Introduction

In organizations, a wide range of employees come from various backgrounds regarding their culture, race, sex, religion, etc. with unique talents and perspectives to contribute to the company. The uniqueness of each employee makes the workforce diverse providing opportunities for innovative and creative ideas for the success of the company. The diverse workforce lets the employees express their differentiated talents which attracts many employees to the company enriching its team for a better work culture. The work performance in a diverse workforce gets boosted with the engagement of talented employees. Hence, employee engagement has a direct connection with the diverse work culture in an organization. In this report, employee engagement has been discussed in detail from both the employee’s and employer’s perspectives. Based on this understanding, employee engagement has been critically analyzed. Employee engagement in terms of a diverse workforce provides opportunities for the company’s overall growth. The diversity in the work environment enables information sharing fostering productivity and the company’s growth and success.

Employee engagement

Employee engagement is defined as the part of human resource management where people are dedicated to their jobs and think about the company’s well-being (Smith, 2022). Employees are enthusiastic about carrying out their jobs in the most efficient manner. Employee engagement ensures that people are satisfied in the workplace which results in more productivity and positive outcome for both the employer and the company. There are a lot of key points for increasing employee engagement in the workplace. Employee engagement ensures employee’s career progress as well. The key factors for highly engaged employees lie in the work environment of the company. These can be described as effective communication and providing rewards and bonuses for good employee performance which are bringing positive results for the company. Engaged employees in an organization are highly committed to their jobs and there is the least chance for employee turnover. Chanana and Sangeeta (2021) showed in their study how it was difficult to engage employees during the pandemic situation. They took up activities like family engagement practices and team building activities along with meetings, live sessions, and counseling in order to keep the employees’ mindset ready for work and help them get a feeling about working from the office itself. Offering flexibility of work timing is also helpful for the employees as it helps in restoring faith in the organization. The HR team ensures whether the employees are engaged in the workplace or not through proper evaluation of the report. Employee engagement is an emotional submission to work towards a progressive career which is equally beneficial for the company. The company earns profits if the employees are engaged and satisfied with the workforce.

CIPD comment on employee engagement

The concept of employee engagement refers to the psychological state of the employees and the motivational factors that make the employees more dedicated to their work. They feel energetic to work in the corporate culture with the best of their efforts (CIPD, 2023). According to CIPD comments, employers should be concerned about employee engagement to enhance the workforce of the company. CIPD has commented on the business issues arising due to employee relationships affecting employee engagement. This is also supported by Ahmed et al (2020) and can be reflected in the diagram below:

There has been a psychological understanding between the employees and the employers in an organization to increase employee engagement in the workplace. The HR team ensures employee engagement within an organization and forms strategies to improve and implement for better organizational growth. It focuses on effective communication and the attention paid to the employee’s views and perspectives regarding their decision-making capabilities. The functioning of the management team has been highlighted in terms of employee engagement. Companies have always tried to apply technology which are available to them and this helped in leading them towards capitalization on new technologies for tracking of productivity and quality, satisfaction of customers and sales. Digital tools may be used to keep employees engaged in the activities of the workplace such that human resource management can help in improving the productivity of workforce (Burnett and Lisk, 2021).

Employer’s benefits of employee engagement

Employee engagement brings benefits to the company’s overall revenue. The employees become concerned about the company’s aims and objectives. Engaged employees work on trust and integrity through effective and transparent communication. They provide ideas for which the company goals can be achieved more efficiently (Ahmed et al, 2021). The HR management teams ensure an engaged workforce within the company that works according to expectations for the best outcomes. The strategies developed in the organization ensure that the workforce of the company remains engaged reducing the chance of turnovers and enhancing employee retention. The company officials motivate the employees and empower them so that they give their best performances respecting their thoughts and views in making decisions for problem-solving. In line with this, the study by Cherif (2020) showed that there is an association between engagement of employees which in turn brings about commitment and job satisfaction. The study revealed that HRM practices can help in career development of the employees by enhancing their commitment and satisfaction. These may be initiated by engaging them better.

Strategies to enhance employee engagement

A critical analysis of the benefits of employees’ engagement for both employers and employees reveal that there are certain factors from the organizational perspective controlled by the employers that determine employee engagement in the company. The following factors ensure that the company gains beneficial outcomes to get a competitive advantage in the highly globalized market.

• The leadership and management system in the company should guide the employees towards their best performance. This can be done by proper communication techniques (Acharya, 2022).
• In the case of skill development, employers should organize training and development sessions so that employees remain motivated and grow interest in their jobs through enhancing their skills.
• The employer should provide enough growth opportunities for the employees so that they can foster their career advancement (Acharya, 2022).
• The HR team paves the pathway for engaging the employees through building trust and maintaining a good relationship which includes a sense of responsibility towards the company’s achievements.
• The job role has to be discussed in detail so that employees take a keen interest in showcasing their skills and qualifications through work performance. Employee engagement depends on the kind of job they are asked to do for the company.
• The employers should provide enough recognition to the employees for their contribution to the company. This can be done through rewards and bonuses so that employees are happy with corporate gifts and it motivates them to work for the betterment of the company.

Workforce diversity affects employee engagement bringing beneficial outcomes to the company. In an organization, customer satisfaction is enhanced by more employee engagement and positive output. Engaged employees feel more connected to the company which depicts their self-association and persistence in their job roles (Riyanto et al., 2021). The employers’ attitudes and behavior towards the employees affect employee engagement. Hence, it has been observed that the concept of employee engagement is based on a psychological effect where the employers drive the employees towards working for the betterment of the company. The employers also ensure the availability of resources to keep employees engaged in their jobs.

