Dissertation: Employee Engagement and Retention at Virgin Call Centres

This dissertation chapter provides an introduction to a study on employee engagement and its impact on employee retention, specifically within Virgin Call Centres. It outlines the background, rationale, and scope of the research, emphasizing the importance of employee engagement in today's business environment. The chapter details the research aims, objectives, and questions, focusing on understanding the concept of employee engagement, identifying factors that promote it, and assessing its effects on workforce retention. It also describes the research methodology, including data collection methods (primary and secondary), data analysis (qualitative), research approach (deductive), and research design (descriptive). Furthermore, the chapter provides a brief overview of Virgin Call Centres and discusses both external and internal contexts relevant to the study, along with limitations and ethical considerations. The chapter concludes with a list of cited references.

DISSERTATION

TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1....................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.......................................................................................................................1
1.2 Interest of the study..........................................................................................................1
1.3 Rationale of the study.......................................................................................................2
1.4 Scope of the research........................................................................................................2
1.5 Specification of the research............................................................................................2
1.6 Aims and Objectives.........................................................................................................3
1.7 Background of Virgin.......................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Employee engagement is referred to be one of the most challenging aspect for today's
business establishments who are continually required to operate as per the changing trends and
agenda of their marketplaces. However, engaging employees is considered as a driving force to
attain constant success in the business where it together assists in acquiring competitive benefit
in the market (Bal, Kooij and De Jong, 2013). It is not only referred to be a prime agenda of
large business enterprises but is together considered as a beneficial mean for small to medium
size businesses. It is basically in context to encourage the workers to participate in distinct set of
activities at the workplace with a significant act of decision making practices. It is with another
key consideration of the Human Resource Management (HRM) where the deputed personnels
should hereby end to encourage the employers to involve their respective set of workers in the
process of decision making.
1.2 Interest of the study
A leading interest of this survey is to acknowledge the beneficial means of employee
engagement in context to provide a substantial advantage in the marketplace. It is with a
fundamental deliberation of achieving competitive benefit in their functional set of markets. It is
especially for the global level organisations where they are continually striving to operate at a
worldwide level and thus need to apply more than a single set of strategy (Mone and London,
2014). Employee engagement is also based upon a similar set of consideration with a principle
accountability of the upper administrative bodies. It is to continually inspire the workers to make
an active participation in the ongoing activities of their workplace where this study is
fundamentally carried out to ascertain some substantial measures of employee engagement.
In context to which, an active participation of employees with a special reference of
engaging them in the decision making procedures is referred to be the most productive and
efficient practice initiated by the HRM. Employee engagement is a fundamental concept of the
workplace that results in attaining high level commitment from the employees by motivating
them to work as per the standardised set of work (Saks and Gruman, 2014). The recent study is
hereby carried to discover some prospective means of employee engagement in an elected
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venture named Virgin Call Centres. It is basically to find out whether they are in supposition of
applying it as per the specified norms that in turn benefit them with a timely accomplishment of
their organisational goals and targets.
1.3 Rationale of the study
The current investigation is based upon an elected subject matter of employee
engagement in context to discover its existence in a designated enterprise named Virgin Call
Centres. It will hereby tend to outline a vital relationship among the concept of employee
engagement with that of its varied conceptual means that supports in holding the efficient set of
workers for a long time period. A leading principle behind conducting this study is one of its
determined clause of retention where a rising rate of employee turnover and absenteeism is
referred to be a leading issue in today's contemporary set of business (Breevaart and et.al., 2014).
As a result to which, enormous number of investigators have carried out a similar set of study. It
was however with a prime focus on considering the issue of retention with a mere intention of
referring to some other conceptual problems like employee turnover and absenteeism. The
present survey has thus focussed upon an analogous concern of framing such other relative
benefits of employee engagement with a chief importance of getting a sure-shot success in the
future. It has therefore reflected the personal interest of the researcher in the chosen theme of the
recent investigation.
1.4 Scope of the research
This section is to outline the future scope of the present research work where an in-depth
investigation of employee engagement will thereby assist in acknowledging some other
beneficial measures of employee retention, etc., (Truss and et.al., 2013). This in turn also will
also aid the surveyor to study some other potent means of performance management by
continually motivating the workers with some affluent sources of retention.
1.5 Specification of the research
It is one of the most crucial section of the research work that specifies the adopted
methodologies to carry out the investigation that ultimately leads to a timely attainment of its
framed aims and objectives. Below are the delineated tools that are been employed by the
surveyor to conduct the present study-
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 Data collection: It is an essential mean of the investigation where the researcher is hereby
required to select a some considerable ways of gathering a liable set of information from
the set respondents. There exists two definite tactics of data collection where the surveyor
has hereby employed both primary and secondary methods (Wahyuni, 2012). The
primary method will hereby necessitate the investigator to directly approach the
responders, whereas, another tact of secondary data collection will tend to refer to some
