focused culture in the organization is the
other aspect which will be beneficial for the overall growth of the employees in an
appropriate manner (Neubauer & Martskvishvili, 2018). The employees are required to
encourage employees that create the workplace environment which makes the employees feel
valued and there can be a sense of camaraderie which is one of the essential aspects of the
employee engagement.
For instance- PepsiCo designed the employee wellness strategy through balancing
the professional and personal life of the employees working in the organization
(PepsiCo.com, 2019). There are different programs which have been provided to employees
working at PepsiCo such as community service, maternity care along with employee
assistance program that helped the company to become more employee cantered.

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With the implementation of the Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory and Herzberg’s Two
Factor Theory, the employees can be motivated wherein the basic needs are required to be
met by the company which will be beneficial for the overall success of the company (Ruck,
Welch & Menara, 2017). The satisfaction of employees is one of the primary reasons which
will help increase the motivation among the employees and gain competitive advantage.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that employee engagement is one of the primary
reasons for the increase in the productivity of the organisation. The employee engagement
helps the employees in increasing the satisfaction of the customers, and it will help retain the
best people as they are treated as the assets of the company. Furthermore, with proper and
positive engagement among the employees, it enhances the culture of the company, and it is
treated as one of the symptoms of success as well. Lastly, employee engagement is essential
for all the workplaces wherein the motivation is the most crucial elements which are required
to be adopted by the companies to enhance the overall productivity and improve the scenario.

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References
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015).
Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive
advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People
and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Businessinsider.in (2019) Apple's employee retention rate hit 81% in 2015 (online) Retrieved
from https://www.businessinsider.in/Travis-Kalanick-lasted-in-his-role-for-6-5-years-
five-times-longer-than-the-average-Uber-employee/articleshow/60145275.cms
[Accessed on 26 Mar 2019]
Forbes.com (2019) Minimum Wage Hikes Won't Solve Walmart's Customer Service Problem
(online) Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/03/18/minimum-wage-
hikes-wont-solve-walmarts-customer-service-problem/#1daabacc1e09 [Accessed on
26 Mar 2019]
Forbes.com (2019) Walmart Needs To Reconnect With Customers And Employees (online)
Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2016/02/18/walmart-needs-to-
reconnect-with-customers-and-employees/#36daa11d30b2 [Accessed on 26 Mar
2019]
Huang, Y. H., Lee, J., McFadden, A. C., Murphy, L. A., Robertson, M. M., Cheung, J. H., &
Zohar, D. (2016). Beyond safety outcomes: An investigation of the impact of safety
climate on job satisfaction, employee engagement and turnover using social exchange
theory as the theoretical framework. Applied Ergonomics, 55, 248-257.

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Mone, E. M., & London, M. (2018). Employee engagement through effective performance
management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.
Neubauer, A. C., & Martskvishvili, K. (2018). Creativity and intelligence: A link to different
levels of human needs hierarchy? Heliyon, 4(5), e00623.
PepsiCo.com (2019) Diversity & Engagement (online)
https://www.pepsico.com/about/diversity-and-engagement [Accessed on 26 Mar 2019]
Ruck, K., Welch, M., & Menara, B. (2017). Employee voice: an antecedent to organisational
engagement? Public Relations Review, 43(5), 904-914.