There are many ways to look at the company’s success; some see it as the result of wise leadership, others suggest that clever marketing has been the pivoting point for the company’s triumph; factors contributing to the rapid progress of entrepreneurship are countless. However, people often forget that the enthusiasm of the staff also matters greatly; therefore, employees’ engagement seems to have been overlooked for quite a long, which is a shame, for the employees’ enthusiasm often becomes the motive force behind the working process. Analyzing a very graphic example of how employee’s engagement correlates with a surge in the company’s performance, Priyanka Anand (2011) makes it clear that unless ITC Maurya incorporates an employee’s perspective into its balanced scorecard, it would have never reached success. The given case is clear-cut proof of the fact that without having the employees invested in the company’s issues, the managers will not be able to improve the overall performance of the company, no matter what organizational strategy they might apply.
Employee engagement is a tricky task. On the one hand, the varieties of motivation strategies are truly striking, as well as the opportunity to adopt them towards literally any environment or anycast of employees (Hynes, 2012). On the other hand, while the efficiency of these strategies is always questionable, they demand a considerable amount of time, effort and money. Therefore, a number of companies seem to underestimate the power of employee motivation and consider that the staff does not necessarily have to be interested in the company’s success (Mirvis, 2012); following the orders and fulfilling the assignments might seem enough at the first glance. However, employee engagement often proves the decisive point of a company’s development, which the case study conducted and written by Priyanka Anand shows in a very graphic way. By observing the changes in the company in which the principles of an integrated employee engagement program have been adopted and commenting on the efficacy of these changes, Anand makes it clear that employee engagement is a powerful tool, which, combined with a clever leadership style and well-established corporate values, contributes to creating a perfect organizational environment.
According to the case study, ITC Maurya is one of India’s largest companies, the organization’s market capitalization making “nearly US $ 18 billion” (Anand, 2011, 83). Therefore, it can be considered an important element of the Indian market. Although Maurya has been offering its services for several decades running, it still remains a huge success, which the company leaders attribute to the employee engagement program. As Anand explains, “In the hospitality industry many employees see their jobs as stepping-stones to more permanent positions, and employee turnover rate ranges between 78.3 percent to 95.4 percent” (Anand, 2011, 85). In the case of ITC Maurya, several elements of the employee engagement program can be defined. Anand claims that the company has incorporated the following strategies of performance appraisal to make the employee engagement program work:
- Process of appraisal;
- Balanced score card;
- Career review form;
- Future outlook.
As Anand explains, the fact that the program is scheduled in a very careful manner also contributes to its efficiency by convincing the employees that the procedure of appraisal is not taken by the managers for granted but, instead, is an important element of employees’ performance evaluation. Thus, the company manages to raise the employees’ perception of their significance for the organization, thereby, raising their motivation and engagement.
The case study’s major strength is that it specifies every single element of the adopted employee engagement program and assesses each of these elements. Thus, an honest and detailed analysis of the ITC Maurya’s approach, as well as the prognosis for the company’s future progress, can be provided. It is important that Anand provides an outline of each strategy, explaining its purpose, effect and staying power. Another achievement of the study is that Anand has managed to analyze every major change within the company due to the applied program on such a huge time slot without leaving any of the major changes out. Finally, it is noteworthy that, along with employee engagement, Anand specifies such phenomenon as customer engagement (Anand, 3011, 86), thus, upgrading the applied approach.
Sadly enough, the case study also has its flaws; the one that falls in the eye almost immediately is that Anand offers little to no statistical data. In addition, though briefly mentioned, customer engagement never gets a proper evaluation. Finally, Anand never explains by what percentage the company’s revenues have grown due to the applied strategies.
The given case shows, however, that, once carried out in a proper manner, an integrated employee engagement program helps not only provide the staff with proper motivation but also detect and solve major problems and conflicts emerging in the course of information distributing and processing. It would be wrong to claim that the employee engagement program is a silver bullet for any corporate issue; however, the given case study shows that, unless the staff is motivated for providing a high-quality result, an employee engagement program should be considered the prime method of getting the members of the staff involved with the company’s future.
Reference List
Anand, P. (2011). Case study on employee engagement and performance appraisal: ITC Maurya. Review of Management, 1(2), 83–88.
Hynes, G. E. (2012). Improving employees’ interpersonal communication competencies: A qualitative study. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 466–475.
Mirvis, P. (2012). Employee engagement and CSR: Transactional, relational and developmental approaches. California Management Review, 54(4), 93–117.