Ways to enhance the employee engagement in branch banking

What is employee engagement?

"Employee engagement" is a concept which comes to the discussion in HRM during last two decades. There are number of definitions & introductions given by many scholars and researchers which are providing better ways of identifying the concept. This is basically about how the engagement of employees in their work roles effect on achieving organizational goals. 

Armstrong, (2014) states that engagement takes place when people are committed to their work and the organization and are motivated to achieve high levels of performance. 

Employee engagement is a positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values (Robinson et al, 2004). 

Employee engagement is harnessing of organization members' selves to their work roles in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, emotionally and mentally during role performance (Khan, 1990). 

Application of the employee engagement in branch banking.

Branches are the front liners of a Bank as they are carrying out the main banking functions to their customers. Engagement of the branch staffs' to their job roles should be in a considerably higher standard in order to perform their tasks to the expected levels. We see number of instances where customers are not satisfied the services that they received from the branch & such scenarios has led the bank to reduce their profits.  

Following factors can influence the engagement levels of the branch staff.

Understanding their commitment in achieving the organizational goals towards their job roles.

All staff including the minor staff should have a clear vicinity of their job roles & its contribution in organizational success. A better understanding & the commitment of the individual contribution of each and every staff member can produce a better customer service.

Alignment of the job roles with the business objectives.

Designing of the job roles should be done in a effective way where the branch staff can perform their duties without a hassle. Further, the given objectives should be achievable towards the relevant job roles. 

How does the employee feel about the organization.

An organization should implement a good working environment for their employees so they can feel job security and the satisfaction. It will help the organization to gain a high levels of efficiency & the productivity from their staff.

Opportunities for development.

Growth of the employees is important when the organization is having long term strategies. Branch staff should have opportunities to develop their carriers with the relevant experiences and the job knowledge  & they will engage in their duties as they need to gain the same up to the expected levels. 

Variety.

This allows the branch staff to perform many different activities. Rather than being restricted to perform limited duties, allowing job rotations will lead the employees to work with a satisfaction & motivation since the invariability can be reduced.

Enhancing the employee engagement.

This is a process which never ends and it rests on the foundation of a meaningful and emotionally enriching work experience (Perrin, 2003). Further he emphasized that, making people happy or paying them more money are playing a less significant role in employee engagement, and the main elements which can drive an organization to gain a better employee engagement are, strong leadership, accountability, autonomy and opportunities for development.

As a self reflection, I would address the employee engagement in branch banking as a two-way process where the branch staff as well as the management need to play their roles accordingly. Management should identify the requirement of relevant changes or improvements & implement them in adequate levels. Branch staff should effectively utilize the provided resources or the implementations & contribute in achieving the objectives in expected levels. 

References

Armstrong, M. (2014). Handbook of human resource management in government, British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. doi: 10.1177/030913258901300105.

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work, Academy of Management Journal

Kompaso, S. M. and Sridevi, M. S. (2010). ‘Employee Engagement: The Key to Improving Performance’, International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), pp. 89–96. doi: 10.5539/ijbm.v5n12p89.

Perrin, T. (2003). Working Today: Understanding what drives employee engagement, New York,

Robinson D., Perryman S., and Hayday S. (2004). The Drivers of Employee Engagement Report 408, Institute for Employment Studies, UK

  

The stages of performance management system

Schneier et al, (1987) classified the performance management system into a development, planning, managing, reviewing and rewarding phase.

Source: Drawn according to interpretation-Original source: Schneier, Beatty and Baird, (1987:98)

According to Schneier et al, (1987) Phase 1 of the performance management system includes outlining development plans, setting objectives and getting commitment activities. Assessing against objectives, seeking feedback, coaching and document reviewing are the activities coming under phase 2 with managing and reviewing performance. In the last phase under rewarding performance, includes personal development, results of performance and link to pay activities.

Developing and planning performance

Planning is a continuous process in performance management and should be executed with great care & it helps to encourage commitment and understanding by linking the employees' work with the organization's goals and objectives (Schneier et al,1987).

Armstrong and Baron, (2004) clarifies the objectives or goals as something to be accomplished by individuals, departments and organizations over a period of time. Further they stated that objectives need to be defined and agreed on. Rogers and Hunter, (1991) claimed that goal setting is the fundamental aspect for an organization.

The development plan can also include long term development initiatives which are usually based on potential and good performance (Nyembezi, 2009). In this phase, supervisors and subordinates are involved in a joint process and set organizational goals as well as specific goals for an individual. 

Managing and reviewing performance

This is the second element of the performance management system. This step clarifies performance management as a process from performance appraisal as an activity(Schneier et al, 1987). According to him, every employee is responsible for managing his or her own work performance. This involves 

- Maintaining positive approach to work.

- Updating and revising initial objectives, performance standards and job competency areas as              conditions change.

- Requesting feedback from a supervisor.

- Providing feedback to supervisor.

- Suggesting career development experiences.

- Employees and supervisors working together, managing the performance management process.

