On Employee Engagement

1. Employee Engagement@reccession.com: Role of HR
'Employee Engagement' the buzzword that caught the Indian Corporate by storm in the past few years
is a powerful employee retention tool. The explosive boom in the Indian economy during the
millennium, pre-recession, triggered high turnover rates in Organisations, forcing them to wake up and
take note of the fact that it is only an engaged employee who is intellectually and emotionally bound
with the organization, who feels passionate about its goals and is committed towards its values, thus
she/he goes the extra mile beyond the basic job.
But then came the recession and many employers backtracked to the traditional measures of cost
cutting like retrenchment of staff, heavy increment cuts, recruitment freezes etc, without realizing that
though these measures do result in short term cost saving, they might actually boomerang in the long
run in terms of a stained organization image as well as low employee morale. Employees may not leave
the organization due to paucity of other employment options but there definitely will be a sharp decline
in their level of engagement with the organization. The failed mass retrenchment of employees by Jet
Airways which resulted in one of the worst corporate fiascos, is one such example.
So, the big question now before Employers is practicing employee engagement in tough times.
Below are some few very practical tips on how this can be done, without ample investment in cost but
resulting in long time gain:
a) Employee Engagement as a top HR agenda:
Economic downturns are a time when employees need to rally together to increase all round efficacy of
the Organisation. Employee with high engagement levels tend to trust and believe in leadership, as a
consequence allowing them to embrace immense Organisational changes, Hence this is the time to
move employee engagement to the top of the HR agenda.
b) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate:
Communication usually dissipates when the going gets rough. It is essential not to fall into this trap and
keep people informed of company direction and goals. Periodical addresses by Business leaders, online
communications, including discussion boards and monthly / weekly blogs by company personnel
including senior management related to updates on business issue, monthly E-In-house magazines,
Active soliciting of employee feedback by inviting employees to ask questions and responding, regular
Online employee opinion and satisfaction surveys, are cost effective measures to ensure that people
know what is going on, on a day to day basis. For e.g. the CEO of Sun Microsystems, interacts with Sun
employees through WSUN, a forum on Sun's intranet, for keeping employees updated on business
direction as well as encouraging them to give their feedback/opinions on various issues. Of course, HR
should take the front seat and be one of the main drivers of active, positive, two way communications
in organisations, especially during these tough times.

2. c) Empower Employees:
It is essential during an economic downturn for leadership to be open to listening to employee ideas or
solutions. Empowering employees with more decision-making authority, makes it a lot easier for
employees to determine, how to execute the directives passed down from upper management handle
more work demands without becoming unduly stressed. In other words, the more control employees
have over their jobs, the more engaged they would be, benefitting the organization in the long run.
Again HR needs to be an active strategic business partner in this extremely sensitive area.
d) Fun@work:
It is no longer disputed, that fun at work is an essential ingredient for healthy work life. Interestingly
there are many suggestions by bright HR personnel on how this can be done inexpensively. Encourage
departmental get togethers, if meeting out is expensive. Managers can encourage employees by inviting
them to their homes. Talk about the employees pet peeves and avoid recession/layoff talks during this
time. Have happy hours on Fridays with snacks and games. Appoint 'Fun Officers' turn by turn who can
help in keeping the employees distressed on a day to day basis. Plan for contributory lunches and
dinners. Take suggestions from employees themselves for low cost fun activities.
e) Employee recognition programs:
Tight budgets do not necessarily mean that Employee award programs need to take a backseat. A lot
can be done even with little money and an open mind. Recognition Certificates and trophies do not cost
much but acknowledge employees for a job well done. For eg: One company came up with an award
called “Extra Miler Award' for employees who good examples in going the extra mile and beyond job
demands for no extra incentives.
f) Training on a shoestring budget:
Training is one of the essential functions that get frozen during difficult times. However employees look
for opportunities to learn new skills and leverage their talents. Here's where HR can look out for low
cost training measures like in house training programmes using internal faculty. A good idea would also
be to tap upcoming training consultants and freelance trainers who can provide low cost budget training
options.
g) Innovative Cost cutting schemes:
Well thought out cost cutting schemes, not only help in cost saving but at the same time keep
employees motivated. For e.g. Employers can offer employees unpaid leave for a certain period of time
say from three months to a year or so, wherein employees can feel free to fulfill their educational
aspirations like short term management courses etc, with the assurance that they will continue to be
employees of the company and that their job will not be at stake. This would work well with employees
who have always wanted to develop themselves further, but weren't able to do so due to various work
pressures. Some companies like Wipro have already started such schemes.

3. h) Employee Appraisals:
One of the weakest links especially in Indian corporate, this would be the apt time to shape up. If at all,
after all efforts, it is absolutely essential to cut down on staff, it would be a lot less demoralizing if they
are let go due to performance issues rather than recession issues. But since this is treading on sensitive
ground, organization should be careful about the message that gets across to employees especially key
talent.
All in all Employers should remember that even recessions do come to an end. The manner in which
employees are treated during bad times will reflect on their engagement levels when times get better.
Needless to say HR Departments have got a lot on their plate as drivers of employee engagement during
this economic downturn.
Article By:
Ms.Anita Santiago, XLRI Jamshedpur