Clear benefits of employee engagement such as high retention,
high productivity, business growth, brand value have been exhibited by these organizations to work for to achieve excellence and
drive away disengagement. These organizations have appreciated the tangible and intangible implications of disengagement
as per the above discussion. Clear benefits of employee engagement such as high retention, high productivity, business growth,
brand value have been exhibited by these organizations.
Initially when employees join an organization the fore most
important thing is to empower them. It is very important to
tell them what the expected outcome is and let them come up
with the blueprint of how it can be achieved. As in Marico early
responsibility is given to employees, their policy is to get the best
people and they will take the company ahead. The leadership
style in Marico is very much empowering and motivating. Each
employee is a brand of Marico, employees are not employees,“
they are members”. In Accenture they organize a scheduled
induction/mentorship program where there is a buddy, career
counselor and a PPA – Public People Advocate. This level of training has motivated employees to a great extent. The best part
is Accenture has 80 man hours of training and not 80 hours of
training. The main objective of this training is to help employees
navigate in the work environment and the facilities and develop a
competent framework. Also they have a career development program (CDP) which encourages employees to build competencies.
These competency assessment programs have helped employees
develop confidence. Especially Accenture spends lot of time and
money in developing women leaders. The relationship between
mentor-mentee must be very strong from the beginning which
will ultimately make the employees feel a sense of belongingness.
Communication – which is a key to allow employees to stay connected, exchange views, learn about important decisions and
share real time information. Raymond has successfully implemented “Idea Works” where in employees are given the opportunity to drop in new business ideas which can work out. If ideas get
selected then it is implemented and along with that employees
are given incentives. One of the most amazing is the Magic card
11 • Designfreebies Magazine • www.designfreebies.org
concept of Aditya Birla Group where, in small colorful magic cards
each employee can give feedback about his colleagues, supervisors etc. One can also acknowledge about each other’s good work
and also give bad feedback. This has made the process communication very transparent and open.
Practicing Empathy where in supervisors, colleagues and bosses
can talk about being compassionate by forming an opinion, considering each other’s viewpoint, share it openly and then move
ahead. When this is done consistently across the firm, the employees feel much happier and engaged with the firm in real sense.
Career opportunities - Companies should create opportunities for
employees whenever and wherever possible. Like Accenture has
developed an Accenture management development academia
(AMDA) where people who are assistant managers and above are
given an opportunity to do online/ classroom training program in
association with ISB. Later ISB gives them certificate which plays
high value within the organization. In Godrej & Boyce extensive
training programs are conducted by external agencies in association with Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Great Lakes
and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. Companies like
L&T have tied up with Harvard where they have a web based any
time learning program (ATL). Grooming leaders is also an important aspect of engagement to develop a holistic environment for
growth and engagement. Employees who work under an inspiring and coaching manager grow faster and better.
Few wellness initiatives, Aditya Birla Group has tied up with
Colgate Palmolive to engage families and also conduct free
dental checkup. L&T has also tied up with Art of Session for yoga
sessions for a healthy lifestyle of employees. Apart these they also
have sports club, photography club, musical band, external raga,
salsa classes to keep employees engaged althroughout the years.
In reality successful organizations have employees that take pride
in their work, and it is a place where employee performance is celebrated with enthusiasm, like in a family. An intrinsic factor to the
feeling of engagement is the manager who is also the face of the
organization to his/her team members. Employees experience