MGT803: Employee Engagement and Retention of Staff Analysis

This report provides a literature review on employee engagement and retention within the New Zealand meat industry, focusing on Alliance Group Limited. It addresses the research question: "How does the meat industry of New Zealand manage their employee engagement and retention?" The review covers the industry's significance, employee engagement strategies (recognition, organizational approach, training, communication, teamwork, and bonuses), and employee retention practices. The report synthesizes research from various sources, including journal articles and conference papers, to analyze the current state of employee engagement and retention within the meat industry. The report highlights the importance of employee engagement for organizational success, emphasizing strategies such as recognition, organizational approach, engagement awareness training, reviewing communication tactics, working as a team, and bonus schemes. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of employee retention strategies in the industry.

Running head: EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF
Employee Engagement and Retention of Staff in Alliance Group Limited
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Research Question.......................................................................................................................2
3. Literature Review........................................................................................................................2
3.1 Brief Description of the New Zealand Meat Industry...........................................................3
3.2 Employee Engagement in New Zealand Meat Industry........................................................3
3.3 Employee Retention in New Zealand Meat Industry............................................................8
4. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................13

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1. Introduction
Employee engagement can be referred to as the extent, until which the staff eventually
feel zealous about their works and are highly committed to the company for putting discretionary
determination into the respective work. It is the fundamental concept within the effort of
understanding as well as describing the relation between employees and their organizations
(Albrecht et al., 2015). An engaged staff can be referred to as the individual, who is completely
absorbed by and is highly enthusiastic about their works, to ensure that positive action is being
taken eventually. The organizational work output as well as reputation is kept on top priority for
such purposes. The company with higher employee engagement is expected for outperforming
the companies with low employee engagement (Mone, London & Mone, 2018).
This type of engagement goes beyond different events, games and activities for driving
performances. Innovation and growth is enhanced majorly with effective employee engagement
in the business (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2015). The meat industry in New Zealand has always been
one of the most significant and noteworthy industries that provides high profit to the overall
economy of the country. The following literature review outlines a brief description on employee
engagement as well as employee retention for the meat industry within New Zealand with
relevant details.
2. Research Question
 How does the meat industry of New Zealand manage their employee engagement and
retention?
3. Literature Review

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3.1 Brief Description of the New Zealand Meat Industry
The Meat Industry Association of NZ or MIA is the voluntary trade association, which
denotes red meat processor, exporters and marketers of NZ. It is the 2nd largest goods exporter
that generates 9.1 billion dollars in the export revenues within the year of 2019, within which
only 85% was being exported. More than 25000 people are working in this industry at over 60
different locations in the entire country. Several popular organizations are under this particular
industry, which include Alliance Group, Silver Fern, Progressive Meats, Prime Range Meats,
South Pacific Meats, Auckland Meat Processors, Beef and Lamb NZ, AFFCO New Zealand Ltd
and many more and amongst them, Alliance is the most significant one.
3.2 Employee Engagement in New Zealand Meat Industry
Hanif, Naqvi and Hussain 2015 in their conference paper has stated that employee
engagement is considered as a vital requirement in any organization to ensure that a strong
relation is maintained between the employee and manager on the basis of mutual respect.
According to them, it is required to ensure that employee engagement is included in the work
related outcomes. An engaged employee has the zeal and enthusiasm for taking positive action to
extend the organizational interest and reputation. It is the emotional commitment of different
employees for remaining connected with the business and its goals. It is the eagerness of the job
that makes them highly passionate about their work and hence it eventually reflects in the
individual outcomes. The engaged employee subsequently concerns about the work and even the
performance of the organization, so that they become successful in making a difference. Singh et
al., 2016 in their journal has stated that the engaged employees are responsible for competing in
a competitive environment with other competitors and hence ensure that maximum effectiveness
is gained. Karanges et al., 2015 have discussed in their review article that decision making

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process in the company gets improved to a high level with internal communication with the
employees. High satisfaction and commitment is being prevailed in the business for ensuring that
the work effort does not create pressure on the individual. The NZ meat industry requires to
practice high employee engagement, so that the staff do not feel neglected under any
circumstance.
Mann and Harter 2016, on the other hand argued that there had been a crisis in the
employee engagement in the entire world and hence it is needed for all industries to ensure that
their employees are satisfied and motivated. With such distinct step, productivity would be
increased and a customer satisfaction would be maintained for high increment in the sales as well
as profit. Moreover, trust and communication amongst the management and employees are well
incremented, since it helps in showing the core capabilities of the employees and process of work
contributing to the overall distinct organizational performances. As a result, excellence in
performances is gained without much complexity. Potts 2016 has stated in his article, that the NZ
meat industry has been managing more than twenty five thousand employees in their business
and hence it is extremely for them to make sure that the staff are highly satisfied with their
respective work and jobs. A common responsibility is being provided to the employees for better
execution of work and high productivity.
According to Bailey et al., 2017, there exists narrative syntheses of the meaning,
outcomes and antecedents of staff engagement and hence the main areas that the industry focuses
include employment legislation, staff development, succession planning, strategic projects, better
recruitment and selection and even talent mapping. Moreover, it also helps to make sure that the
respective employees are guided well through different time of change, disruption and transition.
Kumar and Pansari, 2015 have identified several advantages of employee engagement in their