Amrstrong and Baron (2004) found out that performance management is a resource at its finest to ensure effective management by managers. The performance management system should therefore ensure that employees or team managers know and understand what is expected of them. 

It includes the performance reviews in the second phase that can be considered learning events. Individuals might be encouraged to think about how they want to develop and how they want to.

feedback has strong positive effects on the performance of both individuals and groups, specifically through role clarification, improved self-efficacy, the establishment of behavior reward contingencies and increased self-regulatory control processes (Ashford & Cummings, 1983).

According to Armstrong and  13 Baron (2004), the actual performance could also be compared to the desired performance, therefore the outcome is evaluated and a development plan is set based on the weakness. 

Rewarding performance

Schneier et al, (1987) clarified this phase includes three activities; personal development, linking to pay and identifying the results or performance. 

Personnel development has some development principles. First one is personal involvement. All personnel development is basically self-development. Opportunity for development is valuable only if the individual capitalizes on it himself.

Rahdert, (1960) also points out that it is in the interests of staff development. For employees, if their individual skills or knowledge increase, they may create more value and, as a result, they may have a sense of satisfaction with the achievement of their personal goals and the achievement of professional recognition.

Development programs reflect the needs of succession plans and seek to foster leadership skills. In addition, there is a growing interest in pay-for-performance plans for small groups or teams. In this phase, pay-for-performance could be used together as a performance assessment tool. According to the view of Locke, (2004) the pay-for-performance principle involves providing monetary rewards through carefully designed compensation system that base pay on measured performance within the control participants.

  

Financial assessment is a useful tool to stimulate the passion of employees for their work. Rewarding motivates employees' positive emotions, such as satisfaction and commitment. As a result, pay-for-performance effectiveness has a direct impact on high productivity levels and desirable work attitudes.

Reference

Armstrong, M. and Baron, A. (2004). Managing performance: performance management in action. 1st edn. London: Charted Institute of Personal and Development 

Ashford, S. J. and Cummings, L. L. (1983). “Feedback as an individual resource: personnel

strategies of creating information”, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 32

Locke, E. A. (2004). Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior. 2nd edn.

Nyembezi, V. (2009). Development of a Performance Management System for the SABC. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School.

Rahdert, K. G. (1960). A philosophy of personnel development. Business Horizons, 3(4), pp.46-53.

Rogers, R. & Hunter, J. E. 1991. Impact of Management by Objectives on Organizational

Productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology

Schneier, C. E., Beatty, R. W. and Baird, L. S, (1987). Performance Appraisal Sourcebook. Human

Resources Development Press, Amberst.

Zhang Ying, Y. (2012) ‘The Impact of Performance Management System on Employee performance Analysis with WERS 2004’, Thèse de maitrise, pp. 1–57.

Organizational team-work in the view of five stages of group development

Teamwork in organizations

An effective teamwork provides an opportunity to move together and establish a common ground for the completion of specific objectives of an organization. Some of the critical ingredients of effective teamwork are empathy, appreciation and encouragement. 

Alcorn, (2006) provides a definition of a team which defines a team as "work done by several associates, with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole". In other words, Team is a collective whole of people that work together so that they are more productive.

Most of the today's organizations are moving towards enhancing the group development & building the team work concept. This is enabling such organizations to grab a better market place among their competitors. Individual decision making has taken a back stage and team management approach for problem solving and decision making has come in front as it is more productive for the enterprises. This strategy benefits not only the organization, but also the individual employee, which is why businesses have quickly adopted it.    

Tuckman stages of group development

Tuckman, (1965) developed a four staged theory of team building and called it "Tuckman's stages". According to his research findings, if any team wants to deliver high quality results than these four stages are inevitable for  the team members. In 1977, Tuckman jointly with Mary Ann Jensen , added a fifth stage called "Adjourning". 

He emphasized that these five stages need not always be strictly followed one after the other. During the first two stages it is about social emotional tasks. Stage three and four are more focused on task-oriented activities. 

1. Forming 

This is where a new team has to be organized and is therefore concerned with orientation; what kind of people are in the team and what are their tasks? Team members will share information about their backgrounds and experiences. Further, they'll learn about the objective they will be working on and will understand the roles to be played individually. They'll still look for a team leader for guidance. So it is leader's duty to give a clear picture of the task to be achieved and explain the team members regarding the required individual contribution from each one of them. The team leader should ensure that all of the members are involved in determining team roles and responsibilities and he or she should work with the team to help them establish how they'll work together. 

     2. Storming

In this stage the team members start to work together. They'll compete with each other for status and for acceptance of their ideas. Through this stage they'll learn how to solve problems together, how to function both together and independently & how to settle into roles and responsibilities on the team with the guidance of their leader. Leader should facilitate his team members to ensure that they will learn to listen each other and respect their differences and ides. At this stage, the team leader will start transferring some decision making to the team to allow them to become more independent but remain active in resolving any disputes as quickly as possible. Teams which comprised team members who are professionally immature will face difficulties in going through this stage. 