Negative factors

Employee engagement becomes negatively affected if the company resources are scarce and inadequate for them to work in a healthy environment (Rasool et al., 2021). If the approach of the employees is negative towards the employees, then the employees are subject to bullying, harassment, and other discriminating activities. These factors reduce employee engagement and the business suffers losses. Hence, employee engagement plays the most vital role in gaining beneficial outcomes in the company guided by the employers of the company.

Employees’ benefits of employee engagement

Organizations are constantly trying to increase employee engagement for organizational growth. This is beneficial for the employees as well. Companies have been paying more heed to the fact that employees should remain engaged in their work. Even in the COVID-19 pandemic situation, companies have been trying every way to keep their employees engaged through online learning and development tools, assignments, and webinars (Chanana and Sangeeta, 2021). Communication within the organization is effective for keeping employees engaged in an organization. Engaged employees ensure that the company’s missions are fulfilled properly so that the outcomes are desirable and beneficial for the company. They are committed to their work and strive towards excelling in the business achievements.

• If the employees feel motivated and engaged in their work, then they get an opportunity to prove themselves through work productivity and performance. They become more focused on their work and they think beyond personal achievements (Stone, 2023).
• Employees become satisfied with their jobs and remain happy and highly motivated throughout their business presence. People feel passionate about their work. The teams in which the employees work become enriched with unique talents as each employee presents their creativity.
• The experience of the employees increases with time and employee engagement helps to gain more experience through customer satisfaction.
• Employees showcase their activities and strive towards innovative solutions. Engaged employees feel more involved in the company and engage in the decision-making processes with their vital viewpoints. The interactivity of the employees secures their job positions lowering the chance of employee turnovers.
• Employee engagement increases employee performance with less chance of absenteeism. People show more dedication towards their achievement to gain company benefits.
• There are tremendous growth opportunities for employees who are engaged in their work. Lazy employees cannot perform better. Hence, engaged employees complete the task within the allotted time with the best of performances (Stone, 2022).
• The high performance of the employees is ensured through their engaging activities for their upward career growth. The engaged employees show more productivity which increases their value in the company. This creates a chance for their promotion widening the pathway for their career progress. An engaged workforce creates more career opportunities for the upward growth of the employees to enhance their self-improvement.
• Engaged employees feel the responsibility of their work and they are open-minded to accept criticisms. They utilize the feedback gained for their career improvement turning the criticism into advanced growth opportunities (Stone, 2022).
• The employee survey reports are analyzed and they take initiatives for better achievements. Engaged employees boost their work performance by learning from their mistakes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, engaged employees tend to perform their tasks with the optimal enthusiasm and concentration. Employee engagement leads the pathway towards progressive development at both the company and the individual level. Employee engagement is fostered in the case of a proper communicative environment ensured by the employers. For getting the best business outcomes with work productivity, from the employers’ end, there should be leadership skills and managerial support to the employees so that they can perform their best keeping themselves engaged in the team and achieving company objectives.

References

Acharya, S.A. am S. (2022) 10 factors that affect employee engagement, OffiNeeds. Available at: https://www.offineeds.com/employee-engagement-factors/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023).

Burnett, J. R., & Lisk, T. C. (2021). The future of employee engagement: Real-time monitoring and digital tools for engaging a workforce. In International Perspectives on Employee Engagement (pp. 117-128). Routledge.

Cherif, F. (2020). The role of human resource management practices and employee job satisfaction in predicting organizational commitment in Saudi Arabian banking sector. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(7/8), 529-541.

Chanana, N. and Sangeeta, 2021. Employee engagement practices during COVID‐19 lockdown. Journal of public affairs, 21(4), p.e2508.

Employee engagement & motivation: Factsheets (no date) CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/engagement-factsheet/#what-is-employee-engagement (Accessed: 11 October 2023).

Employee engagement statistics 2023 (2023) Pumble Learn. Available at: https://pumble.com/learn/communication/employee-engagement-statistics/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023).

Rasool, S.F., Wang, M., Tang, M., Saeed, A. and Iqbal, J., 2021. How toxic workplace environment effects the employee engagement: The mediating role of organizational support and employee wellbeing. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(5), p.2294.

Riyanto, S., Endri, E. and Herlisha, N., 2021. Effect of work motivation and job satisfaction on employee performance: Mediating role of employee engagement. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(3), p.162.

Smith, T. (no date) What is employee engagement? definition, strategies, and example, Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/employee-engagement.asp#:~:text=Employee%20engagement%20describes%20the%20level,be%20productive%20and%20higher%20performing. (Accessed: 11 October 2023).

Stone, K. (2023) The impact of employee engagement on productivity, Engagedly. Available at: https://engagedly.com/blog/impact-of-employee-engagement-on-productivity/#:~:text=Employee%20Experience,-What%20is%20Employee&text=Employees%20who%20are%20engaged%20with,driven%20than%20their%20disengaged%20colleagues. (Accessed: 11 October 2023).

Susanto, P.C., Syailendra, S. and Suryawan, R.F., 2023. Determination of Motivation and Performance: Analysis of Job Satisfaction, Employee Engagement and Leadership. International Journal of Business and Applied Economics, 2(2), pp.59-68.