Tesco Employee Engagement: Assessing the Impact of Motivation (HRM)

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RESEARCH PROJECT
The impact Motivation on employee engagement- A case study of Tesco, Barking Branch

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................5
1.1 TITLE.....................................................................................................................................5
1.2 AIMS.....................................................................................................................................5
1.3 OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT..............................................................................5
1.5 PROBLEM STATEMENT.........................................................................................................5
1.6 NEED OF THE STUDY............................................................................................................6
1.7 RESEARCH TYPE....................................................................................................................6
1.8 RESEARCH APPLICATION......................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................8
2.1 PRIOR RESEARCH................................................................................................................. 8
2.2 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.....................................................................................11
2.3 HERZBERG'S TWO FACTOR THEORY...................................................................................12
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY......................................................................................13
1.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................13
1.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY.....................................................................................................14
1.3 RESEARCH APPROACH....................................................................................................... 15
1.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY.........................................................................................................15
1.5 CHOICE OF RESEARCH METHODS.......................................................................................16
1.6 RESEARCH SAMPLING........................................................................................................ 16
1.7 DATA COLLECTION............................................................................................................. 17
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1.8 RESEARCH DESIGN AND TYPE............................................................................................ 17
1.9 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY.................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 4: RESULT/FINDINGS...................................................................................................19
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................40
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..................................................................43
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................45
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ABSTRACT
Market conditions in the retail segment of the UK are highly volatile and to survive in such a
fierce market environment better motivation level of the employees is the key to survival.
Looking at the low engagement level of the employees it is necessary to recognize the efforts of
the employee and empower them to increase the organisational effectiveness. This research
project aims to assess the impact of motivation on the morale of the employees at the
workplace. The research project will gather useful data from different research tools and
techniques and analyse this data to make meaningful conclusions, these conclusions can be
used to improve the employee motivation at the barking store of Tesco. A survey will also be
conducted on the employees of Tesco to understand the employee satisfaction ratio and the
efforts done by the management to improve employee engagement. A wide range of data is
collected from different sources so that the problem can be analysed completely and some
recommendations can be provided to make the employee better engaged at the Tesco store.
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 TITLE
The impact Motivation on employeeengagement- A case study of Tesco, Barking Branch
1.2 AIMS
 To determine the factors that increase employee’s motivation
 To examine the relationship between an employee's motivation and engagement
1.3 OBJECTIVES
 What are the major factors affecting employee engagement in the retail sector
 What is the level of empowerment is given to Tesco employees in Barking Branch to
increase employee engagement
 Suggestion and benchmarking best practices to improve employee motivation and
engagement within Tesco and the retail industry
1.4 BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT
The Tesco store at Barking, London is not able to retain its best employees over the last few
years. The management is keen to find the reason for this phenomenon. This research project
aims to explore the impact of motivation on employee satisfaction and engagement. a range of
theories such as Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and two-factor theory is discussed in the research
to understand the factor which works as motivation for the employees and how the needs of
different employees can become the basis for better human resource management at the
organisation. Different kinds of data are also collected to support the hypothesis and prepare a
solid ground to find the solution for the current problem.
1.5 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Employee motivation is an essential factor in modern organisations because technology is
changing at a fast pace and the employees need to constantly upgrade their skills to stay
competitive in the job market. Over the last few years the Tesco retail centre at Barking,
London is experiencing high turnover and the employee engagement at the retail centre is also
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not found very high. This research project will aim to find a solution to this problem by
establishing a link between employee motivation and employee engagement. This hypothesis
will provide an insight into the process to keep the workforce highly motivated (Alvesson and
Sköldberg, 2017). Employee motivation is dependent on a number of factors which are
discussed in the detail in the research projects. The effort here is to develop a methodology to
keep the motivation level of the employees high so that they are able to serve the customers
better and increase the brand strength of Tesco.
1.6 NEED OF THE STUDY
Job satisfaction level in the employees is the key to achieve productivity in the business and is
also a source for sustainable competitive advantage. This study is important for Tesco because
it will help the organisation find reasons for low employee engagement. The study will also help
in developing deeper knowledge in the human resource management process and why it is
important to work for employee development. When the employees feel satisfied with the
work condition, this satisfaction is reflected in their conduct with the customers (Smith, 2015).
The polite behaviour of the employees is the key to achieve high customer loyalty and
therefore it is utmost important for Tesco to work proactively towards improving the employee
engagement rate at the organisation.