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journal. They have mentioned that development of a strong alliance and consistent
communication has helped the organization to ensure better execution of their business processes
easily and promptly.
Employee engagement in the respective industry has become quite effective since they
have included some of the most significant and important attributes for their employees and these
are described in the following paragraphs:
i) Recognition: The first and the foremost aspect that the meat industry of NZ is
following for better employee engagement is that they are providing recognition to the
employees. Slack, Corlett and Morris, 2015 have mentioned in their journal that employee
engagement also enhances corporate social responsibility, which is extremely important for a
meat industry. Proper recognition is required for all employees since they feel highly motivated
and encouraged in their work. It even emphasizes on the enhanced visibility, increased
communication and high accessibility for the employees to reflect on the major specifications
and training requirements within the organization.
ii) Organizational Approach: The second distinct and important aspect is proper
organizational approach (Kaliannan & Adjovu, 2015). They have identified the success of
employee engagement and organization success with the help of a case study, which can be used
as a reference to the NZ meat industry. They are adopting a highly focused organizational
approach for improvement of employee engagement from the higher level measures like forming
the engagement board for organizational wide awareness training as well as worker involvement
program. It has helped the organizational management to gain maximum advantages of
employee engagement to incorporate maximum customer satisfaction under every circumstance.

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iii) Engagement Awareness Training: Another significant and important aspect is that
they have provided engagement awareness training to all the supervisors and management for the
core purpose of explaining the significance of engagement, barriers to engagement and
advantages of the high levels of engagement (Kang & Sung, 2017). This type of awareness
training is also required for ensuring that the organization would not create any type of issue for
the employees and they would be able to provide high productivity to the organization without
much complexity.
iv) Reviewing Communication Tactics: The entire meat industry of New Zealand
ensures that they are reviewing different communication tactics for maintenance of a proper
communication with the employees. Carrying out of a complete review of communication for the
core purpose of developing tactics and strategies for enhancement of engagement, like covering
employee awards events, proper recognition of employee achievement and recognition stories
(Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017). This type of communication helps to enhance the chance of
employee management and employee satisfaction to a high level. Managerial perspective is also
considered for the business and they get chance for implementation of the strategies successfully.
v) Working as a Team: This is yet another important or vital aspect that the entire meat
industry of New Zealand is following for better employee engagement. According to Roof 2015,
the respective organizational management has ensured that all the employees are working as a
team, so that any specific issue is eradicated on time and it is effective for team productivity. It
has also helped them in implementing worker involvement programs for the purpose of
facilitation of engagement, such as involvement in the health and safety of the staff and hence
promoting organizational safety program. Since, it is a meat industry, it is quite vital to make
sure that all the staff are working in a safe and secured environment and no security issues are

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prevailed in the company. Moreover, with the involvement of the aspect of working as a team,
they have been able to ensure a strong attachment to the coworkers (Aruna & Anitha, 2015). As
a result, productivity is improved to a high level and the business gets maximum success.
vi) Bonus Scheme: The next significant and noteworthy aspect is that each and every
organization in the industry, like Alliance Group Limited is providing periodical bonus to their
employees, so that the employees are highly satisfied and engaged with the business. According
to Bode, Singh and Rogan, 2015, the bonus is the form of payment that is provided to an
employee, outside his or her base payment and it is required for corporate social initiatives and
employee retention. It is majorly given after the fact of rewarding specified behavior for a
distinct purpose. These bonuses play the most vital role in the attraction, engagement, motivation
as well as retention of different staff, so that it becomes easier for the organizational management
to get maximum productivity.
This type of employee engagement is hence prevailed in the entire industry and the
organizational processes and activities are well executed without much complexity.
Interdependence on the industrial aspects help to create a cooperative and participatory climate
of various industrial relations on the basis of mutual respect and trust within every level of
management easily and promptly. As a result, Cloutier et al., 2015 have identified few distinct
strategies for employee engagement and employee retention. The organization as well as the
employees have agreed in their mutual interests for operating in the most efficient, profitable and
competitive environments, so that it becomes quite easier to consult and involve different
workers for the success criteria of the respective operation. As a result, employee engagement is
well prevailed in the entire meat industry of New Zealand.

