Impact of Employee Engagement on Performance: Tesco Dissertation

This dissertation investigates the impact of employee engagement on employee performance, using Tesco as a case study. The research begins with an acknowledgement of support and an abstract outlining the study's focus: the relationship between employee engagement strategies and employee performance within Tesco, a prominent British retailer. The dissertation includes a detailed literature review exploring the conceptual framework of employee engagement, various strategies used by companies, and the correlation between engagement and performance. The research methodology, encompassing research type, approach, philosophy, data collection, sampling, and analysis, is thoroughly discussed. The results of the analysis are presented, followed by a discussion of the findings and a conclusion with recommendations. The dissertation is structured to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic, from the introduction and literature review to the methodology, results, and conclusions, offering insights into how employee engagement strategies affect employee performance within the retail sector.

BUSINESS AND
MANAGEMENT
DISSERTATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research project would not have been made completed successfully without exceptional
support of the tutors and seniors. The knowledge and help of tutors have helped in getting the
correct data and information related to the research. They kept my attention towards the research
topic that kept the work is right direction. The colleagues have also motivated to complete the
work successfully and on time using the efficient tools and techniques for analysing the data. The
colleagues also provided with relevant books and access to different journals and articles that
helped in getting authentic information for the research. The expertise and generosity of one and
all has improved the research in an innumerable methods and saved from conducting errors.
Thank you

ABSTRACT
Employee engagement is defined as strategies which the company uses in order to manage and
keep the employees satisfied within the company. this is particularly because of the reason that
when the company will be using the latest employee engagement strategies then this will attract
the employees and their performance will be increased. For the current study Tesco was chosen
as the company which is a large British retailer chain founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen.
The study highlighted the major aim of the research is to identify the impact of employee
engagement upon employee performance. Further with help of the literature review it was seen
that the engaging employees within the company is important. The major strategies identified
from LR are like taking feedback from employees, providing and recognizing the top talent of
the company. Further from the RM section it was evaluated that the qualitative methods are
much suitable for the researcher in analyzing the impact of employee engagement over
performance of employee. Further in the end with help of thematic analysis it was viewed that
using employee engagement strategies is very assistive to the company in managing the
employees in effective manner.

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................5
Background..................................................................................................................................5
Aim and Objectives.....................................................................................................................5
Rationale......................................................................................................................................6
Scope............................................................................................................................................6
Structure of dissertation...............................................................................................................6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................8
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................8
2.2 Conceptual framework of employee engagement.................................................................8
2.3 Different strategies used by the company to engaging employees......................................10
2.4 Relationship between employee engagement and performance of employees....................11
2.5 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................14
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................14
3.2 Research type.......................................................................................................................14
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................14
3.4 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................16
3.5 Data Collection....................................................................................................................16
3.6 Sampling..............................................................................................................................16
3.7 Data analysis........................................................................................................................17
3.8 Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................17
3.9 Research limitation..............................................................................................................17
3.10 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS...............................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION........................................................................................................28
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................31
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................31
Recommendations......................................................................................................................31

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................33
APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................35

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
Employee engagement is being defined as an approach through which the company tries
to keep the employees engaged with the company for a longer period of time. For the company
to be successful the most important thing for the organization is to keep the employees connected
with the company. This is particularly because of the reason that when the employees will be
good and competitive then this will increase their efficiency and as a result of this the company
will work in proper and effective manner. In addition to this if the employees are engaged
towards the company then they will perform the work in very effective and efficient manner and
this will result in increase in operational efficiency of the company. On the other side when the
employees will be engaged more than this will increase the performance of the employees to a
great extent. Hence, for improving the business and the efficiency of the business the most
important thing for company is to keep the employees engaged within the business.
The current report is based over the company Tesco which is a company dealing in the
retail industry and involves the product like groceries, merchandising, and other related services.
The company was founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen and is headquartered in Welwyn
Garden city in England. The company is working all over the globe and is having a large number
of employees being employed within the company. This reflects that people are happy working
within the company and the company is providing benefits to the employees which engage them
to be connected for a longer period of time.
Aim and Objectives
Aim: The aim of the study is to identify the impact of employee engagement upon employee
performance: A study of Tesco
Objectives:
 To understand the conceptual framework of employee engagement
 To examine different strategies used by company to engaging employees
 To analyze the relationship between employee engagement and employee performance.
 To recommend the best ways through which employees are engaged towards business.
Research questions:

