HRM FPX 5122 Assessment 1 PMC Employee Engagement Investigation

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Capella University

HRM-FPX5122 Developing an Effective Workplace

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PMC Employee Engagement Investigation

Employee engagement is one of the most significant drivers of a company’s performance. A survey conducted by Gallup found that disengaged employees cost American companies more than $500 billion annually. The same study revealed that increased employee engagement led to higher profitability and productivity in firms (Beheshti, 2019). These results underscore the importance of employee engagement in organizational performance. Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch emphasized that every company, regardless of size, must ensure it has energized employees who believe in the firm’s mission and are committed to achieving it if it intends to succeed in the long term (Vance, 2006). Therefore, companies must conduct periodic assessments to gauge employee engagement levels. This essay presents an employee engagement investigation report for PMC.

Power Manufacturing Company (PMC) specializes in the production of lawnmowers, trimmers, and other corded and cordless power tools. Founded in 1960, the company has expanded from its original single facility to four different plants located in Lima, Ohio; Winona, Minnesota; Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Provo, Utah. Additionally, PMC operates two distribution centers in Kansas and Indiana.

The Lima and Bowling Green plants employ 600 and 500 non-union workers, respectively. Over the last five years, workplace demographics have shifted, and turnover rates at both plants have increased from the typical 3-4% to an alarming 15% at the Lima plant and 18% at Bowling Green. A pay survey shows that the hourly wage rate at Lima is competitive with the wages in the area. Consequently, management is puzzled by the high employee turnover, prompting the need for an employee engagement investigation.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is crucial to the performance and success of any business. As a result, the topic has garnered significant attention from business management scholars over the years. However, there is no universally accepted definition of employee engagement, as different organizations and business leaders define it in various ways. Despite the differing interpretations, most definitions link engagement with job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and extra-role behavior (Truss, Alfes, Delbridge, Shantz, & Soane, 2013). This report adopts Kenexa’s definition of employee engagement, which is the extent of motivation that employees have to contribute to organizational success and their willingness to go beyond their job descriptions to accomplish tasks that support organizational goals (Vance, 2006). Having established the critical role of employee engagement in a company’s success, the following section describes the various factors that influence employee engagement.

Factors that Drive Employee Engagement

PMC has identified several factors that influence employee engagement, which the company would like included in the investigation.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation includes both financial elements, such as pay and benefits, and non-financial aspects, such as travel discounts, daycare services, and employee assistance programs, which align with organizational goals. In 2018, TinyPulse conducted an employee engagement survey across 20 industries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One of the findings was that 43% of employees would leave their current employer for a 10% salary increase elsewhere (TinyPulse, 2018). This suggests that low compensation leads to disengaged employees and, ultimately, higher turnover. Consequently, the company suffers losses as disengaged employees are neither productive nor committed to the company’s goals.

Work Environment and Work Conditions

Employee engagement factors can be categorized into intrinsic factors, which are internal to the employee, and extrinsic factors, which are external and within the organization. One key organizational factor influencing employee engagement is the work environment. Workplace conditions are a significant driver of employee engagement. Employee satisfaction depends on management’s ability to provide the means to do meaningful work, achieve outcomes, receive recognition, and advance in their careers (Sharma, Chaudhary, & Singh, 2019). The work environment is multifaceted and includes factors such as employee safety. The workplace should be designed and equipped to protect employees’ well-being (Al Mamun & Hassan, 2017). For instance, employees in manufacturing settings like PMC should be provided with protective work gear. Additionally, companies can incorporate facilities that promote employee well-being. A Gallup study found that 89% of employees in companies with wellness programs were more likely to recommend their workplace to others (Beheshti, 2019).

Supervisory Leadership

The level of support that employees receive from their supervisors plays a significant role in employee engagement. Employees are more likely to commit to their organizations when they feel valued and cared for by their company through their supervisors (Sharma et al., 2019). A lack of support from managers and supervisors often coincides with poor employee performance, while strong support leads to better performance (TinyPulse, 2018).

Plant Management

Closely related to supervisory leadership is plant management. Poor management frequently leads to employee turnover. Employees who perceive their company as having a weak culture are more likely to leave for better opportunities. While management may believe their style is transparent, employees might not share this view. A key role of management is to recognize employees. Gallup found that employees who received feedback and recognition from their superiors were more likely to be engaged (Beheshti, 2019).

Peer Relationships

The 2018 TinyPulse research revealed that employees care deeply about their coworkers. Those who have positive interactions with their colleagues experience lower stress levels and higher engagement, and vice versa (Beheshti, 2019). Thus, workplace relationships are a crucial driver of employee engagement.