1.7 RESEARCH TYPE
A variety of research methodologies are used in the current research project in order to gather
some useful data regarding the research problem. The primary and secondary both kinds of
data are collected for the research. The primary data is in the form of research questionnaires
which is conducted among 100 employees of Tesco at Barking London branch. These employees
are asked a variety of question-related to the opportunities of training and development
provided, leadership style followed, level of employee engagement, environment for equality
and diversity, organisational culture and the employee supervision process (Bell, 2014).
Theresponses of the employees are used to form a hypothesis regarding the current state of
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employee satisfaction at barking branch of Tesco. The research also includes collecting
secondary data by the help of academic journals, textbooks and newspapers.
1.8 RESEARCH APPLICATION
The application of this research is done by conducting the questionnaire on Tesco employees.
This questionnaire has a variety of questions which will help in gathering important data
regarding employee satisfaction at Tesco. The question asked to form the respondents are
closed end. The responses of such questions can be easily converted in the form of numerical
data. The numerical data is convenient for finding the solution for the problem because this
data can be easily arranged in the form of pie charts, graphs and tables (Fetters et al., 2013).
This data will be analysed by the researchers in order to find some clear solutions for the
underlying problem. On the basis of findings of the research suitable recommendations are
suggested to deal with the current problem of low employee engagement at Tesco Barking
branch.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 PRIOR RESEARCH
According to Adeniji, (2011) employee engagement is the degree of commitment and passion
experienced by the employees while working in an organisation. Over the past few it has been
seen that the barking branch of Tesco is experiencing considerable fall in the employee
engagement at the workplace. The immediate reason for this lack of enthusiasm may be the
ineffective leadership and the employee engagement policies of the Tesco management but
there are many other reasons which make an impact of the employee motivation and it is
necessary to find out all the reason which are creating dissatisfaction in the employees of
Braking branch. Auer et al., (2011) explained that the engagement is a hard thing to achieve
because every individual employee has his own definition of satisfaction. a high performing
employee accepts the changes in the technology and looks at these changes as an opportunity
to something new, he is ready to challenge the status quo and has high accountability. On the
other hand, these factors may be a reason for dissatisfaction for the low performing employee
as he always wants to cling to the status quo and resist the on-going changes for betterment. In
such a situation, it becomes necessary for the management to understand the right motivation
for the individual employee and take steps to keep the workforce satisfied accordingly.
Balaji and Balachandran, (2012) state that for Tesco, it is necessary to maintain employee
engagement because it is an excellent source of creating a competitive advantage over the rival
companies like ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Aldi. An engaged employee understand the whole
purpose of the organisation and creates an excellent tuning of the mission and vision of the
company. An organisation having such employees can easily outperform his competitors and
can recover more quickly from the situation like recession and economic slowdown. Such
employees create a positive work culture which motivates other employees to increase their
level of engagement at the workplace.
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According to Ghazi et al., (2013) there is a certain relationship between employee motivation
and employee engagement. It can be said that employee engagement is the next level of high
motivation. The motivation in an organisation can be ensured by the effective management by
the leadership. When the employees are given freedom to speak their mind they are ready to
put a step forward in improving the work conditions. Markos and Sridevi, (2010) state that they
are more open towards challenging situations like organisational change and feel aligned with
the missionand vision of the organisation. Working under such environment for some time,
such employee development high level of engagement in everything they do. The support of
the management plays a crucial role in enhancing this employee engagement if the
management is not ready to embrace the idea of an open work environment such employee
may feel demotivated.
According to Albrech (2011) retaining the best talent in the industry can be achieved by
recognising the role played by the employees. When right motivationis provided to the
employee their personal goals get aligned with the organisational goals and in such situation,
the energy of the employees become directed in a single direction and it considerably increases
the employee performance in a small time intervals. At Tesco, the leaders need to ensure that
the employees are getting enough opportunities to learn and grow and they are able to realize
that if the organisation grows it is their own growth.
Saks and Gruman (2014 ) suggest that the source of motivation can be different for individual
employees. Some employee may feel motivated with the salary hike while other individuals
may wish to be recognised on a public platform for their positive work. The managers need to
understand these individual needs of the employees in order to ensure organisational
effectiveness.According to Ghazi et al., (2013) right stimulant set by the leaders work wonders
for the employee and help in providing them with a motive to increase their current
performance levels. These are the factors which make the employee ‘go the extra mile' to
enhance the customer experience. It is observed that the majority of employees need
motivation for some positive action. However there are some employees who have an internal
motivation that drives them to improve their performance but in general, the employee needs
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some sort of stimulant to keep them going. The leadership need to identify the right stimulant
and provide them with the required motivation.