 What do you understand by employee engagement?
 What are the different strategies used by company to engaging employees?
 What is the relationship between employee engagement and employee performance?
Rationale
As the efficiency of companies are decreasing even after the automation of processes it is
affecting their growth and profitability. Employee performance plays an important role on over
business and its future. Despite of various studied conducted the actual reasons have been not yet
identified. Employee engagement is researched as it has been found that organizations are not
involving employees in forming strategies and framework policies. The research would assess
the impact of engaging the employees on their performance which will help the managers to
identify the issues and how they could be mitigated.
Scope
The research provides in depth understanding and knowledge about the employee
performance due to engagement. It has provided the useful information about the employee
engagement in different business processes and procedures. The scope of research is limited to
retail industry only and specific focus is given over Tesco. The study shows how managers by
engaging the employees in decision making process and other operation can increase their
efficiency. When the employees are engaged it develops feeling of recognition and existence in
the organization that motivates them to put their efforts for improving the processes. Industries
are growing at rapid speed and it makes it essential for the managers to identify the reasons
behind decreasing employee performance despite of employing new processes. The study will
provide managers how employee performance could be improved by engaging them in
organizational processes.
Structure of dissertation
Structure is very essential to present the information in understandable and presentable
format. It maintains the interest of reader throughout the study. It has to be clear and specific
about research. The following structure has been used in the dissertation.
Chapter 1: Introduction
This section will provide the knowledge about research topic like current trends,
background of topic, company used for study, rational for choosing it as research topic, scope of

study and structure that will be followed in research. It provides the reader about aims and
objectives of research and what has been discussed in research.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
This sections will discuss the literature and theories by various authors. It involves the
critical evaluation of the different views of the authors on research area and topic.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
The chapter discuss about the research types and approaches used to carry out the study.
It provides the reader information about selection of method for data collection, analysis and
sampling along with ethical consideration and limitations of research.
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
The section includes complete analysis of all the information gathered from both primary
and secondary sources. It provides the basis for drawing conclusions and recommendations for
the research.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
This chapter provides the overall findings and results from the research. Conclusions are
drawn from the research through data analysis of literature and information gathered from
respondents. It provides the reader about conclusions made from carrying out research.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
The literature review mainly refers to the review of the scholarly article which represents
the current knowledge with the help of the substantive findings along with the theoretical and the
methodological aspects pertaining to the topic. In this chapter, different aspects in regard to the
topic will be reviewed with the help of the recently published scholarly articles. It incorporates
the understanding the concept or the framework of the employee engagement along with the
different strategies or the approaches being used by the organization for engaging the employees.
It also draws a relationship between the employee engagement and the performance.
2.2 Conceptual framework of employee engagement
The employee engagement is concept has developed in the recent years which is in
relation to the human resource management. According to Singh and et.al., (2016) this concept
has become the success story of most of the organization as the businessmen have been
effectively able to determine the benefits attached to this concept and how it can be useful for the
business. Employee engagement is basically a workplace approach in which the right conditions
are being set for the employees which results in giving their best resulting into moving towards
meeting with the business goals and working with commitment. Author further added that
employee engagement is simply refers to understanding the one' role and responsibility in an
organization based upon the company's objectives. As defined by Singh (2016) the foremost
benefit of this is that it helps in motivating the employees which is because of the reason that the
employees feel being part of the organization as they got chance to participate in the important
meetings or the decision-making process and thus, this persuades them to deliver the enhanced
work and this is considered as the best employee engagement benefit. But on the other side, there
are chances that the employees might have the feeling of supremacy which result into improper
treatment to the other employees.
According to Pukkeeree, Na-Nan and Wongsuwan (2020) the employee engagement is
not just about activities, games and the enjoyable events but it also drives performance. The
engaged employee is very committed towards the organization and also very well understands
the core purpose and the goals of the organization and works on aligning the personal and the
organizational interest. This helps in carrying out the business activities in a better and effective

way leading better decision-making. The organization having engaged employees outperform
their rivals or the prevailing competition. This is considered as the major differentiator when it
comes to growth and innovation. Author also emphasized that under the employee engagement
approach, if implemented successfully, then it will lead to making workforce feel enthusiastic
and passionate in regard to whatever they do. Employees feel a sense of spirit after getting
engaged to the work.
According to Zeidan and Itani (2020) another important aspect in respect to this concept
is that it helps in undertaking effective decision-making. The outlook of the employees becomes
wide and broad which consequently leads to carrying out the better decisions. Taking decisions
is not every easy and the employees who are exposed to the employees where they are being
encouraged and motivated to participate, then the decision gets even better and stronger. Along
with this, as emphasized by Osborne and Hammoud (2017) it is important to understand that the
decision taken by the employees should be reviewed properly otherwise, it might result into
inaccurate and wrong decision affecting the business and its working. This framework is
meaningful in terms of proving their potential as this is the solid platform which is possibly not
available and this makes it difficult for the employees to showcase their potential as the senior or
the superior employees takes the chance.
On the flip side, as stated by Prathiba (2016) employee engagement can offers various
benefits for the individuals as well as the for the organization but there are certain downsides of
the employee engagement that the management is required to take into account. The major
drawback is that the engaged employees are very highly attuned to the existing working
environment that will either facilitate their work performance. But if the workers are not
provided with the required resources for performing better, then this will result into diminished
engagement. According to Anthony‐McMann and et.al., (2017) sometimes it becomes difficult to
meet with the IQ level as in the meetings high officials are also there for the discussion which
makes it difficult for the members to match the discussions as per the level of the subordinates
and thus, the conversation turned out to be imbalanced along with this, the difficulty level also
increases which is not a positive sign as it is a waste of time and energy.

