Abstract 180753792Employee engagement is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization. It is a positive attitude held by the employees towards the organization and its values. The paper focuses on how employee engagement is an antecedent of job involvement and what should company do to make the employees engaged. The paper also looks at the Gallup 12 point questionnaire, twelve-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement and the steps which shows how to drive an engaged employee.

The best companies now know, without a doubt, where productivityreal and limitless productivitycomes from. It comes from challenged, empowered, excited, rewarded teams of people. It comes from engaging every single mind in the organization, making everyone part of the action, and allowing everyone to have a voicea rolein the success of the enterprise. Doing so raises productivity not incrementally, but by multiples.

-Jack Welch Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric Human Resources, 10 September 2003

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Introduction:For several years now, 'employee engagement' has been a hot topic in corporate circles. It's a buzz phrase that has captured the attention of workplace observers and HR managers, as well as the executive suite. And it's a topic that employers and employees alike think they understand, yet can't articulate very easily.

Different surveys and research undertaken over the past few years have defined the term differently, and as a result, come up with different key drivers and implications. Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn, (1990) as the Harnessing of Organizational Members selves to their work roles, In engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.

The second related construct to engagement in organizational behavior is the notion of flow advanced by Csikszentmihalyi (1975, 1990). Csikzentmihalyi (1975) defines flow as the Holistic Sensation that, people feel when they act with total involvement. Flow is the state in which there is little distinction between the self and environment. When individuals are in Flow State little conscious control is necessary for their actions.

Employee engagement is the thus the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization. The organization must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee. Thus Employee engagement is a barometer that determines the association of a person with the organization.

Engagement is most closely associated with the existing construction of job involvement (Brown 1996) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Job involvement is defined as The degree to which the job situation is central to the person and his or her identity (Lawler & Hall, 1970). Kanungo (1982) maintained that job involvement is a Cognitive or belief state of Psychological identification. Job involvement is thought to depend on both need saliency and the potential of a job to satisfy these needs. Thus job involvement results form a cognitive judgment about the needs satisfying abilities of the job. Jobs in this view are tied to ones self image. Engagement differs from job in as it is concerned more with how the individual employees his/her self during the performance of his / her job. Furthermore engagement entails the active use of emotions. Finally engagement may be thought of as an antecedent to job involvement in that individuals who experience deep engagement in their roles should come to identify with their jobs.

When Kahn talked about employee engagement he has given important to all three aspects physically, cognitively and emotionally. Where as in job satisfaction importance has been given more to cognitive side.

HR practitioners believe that the engagement challenge has a lot to do with how employee feels about the about work experience and how he or she is treated in the organization. It has a lot to do with emotions which are fundamentally related to drive bottom line success in a company. There will always be people who never give their best efforts no matter how hard HR and line managers try to engage them. But for the most part employees want to commit to companies because doing so satisfies a powerful and a basic need in connect with and contribute to something significant.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:

What exactly is it?Different definitions by different people:

Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn, (1990) as the harnessing of organizational members selves to their work roles. In engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.

Put simply, Employee Engagement exists when the employee feels:PhysicallyIntellectuallyEmotionally attached to their work (Kahn, 1990)

Employee engagement is the involvement with and enthusiasm for work (The Gallup Organization)

Employee engagement is "a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work". (The Conference Board).

Engagement is the energy, passion, or fire in the belly employees have for their employer. It is the state of emotional and intellectual commitment to an organization or group producing behavior that will help fulfill an organization's promises to customers - and, in so doing, improve business results.(Hewitt Associates)

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION ,EFFECTIVENESS AND ENGAGEMENTSatisfaction, effectiveness, and engagement are all inter-related in an upward progression. Each item has different drivers, but they build on one another to increase performance in the workplace. Just because employees are satisfied with their job does not mean they are effective or engaged. It is possible for an employee to be completely satisfied with his or her job, and not be fully engaged. To further complicate matters, an employee can be both satisfied and effective, yet not be engaged. All three components work together to create an environment where employees are highly motivated and committed to giving their best performance. SatisfactionCommitmentEngagementEmployee Research over TimePositive Correlation With Business PerformanceLowerHigherHow much peoplelike it hereHow much people want to improve business resultsHow much people wantand actually doimprove business resultsENGAGEMENT THE EVOLUTIONARY JOURNEY

CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTAccording to the Gallup Organization, there are three different types of employees -

Engaged--"Engaged" employees are builders. They want to know the desired expectations for their role so they can meet and exceed them. They're naturally curious about their company and their place in it. They perform at consistently high levels. They want to use their talents and strengths at work every day. They work with passion and they drive innovation and move their organization forward

Not Engaged---Not-engaged employees tend to concentrate on tasks rather than the goals and outcomes they are expected to accomplish. They want to be told what to do just so they can do it and say they have finished. They focus on accomplishing tasks vs achieving an outcome. Employees who are not-engaged tend to feel their contributions are being overlooked, and their potential is not being tapped. They often feel this way because they don't have productive relationships with their managers or with their coworkers.

Actively Disengaged--The "actively disengaged" employees are the "cave dwellers." They're "Consistently against Virtually Everything." They're not just unhappy at work; they're busy acting out their unhappiness. They sow seeds of negativity at every opportunity. Every day, actively disengaged workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish. As workers increasingly rely on each other to generate products and services, the problems and tensions that are fostered by actively disengaged workers can cause great damage to an organization's functioning.

Every organization should try to increase and maintain the number of engaged employees, convert the not engaged to engaged and decrease /convert the actively disengaged employees.

MEASURING CURRENT LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT:?

Employee engagement satisfaction surveys determine the current level of employee engagement.

Engaged employees: Stay - They have an intense desire to be a part of the organization and they stay with that organization; Say - They advocate for the organization by referring potential employees and customers, are positive with co-workers and are constructive in their criticism; Strive - They exert extra effort and engage in behaviors that contribute to business success. (Hewitt Associates,2004)

Engagement can be measured at the individual levelby taking the average rank (on a sixpoint scale) of an individuals responses to the Engagement items around Say, Stay and Strive we can determine whether they are engaged or not engaged

Drivers of Employee Engagement :

Numerous surveys conducted over the past few years and various studies have arrived at as many as 26 different drivers of employee engagement. However the below six have been agreed upon as most important. (We also need to take into consideration the differences in thought and priorities due to geographical and cultural diversities.)

Company PracticesVisionPolicies Performance Assessment Company Reputation Total RewardsPay & Benefits Recognition PeopleSenior LeadershipImmediate Manager Coworkers Customers Engagement Opportunities Career Opportunities Learning/ Training & Development Quality of Life Work/Life BalancePhysical Work EnvironmentWork Work Activities Job Clarity Resources(Source: Hewitt Associates Study,2004)

Mention must be made here of Gallups Q12 which lists the 12 things important to employees:Knowing whats Expected ( Job Clarity )Having the Right Materials & Equipment (Resources)Opportunity to Do What I Do Best (Career Opportunities)Recognition & Praise (Recognition)Caring for Me as a Person ( Quality of Life)Encourages Development ( opportunities)My opinion Counts (Recognition)Connection with Mission of Organization (Leadership & Company vision)Co-Workers Committed to Quality Work (Team)I have a Best Friend at Work (Team)Someone Has talked with Me About my Progress (Team)Opportunities to Learn and Grow (Development)

Aspects of Employee Engagement

Three basic aspects of employee engagement according to the global studies are:-The employees and their own unique psychological make up and experienceThe employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee engagementInteraction between employees at all levels.Thus it is largely the organizations responsibility to create an environment and culture conducive to this partnership, and a win-win equation.

Importance of EngagementEngagement is important for managers to cultivate given that disengagement oralienation is central to the problem of workers lack of commitment and motivation (Aktouf). Meaningless work is often associated with apathy and detachment from ones works (Thomas and Velthouse). In such conditions, individuals are thought to be estranged from their selves (Seeman, 1972) .Other Research using a different resource of engagement (involvement and enthusiasm) has linked it to such variables as employee turnover, customer satisfaction loyalty, safety and to a lesser degree, productivity andprofitability criteria (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002).