Job Training

Job training can take the form of orientation and onboarding for new hires or development opportunities for existing employees. New hire training helps employees understand the organization’s operations, while development training enhances satisfaction and productivity. Unfortunately, many employees, about 44%, feel that their companies lack direction and development opportunities (TinyPulse, 2018).

Meaningful Work

In addition to the factors identified by PMC for inclusion in the engagement investigation, meaningful work is another critical factor influencing employee engagement. Employees want to be assigned roles and tasks that provide satisfaction and fulfillment and allow them to contribute to the company’s objectives (Sharma et al., 2019). Five factors contribute to the meaningfulness of work: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and performance feedback. Jobs that encompass these factors lead to employee motivation, which is an indicator of engagement (Vance, 2006).

Employee Engagement Investigation Approaches

PMC management has several tools at its disposal for investigating the identified issues related to employee engagement. One of the most common approaches is surveys. These surveys can be developed in-house or conducted by an external party. Investigations often take the form of psychological and motivational surveys, which include questionnaires for employees to complete. These questionnaires can be customized to address specific issues under investigation.

One of the oldest tools used in employee engagement investigations is the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, which measures employees’ vigor, dedication, and absorption levels (Sharma et al., 2019). When using engagement surveys, management should inform employees of the study beforehand and make participation optional (SHRM, n.d.).

Another strategy for investigating employee engagement is people analytics, which involves analyzing employee data collected through observation. For instance, PMC management can use observation to analyze peer relationships and supervisory leadership within the organization (Fuller, 2014).

A common strategy for measuring job satisfaction and the meaningfulness of work is the satisfaction-engagement approach. The most widely used tool in this approach is the Gallup poll, which consists of 12 questions about the employees’ organizational and broader work environment (Fletcher & Robinson, 2014). This approach measures the extent to which employees feel their organization supports them in their roles. Thus, it can be used to investigate plant management, supervisory leadership, job training, compensation, and other organizational factors influencing engagement (Fletcher & Robinson, 2014).

HRM FPX 5122 Assessment 1 PMC Employee Engagement Investigation

The multidimensional approach is the most recently developed method. It distinguishes between organizational factors and job-related factors of engagement. This approach can be used to measure factors such as job training, development opportunities, and the meaningfulness of work (Fletcher & Robinson, 2014).

A third approach to measuring employee engagement is the needs-satisfying approach, which focuses on psychological engagement or the physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects involved in performing a role. This method can be used to measure peer relationships and interconnectedness in the workplace (Fletcher & Robinson, 2014).

Recommendation for PMC

For its engagement investigation, PMC could adopt the use of surveys. As noted earlier, surveys are widely used in employee engagement investigations, primarily because they can be customized for each issue under investigation. However, surveys rely on employee responses and are thus susceptible to bias (Fuller, 2014). PMC can develop surveys to investigate the various factors but should also consider employing another strategy to support the survey findings.

Another strategy that PMC could adopt is observation. Supervisory leadership and peer relationships could benefit from observational analysis. The organization could assign or hire individuals to observe and collect data, which can then be analyzed to determine employee perceptions of their peers and relationships with supervisors and management. Of the three approaches discussed, the multidimensional approach appears to be the most suitable for PMC, as it can measure both job-related drivers and organizational factors of engagement.

References

Al Mamun, C. A., & Hassan, M. N. (2017). Factors affecting employee turnover and sound retention strategies in business organizations: A conceptual view. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 15(1), 63-71.

Beheshti, N. (2019, January 16). 10 timely statistics about the connection between employee engagement and wellness. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nazbeheshti/2019/01/16/10-timely-statistics-about-the-connection-between-employee-engagement-and-wellness/#4bd2e96922a0

Fletcher, L., & Robinson, D. (2013). Measuring and understanding engagement. In Employee engagement in theory and practice (

pp. 287-304). Routledge.

Fuller, R. (2014, November 17). A primer on measuring employee engagement. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/11/a-primer-on-measuring-employee-engagement

Sharma, N., Chaudhary, N., & Singh, K. V. (2019). Management techniques for employee engagement in contemporary organizations. IGI Global.

SHRM. (n.d.). Developing and sustaining employee engagement. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/sustainingemployeeengagement.aspx#:~:text=Employee%20engagement%20is%20influenced%20by,%2C%20leadership%2C%20and%20company%20reputation.

TinyPulse. (2018). The 2019 employee engagement report. Retrieved from https://www.tinypulse.com/hubfs/EE%20Report%202019.pdf

Truss, C., Alfes, K., Delbridge, R., Shantz, A., & Soane, E. (2013). Employee engagement in theory and practice. Routledge.