2.3 Different strategies used by the company to engaging employees
According to Mohanty (2018) there are different types of employee engagement
strategies which can be used by the organization in order to effectively increase the employee
engagement within an organization. One of the strategy is to form the employee engagement
committee which will involve the passionate and the high performing employees at different
levels which helps in defining the strategies in order to increase the employee satisfaction level.
The main purpose of this committee formation is to develop the solution of the problems being
depicted in the employee engagement survey which is done through having a conversation with
the coworkers which helps in gathering information pertaining to what can be created or needed
within the organization. Further, stated by the author that developing an engagement committee
might create conflicts among the employees as each one of them would have different
perspectives and thinking.
As defined by Jiang and Luo (2018) another useful strategy which can be implemented
by recognizing the top performers as the employees feel valuable in respect to the company and
assists the organization in accomplishing the long term goals. Organization through the way of
showing its employees that it recognizes and appreciates their efforts with just a small gesture
helps in making them feel valued. Along with that through the way of rewarding, the top
performers will further encourage performing better and will also improve and enhance their
team work. Apart from this, it provides employees a platform to acknowledge their team
members which will result getting respect and appreciation by the other peer members which
will help in more employee engagement. But on the other side, as defined by Venkatesh (2018)
acknowledging the top performers might develop a feeling of being inferior among the lower
performers which might affect their performance level. Thus, this strategy should be
implemented considering its negative impact as well. Every strategy has its pros and cons and
therefore, it is the responsibility of the management to consider it before implementation.
Strategy of promoting transparency will help in effectively accomplishing the employee
engagement. As emphasized by Gode, Johansen and Thomsen (2019) bringing employees into
the aspects on a frequent basis will help in encouraging higher employee engagement. If the
employees are not made aware about the what is happening behind the scenes then they may not
be able to invest themselves and their efforts within the organization. Therefore, through the way
of providing complete or the relevant information to the employees in respect to the particular

task will help them in getting involved in the activity along with gaining confidence in the
leadership. But as criticized by Bhargava (2019) in case the management fails to provide the
relevant information to the employees in which they are involved then this might result into
making the employees start to distrust the management along with losing confidence in the
leadership. One more useful strategy is to allow the honest feedback, this is the two-step strategy
as in the first step is to create a system which supports the employees in sharing their thoughts
and asking questions to the right people. While the second step is to make use of the team's
feedback which develop a feeling among the employees in respect to the matters and the
information that they are sharing is being utilized in generating better outcome. Based on the
view of Lapoint and Liprie-Spence (2017) it is also important for the organization to make sure
that the employees are not frustrated and disengaged which is because there can be times when
the employees feel that their sharing ideas and opinion is of no use to the management. The
organization can also implement attract monetary incentives for its employees who are
performing better and is contributing towards the accomplishment of the organization goals with
full dedication and commitment. This is considered as the most effective method for encouraging
the employees for meeting their higher performance level. These incentives act as a motivator for
the employees.
The organization through the way of showing empathy is also an important way for
retaining employees. As per the view of Adekoya and et.al., (2019) empathy is mainly the ability
to identify and manage the one's emotion and mind. Engagement and the empathy are
inextricably connected to each other as the employees are very unlikely to feel that they are
actually being respected and being empowered within an organization which does not show
empathy. This might result into increasing the chances of the employees leaving the company
causing higher employee turnover rate. Thus, through the way of showing empathy will result
into increasing employee engagement.
2.4 Relationship between employee engagement and performance of employees
According to Dhir and Shukla (2019) the employee engagement has become the centre of
focus for mostly all the organization as this is the key to meeting the employees satisfaction and
better experience level. The employee engagement and wellness has finally taken the central part
in the organization. Earlier it was only considered as the part of HR and not as the integral part of
the business. But it has become very clear that the unhealthy and disengaged employees is the