An organizations capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its ability to achieve high performance levels and superior business results. Some of the advantages of Engaged employees areEngaged employees will stay with the company, be an advocate of the company and its products and services, and contribute to bottom line business success.They will normally perform better and are more motivated.There is a significant link between employee engagement and profitability.They form an emotional connection with the company. This impacts their attitude towards the companys clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and service levelsIt builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organizations strategies and goalsIncreases employees trust in the organizationCreates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environmentProvides a high-energy working environmentBoosts business growthMakes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the companyA highly engaged employee will consistently deliver beyond expectations. In theworkplace research on employee engagement (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002) have repeatedly asked employees whether they have the opportunity to do what they do best everyday. While one in five employees strongly agree with this statement. Those work units scoring higher on this perception have substantially higher performance.Thus employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued employees. The Watson Wyatt consulting companies has been proved that there is an intrinsic link between employee engagement, customer loyalty, and profitability. As organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to provide them with an organizational identity.

Factors Leading to Employee Engagement-Studies have shown that there are some critical factors which lead to Employeeengagement. Some of them identified are

Career Development- Opportunities for Personal Development

Organizations with high levels of engagement provide employees with opportunities to develop their abilities, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and realize their Potential. When companies plan for the career paths of their employees and invest in them in this way their people invest in them.

Career Development Effective Management of Talent

Career development influences engagement for employees and retaining the mosttalented employees and providing opportunities for personal development.

Feeling Valued & InvolvedCareer Development- Opportunities for personal developmentCareer Development Effective Management of talentLeadership- Clarity of company ValuesLeadership Respectful treatment of employees

Leadership Companys standards of ethical behaviorEmpowerment ImageEqual opportunities & fair treatmentPerformance AppraisalPay & benefitsHealth & SafetyJob satisfactionCommunicationFamily friendlinessCo-operationLeadership- Clarity of Company ValuesEmployees need to feel that the core values for which their companies stand are unambiguous and clear.

Leadership Respectful Treatment of EmployeesSuccessful organizations show respect for each employees qualities and contribution regardless of their job level.

Leadership Companys Standards of Ethical BehaviorA companys ethical standards also lead to engagement of an individual

EmpowermentEmployees want to be involved in decisions that affect their work. The leaders of high engagement workplaces create a trustful and challenging environment, in which employees are encouraged to dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy and to input and innovate to move the organization forward.

ImageHow much employees are prepared to endorse the products and services which their company provides its customers depends largely on their perceptions of the quality of those goods and services. High levels of employee engagement are inextricably linked with high levels of customer engagement.

Other factors

Equal Opportunities and Fair TreatmentThe employee engagement levels would be high if their bosses (superiors) provide equal opportunities for growth and advancement to all the employees

Performance appraisal

Fair evaluation of an employees performance is an important criterion for determining the level of employee engagement. The company which follows an appropriate performance appraisal technique (which is transparent and not biased) will have high levels of employee engagement.

Pay and BenefitsThe company should have a proper pay system so that the employees are motivated to work in the organization. In order to boost his engagement levels the employees should also be provided with certain benefits and compensations.

Health and Safety

Research indicates that the engagement levels are low if the employee does not feel secure while working. Therefore every organization should adopt appropriate methods and systems for the health and safety of their employees.

Job Satisfaction

Only a satisfied employee can become an engaged employee. Therefore it is veryessential for an organization to see to it that the job given to the employee matches his career goals which will make him enjoy his work and he would ultimately be satisfied with his job.

Communication

The company should follow the open door policy. There should be both upward and downward communication with the use of appropriate communication channels in the organization. If the employee is given a say in the decision making and has the right to be heard by his boss than the engagement levels are likely to be high.

Family Friendliness

A persons family life influences his wok life. When an employee realizes that theorganization is considering his familys benefits also, he will have an emotionalattachment with the organization which leads to engagement

Co-operation

If the entire organization works together by helping each other i.e. all the employees as well as the supervisors co-ordinate well than the employees will be engaged.