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3.3 Employee Retention in New Zealand Meat Industry
Employee retention, on the other hand, refers to different strategies and actions that are
needed to be considered for better execution of business processes and hence obtain different
goals and objectives without much complexity. According to Ahammad et al. 2016, the main
objective of the employer is to reduce employee turnover and hence reducing training expenses,
loss of talent and recruitment expenses. Hence, knowledge transfer and cross border acquisition
performance is required for employee retention. It would be extremely beneficial for the NZ
meat industry as they are managing 25000 employees in 60 different locations. High turnover
industries include food services, meat industry and many more. Replacement of workers in
different industries is less costly than in any other industry.
Kossivi, Xu and Kalgora, 2016 have identified different determining factors for employee
retention. It is extremely vital for pinpointing the main reason of this retention issue, even before
implementation of the program for addressing it. As soon as it is being identified, the retention
program could be tailored for meeting the most unique requirements of the company. The meat
industry of New Zealand has been ensuring that different retention programs are getting
implemented in different organizations. A major distinction must be drawn within the low
performing staff and top performing staff for retaining their employees to be targeted at the most
valuable and contributing staff. Tanwar and Prasad (2016), on the contrary, have tried to explore
the relationship within employer branding and employee retention. As it is related to the meat
industry, the employer should focus on different aspects that might be effective for such
retention. A variety of programs for helping to increment employee retention are being
considered on top priority, which are provided in the following paragraphs:

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i) Career Development: The first and the foremost retention program for employee
retention within the meat industry is career development program. It is vital for the employees
for understanding their respective career paths in the company for motivating them in remaining
in the company for achievement of the personal career goals. According to Deery and Jago
(2015), the program could be tailored for meeting the most unique requirements of the company
and hence increasing employee retention. With the help of surveys and discussion with the
employees, these staff are able to understand their objectives for personal development and also
offering tailored career development opportunities to the staff.
ii) Executive Coaching: The second important and significant retention program is
executive coaching. It could be utilized for building different competencies in leaders in a
company. Anitha 2016 has stated that, coaching could be quite useful in times of organizational
change for increasing the effectiveness of the leader with direct reports and peers. The procedure
of coaching starts with the major assessment of the opportunities and strengths of an individual
for better improvisation. The major issues are then prioritized as well as interventions are
eventually delivered for targeting the major weaknesses.
iii) Motivation across Generations: The next vital and significant retention program for
employee retention within the meat industry of New Zealand, such as Alliance Group Limited is
motivation across generations. The entire work force of the present meat industry involves a
diversified population of staff from several generations (Tanwar & Prasad, 2016). Since every
generation holds various expectations for the work place, it is vital for understanding the
differences within the generations for engagement and motivation. The respective managers
should understand the entire procedure to manage the differences amongst their direct reports.

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Employee retention is hence considered on top priority for better management of staff and so that
turnover is reduced in the entire meat industry.
iv) Orientation and Onboarding: Another vital and significant retention program for
employee retention within the meat industry of New Zealand, such as Alliance Group Limited is
orientation and onboarding. The perception of the employee of the company takes subsequent
shape in numerous days, to check whether all the employees are satisfied with the organizational
processes and activities or not (Potts, 2016). Providing continuous reinforced learning through an
extended onboarding to increment the new hire retention within the business. Since, the meat
industry of NZ has implemented an effective onboarding procedure, the new hire rates turnover
would reduce and the production would increment.
v) Retention Programs: According to Dreyfus et al. (2015), there are various risk factors
for health of the meat workers in NZ and hence employee retention can become a major issue.
However, different programs like networking, leadership development and mentoring are being
geared especially towards employees could help retain top talent and reduce turnover costs. With
implementation of programs for improving work life balance, employees could be highly
engaged as well as productive while being at work. Since, it is the meat industry of New
Zealand, it would be required to ensure that safety and security of different employees would be
prevailed on top priority.
The meat industry of New Zealand has been using different tools and resources for
conducting employee retention and they have been using the following aspects for ensuring that
they are able to retain their employees:

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i) Employee Surveys: The first and the foremost tool or resource is employee survey. By
surveying the employees, different companies could obtain major insight into the motivation,
satisfaction and engagement of the staff (Kossivi, Xu & Kalgora, 2016). It is vital for the
companies for understanding the perspective of the employee and then create different programs
to target any specific issue, affecting employee retention.
ii) Exit Interviews: Another vital and significant tool or resource that the meat industry of
New Zealand is using for employee retention is exit interviews. After inclusion of the exit
interviews within the process of employee separation, the company has been able to obtain
valuable insight into the work place experiences (Bode, Singh & Rogan, 2015). These exit
interviews have allowed the company in understanding the issues of an employee for leaving the
aspects of the work in the most effective manner. These exit interviews enable the business for
understanding the triggers of the staff and use the information for retaining top talent for the
business.
iii) Employee Retention Consultant: As per Slack, Corlett and Morris (2015), it is
needed to include employee engagement with CSR and it can be done by using employee
retention consultant. This type of consultant could easily assist the business for employee
retention and these consultants could easily provide expertise about proper identification of the
issues related to employee turnover. As soon as the issues are identified, this particular
consultant provides suggestion of programs or business changes for addressing the issues.
4. Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, a conclusion can be drawn that employee
engagement as well as retention are the two most important and significant aspects in any