According to Saray et al., (2017) employees feel motivated at the workplace when they can
participate, feel accomplished, have opportunities for career and growth and are recognised for
their effort. If the management at Tesco barking are able to identify these factors and use these
tool toenhance the satisfaction level of the employees the organisational effectiveness of Tesco
can be increased. Challenging and exciting work is the biggest motivators for employees to
enhance their performance. In the retail industry, the job of the employee often become
monotonous and leaves little room for creative thoughts and ideas. Yi et al. (2011) have a view
that in such an environment the employees need some external motivation which can
rejuvenate their spirits. The managers at Tesco need to design an incentive program which can
motivate the employee to go an extra mile and improve the customer services as well as
improve their own performances. The management can also start a performance management
system for the managers of different teams. The managers who have good retention rates in
their teams can be appreciated.
Singh and Jain, (2013) explained that by providing the employees with opportunities to grow
the organisation shows that the employees matter to the business. The training and
development programs by the management help the employees become abetter version of
them which makes them align better with the long term goals of the company. Investing in the
trainingand development programs may look like an extra expense but it is developing the best
talent for the company and helps in strengthening the competitive position of Tesco.Well-
planned training programs provide a clear path of progression to the employees.
Markos and Sridevi, (2010) have a view that better working condition can also be a great
motivation factor for the employees. working condition like proper lighting, cleanliness and
proper ventilation are some factor which improves the working condition of the employee and
they can improve their efficiency. Flexibility in work hours and job timings can help in creating a
better work-life balance for the employees and can help in building a place where employees
enjoy and feel inspired.
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2.2 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs explains that the needs of the employees can be
categorized into five basic types. The first level of needs explained in this theory is Physiological
needs. These are the basic needs of the employees who are necessary for the survival of an
individual. A salary and stability in employment can be considered as the most basic necessities
of an individual. The employees in the starting phase of their job are at this level of need. The
employees may require healthy air to breath, clean water and adequate rest so that their body
can function well. The second level of need is a security need (Jonas, 2016). At this stage, the
employee wishes to have a safe working environment and benefits such as pension and health
insurance schemes. The medical benefits and the pension provided by the employer make the
employee feel perfectly secure and positively impact employee engagement.
The third level of needs defined in Maslow's theory is Belongings need. The employees who
have achieved the last two levels of needs move to the next level of need where they wish to
have cooperation in the job and social acceptance. The management should ensure that any
possible threat of injury needs to be avoided and arrangements should be there to make the
work environment as safe as possible. Esteem need comes next which is the desire to be
recognised for the achievements. They want to get rewarded and appreciated on apublic
platform when they are putting their maximum effort in a job (Robertson, 2016). The
management at Tesco needs to make sure that fairness is at the core of the employee reward
and recognition programs. When the employees realize that the organisation is consistency in
recognising exceptional efforts they start feeling pride in their work and ultimately the
employee engagement is also strengthened. Self-actualization is the top level of needs in the
Hierarchy. At this stage, the needs of the employees become shifted towards increasing the
quality of work which can be achieved by gaining knowledge and new experiences. They may
like to be designated to a new job role where they can use their creative skills to improve the
job (Sadri and Bowen, 2011).
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2.3 HERZBERG'S TWO FACTOR THEORY
Herzberg’stwo factory theory explains that basically the motivating factors for the employees
can be classified into two broad categories which are motivation factors and Hygiene factors.
The hygiene factors include the most basic amenities which need to be there at the workplace
so that the employees can work efficiently. While motivation factors are the additional facilities
provided to encourage the employee to aim at higher goals. Hygiene factors are the working
conditions which support an employee to fulfil his duties. If these factors are not taken care it
will make an impact on the motivation level of the employee (Sanjeev and Surya, 2016). Having
hygiene factor does not provide any motivation to the employee to improve their performance
but in the absence of these hygiene factors, the employee will not be able to focus on his work
and will result in downgraded performance, therefore, it is the responsibility of management to
fulfil all the basic hygiene factors to keep the workforce satisfied.
Motivation factors encourage the employees to work harder and excel their current
performance levels so that long term goals of the company can be realised. These factors are
necessary for the employee to come out of his comfort zone and aim something higher.
Employee engagement cannot be enhanced by the help of fulfilling the hygiene factors only
(Yusoff et al., 2013). To make the employee highly engaged at the workplace it is necessary to
provide opportunities to excel his current performance level and learn new skills. But this is also
true that the hygiene factors need to be addressed first, then only the employee can be
motivated to excel higher.
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