authentic publications by assembling data from books, journals and online sources, etc. Data analysis: It is mainly in context to analyse the accumulated set of data where, in the
present research work, the investigator has hereby opted to carry out a qualitative
evaluation of the obtained information (Petty, Thomson and Stew, 2012). This will refer
to make a subjective assessment of the statistics with distinct formation of themes to
support both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Research approach: It is mainly in context to depict the nature of the research work
where there exists total two momentous measures of deductive and inductive approaches.
A major point of difference among both is where the deductive study is based upon
hypothetical assumptions with another basis of inductive survey that relies on the framed
set of queries (Amelina, 2012). Thus, in context to the recent study, the surveyor has
opted to carry out a deductive study as per the general nature of the subject matter.
 Research design: There exists total three different type of research designs known as
explanatory, exploratory and descriptive with a distinct significance of each that is being
depicted by their respective titles (Coleman and Ringrose, 2013). The current
investigation has hereby outlined a descriptive nature of the study that will appropriately
reach out its intended goals and targets.
1.6 Aims and Objectives
This section is to outline the leading aims and objectives of the present research work
where these are the specified below-
The aim of this investigation is “To critically determine the role of employee engagement
in relation to retention of employees in a company: A study on Virgin Call Centres.”
Below defined are the specified objectives of this study that are based on the preceding intent of
the survey along with some framed queries for carrying out the research-
Research Objectives
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 To study in detail about the concept of employee engagement in Virgin Call Centres.
 To ascertain the factors that promotes employee engagement in Virgin Call Centres.
 To understand the effects of employee engagement on workforce retention in Virgin Call
Centres.
 To suggest appropriate strategies for improving strategy of employee engagement in relation
to motivate employees of Virgin Call Centres.
Research questions
1. What is the meaning of employee engagement in Virgin Call Centres?
2. What are the major factors that promote employee engagement in Virgin Call Centres?
3. What is the effect of employee engagement on workforce retention in Virgin Call
Centres?
4. What type of strategies can improve the concept of employee engagement in Virgin Call
Centres?
1.7 Background of Virgin
This section is to overview the selected establishment named Virgin Call Centres where it
is a pivotal part of Virgin Media PLC. It is a subsidiary cooperation of Liberty Global that is
actively operating in the industry of telecommunications and mass media from last 10 years. It is
currently headquartered in Hook, Hampshire of UK and is working with more than 14, 004
number of employees at present. Virgin Call Centres hereby serves as a base to the customer
service department of all its auxiliary firms named Virgin Media of Ireland, Virgin Media
Business and Virgin Mobile entity in UK.
1.8 External Context
This is in regard to specify the validity of the study where it is broadly linked to the
extrinsic means of research. A valid set of study is proven by its implicated resources that has
been opted at the time of making research. In context to which, the investigator in the present
survey has referred to determine the role of employee engagement to impact upon the retention
of employees in an organisation with a special context of Virgin Call Centres. For which, some
principle measures of data collection has been used by the surveyor over here as a way of
collecting liable set of data. The primary data sources usually necessitates the researcher to
directly interrogate the respondents of the study where in the present investigation, the managers
can be scrutinized by the surveyor by conducting a focussed group interview and probing them
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with the help of a formulated questionnaire. Whereas, the secondary sources of data collection
postulates the researcher to gather apt information from certain authentic resources such as
books, journals, magazines, online publications and governmental reports, etc.
1.9 Internal Context
It is basically with reference to discourse upon the reliability of the investigation by
referring to the tools adopted by the surveyor to carry out the study in a directional manner. In
context to which, the researcher is hereby required to opt from the most appropriate
methodologies. It will fundamentally represents as a mean of conducting a considerable study
with an ultimate achievement of its projected aims and objectives.
1.10 Limitations and ethical considerations
There exists varied limited factors that are being dealt by the investigator at the time of
carrying out a study that mostly involves a constricted time span and a restricted budget. It is
therefore important for the surveyor to opt for a planned way of study with some applied tools
like Gantt Chart to foresee a timely submission of research. It is along with yet another proposed
tool to manage the funds required to be invested at the time of conducting the study by referring
to the method of activity based costing.
Ethical consideration is yet another agenda while carrying out a survey as a mean of
assuring a moralised context of research. It is promptly associated with a prime concern of
defending the privacy of acquired responses from the respondents by together taking their pre
approval to make a willing participation in the investigation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Amelina, A., 2012. Beyond methodological nationalism: Research methodologies for cross-
border studies (Vol. 24). Routledge.
Bal, P.M., Kooij, D.T. and De Jong, S.B., 2013. How do developmental and accommodative
HRM enhance employee engagement and commitment? The role of psychological
contract and SOC strategies. Journal of Management Studies. 50(4). pp.545-572.
Breevaart, K. and et.al., 2014. Daily transactional and transformational leadership and daily
employee engagement. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology. 87(1).
pp.138-157.
Coleman, R. and Ringrose, J., 2013. Deleuze and research methodologies. Edinburgh University
Press.
Mone, E.M. and London, M., 2014. Employee engagement through effective performance
management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.
Petty, N.J., Thomson, O.P. and Stew, G., 2012. Ready for a paradigm shift? Part 2: Introducing
qualitative research methodologies and methods. Manual therapy. 17(5). pp.378-384.
Saks, A.M. and Gruman, J.A., 2014. What do we really know about employee engagement?.
Human Resource Development Quarterly. 25(2). pp.155-182.
Truss, C. and et.al., 2013. Employee engagement, organisational performance and individual
well-being: exploring the evidence, developing the theory. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management. 24(14). pp.2657-2669.
Wahyuni, D., 2012. The research design maze: Understanding paradigms, cases, methods and
methodologies. Journal of applied management accounting research. 10(1). pp.69-80.