     3. Norming

Team members are beginning to work more effectively as a team. They will not longer focus on their individual goals, but will develop a way of working together. In this stage the team has agreed on their team rules for working together, how they will share information and resolve the team conflict, and what procedures they'll follow to get the task completed. Team members will trust each other and seek each others assistance. The team leaders responsibility will get little less in this stage as he may not be involved in decision making and solving problems like in previous stages since the team members are working better together and able to take more responsibilities. However, the team leader may involve in to move along if the team gets stuck.

    4. Performing

The team will perform in a very high level as a unit and the energy of the group will benefit the task. All team members will work together towards achieving the goals and the objectives as they know exactly what is expected. As the team members will work more effectively and will not require an oversight like the other stages, the team leader will not involve in decision making, problem solving or any other activity. He'll monitor the progress of the team and celebrate the milestones. Not every team make it to this level of team growth and even in this stage some teams may step back to previous stages due to the changes of the team members.

    5. Adjourning 

This is where the task is coming to an end with a success and team members are moving off to different directions. The team leader should ensure there is time for the team to celebrate the success. Further, this will enable the team members to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck for their future endeavor.  

     

 

Reference

Maples, M. F. (1988). Group development: Extending Tuckman’s theory. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 13(1), 17-23.

Mulder, P. (2013). Tuckman stages of group development. Retrieved 01/12/19 from toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/management/tuckman-stages-of-group-development/

Plowman, N. (2011). The five stages of team development. Bright Hub Project Management. Retrieved from http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/101626-the-five-stages-of-team-development/

Tuckman, B. W. (1965), Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychol. Bull. 63:384-99.

Tuckman, B. W., Abry, D. A., Adams, M. P., & Smith, D. R. (2007). Learning and motivation strategies: Your guide to success. Prentice Hall.

Role of Workplace Upward Communication in reducing Employee Silence

According to (Fitz-enz, 1993), Communication in the "best practice" companies is broad-based, continuous and involves multi-directional employee contact. Communications with employees is "a given" and is a formal, focused and on-going responsibility. Communications are not done as an "extra". 

Upward communication includes the transmission of messages from the lower level of the organization to the higher level, namely communication initiated by subordinates with their superiors as stated by Daniels et al, (1997).

Smith et al, (1972) stated that upward communication is a prerequisite for employee involvement in decision-making, problem-solving and policy and procedural development.

Katz and Kahn, (1978) point out that upward communication can provide superiors with information in the following areas: 

1) Performance on the job and job-related problems.

2) Fellow employees and their problems.

3) Subordinate’s perceptions of organizational policies and practises. 

4) Tasks and procedures for accomplishing them.  

Effective upward communication can be promoted by means such as suggestion systems, systematic reporting methods, grievance procedures, opinion or attitude surveys and employee meetings, but the presence of such systems can only be symbolic gestures (Daniels et al, 1997).

Managers and executives admire the advantages of upward communication in many organisations, practical use of upward communication seems to be limited. Gibson and Hodgetts, (1991) suggested that management-based explanations for this lack of satisfaction, particularly since these approaches often do not involve two-way communication.

McCelland, (1988) found a number of "employee-based" explanations for weak upward communication including:

• Fear of reprisal – Employees are afraid to speak their minds.
• Filters – Employees feel their ideas/concerns are modified as they get transmitted upward.
• Time – Managers give the impression that they don’t have the time to listen to employees.

Employee Silence literature also provides evidence that subordinates distort the information they convey to their superiors which means communicating upward in a manner that minimizes negative information (Roberts and O'Reilly, 1974). In other words, managers tend to be more receptive to upward communication when the information is positive.

Once subordinates create the perception that superiors only want to hear good news and promote their own ideas, it should come as no surprise that upward communication with these superiors is extensively filtered (Daniels et al, 1997).

Krivonos, (1976) stated that subordinates tend to tell their superiors what they think the superiors want to hear or only what they want their superiors to hear. Then the information is distorted so that it will please superiors and reflect positively on subordinates. 

Silence is not just about the difficulty of transmitting bad news to the hierarchy (Tesser & Rosen, 1997). It is about the social and relational nature of work.

Reference;

Fitz Enz J. (1997) The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies . New York, American Management Association.

Gibson, J. W and Hodgetts, R. M. (1991). Organizational Communication – A Managerial Perspective.

Katz, D. and Kahn, R. L. (1978). ‘‘The Social Psychology of Organisations’’, 2nd Edition, New York: Wiley. 

McClelland, V. A. (1988). Upward communication: Is anyone listening? Personnel Journal, 124-130.

Roberts, K. H. and O’Reilly, C. A. (1974). ‘Failures in upward communication in organizations: three possible culprits’. Academy of Management Journal

Rosen, S. and Tesser, A. (1970).'On reluctance to communicate undesirable information: the MUM effect'

Daniels, T. P., Spiker, B. K., and Papa, M. J. (1997). ‘‘Perspectives on Organizational Communication’’. 4th edn. Brown & Benchmark Publishers.