How to measure Employee Engagement?

Gallup research consistently confirms that engaged work places compared with least engaged are much more likely to have lower employee turnover, higher than average customer loyalty, above average productivity and earnings. These are all good things that prove that engaging and involving employees make good business sense and building shareholder value. Negative workplace relationships may be a big part of why so many employees are not engaged with their jobs.

Step I: Listen

The employer must listen to his employees and remember that this is a continuous process. The information employees supply will provide direction. This is the only way to identify their specific concerns. When leaders listen, employees respond by becoming more engaged. This results in increased productivity and employee retention. Engaged employees are much more likely to be satisfied in their positions, remain with the company, be promoted, and strive for higher levels of performance.

Step II: Measure current level of employee engagement

Employee engagement needs to be measured at regular intervals in order to track its contribution to the success of the organization.But measuring the engagement (feedback through surveys) without planning how to handle the result can lead employees to disengage. It is therefore not enough to feel the pulsethe action plan is just as essential.Knowing the Degree in which Employees Are Engaged?Employee engagement satisfaction surveys determine the current level of employee engagement. A well-administered satisfaction survey will let us know at what level of engagement the employees are operating. Customizable employee surveys will provide with a starting point towards the efforts to optimize employee engagement.The key to successful employee satisfaction surveys is to pay close attention to thefeedback from the staff. It is important that employee engagement is not viewed as a one time action. Employee engagement should be a continuous process of measuring, analyzing, defining and implementing.The employee survey is a diagnostic tool of choice in the battle for the hearts ofemployees. Studies of Gallup, Mercer, Hewitt and Watson Wyatt (consulting companies) asked workers number of questions relating to their job satisfaction. Gallup being one of oldest the consulting organization {in conducting engagement survey} creates a feedback system for employers that would identify and measure elements of worker engagement most tide to the bottom line. Things such as sales, growth, productivity and customer loyalty are all accessed. After Hundreds of focus group and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with Q. 12, a twelve-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. They have identified 12 questions that most effectively measure the links (the Gallup Q12).1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?2. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?3. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?4. In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?5. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about you as a person?6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?7. At work, do your opinions seem to count?8. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?9. Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?10. Do you have a best friend at work?11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?12. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The interpretation of the questionnaire and one of the companies engagement level is summarized in the table below.Some of the discussions which come from Gallups questions are: -Know what is expected of me at work- employees should know exactly what is expected of them. If expectations are unclear, employees will inevitably face frustration, and will be open for other opportunities where they do know what's expected of them, and where their contributions are measured and recognized.Materials and equipment- Employees need the right tools and equipment to support their skills, experience and talents & perform their jobs at an optimum level.

Do what I do best every day - Are your employees cast in the right roles? Knowing the critical demands for every role is a key to ensuring that talents fit those demands.Supervisor/Someone at work cares -Managers must spend most of their time with their most productive talent. Many managers give their greatest degree of attention to employees who are falling behind. Talented, productive people crave time and attention from their managers, and will leave your company if they have a weak relationship (or no relationship) with their manager or supervisor.Co-workers committed to quality -Many companies arbitrarily put teams together without considering that employees only psychologically commit to teams if they perceive their team members will support their high level of commitment and performance. Talented employees set high standards and depend upon those around them to support their growthtowards excellence.Opportunities to learn and grow- The Company should create an environment that encourages employees to drive towards innovation or to create better systems for more productive results. Great managers always ask what skills and knowledge need to accompany talent to result in the greatest outcome for each employee.

Employee EngagementA positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values. An engaged employee works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization. The organization must work to develop and nurture engagement, which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee.

Employee engagement is a partnership between a company and its employees

Most organizations today realize that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the best employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. 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 he goes the extra mile beyond the basic job. Employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy. An engaged employee gives his company his 100 percent. When employees are effectively and positively engaged with their organization, they form an emotional connection with the company. Employee engagement is a barometer that determines the association of a person with the organization. It is about creating the passion among associates to do things beyond what is expected from him.

EMPLOYEE ENGEGEMENT starts right at the selection stage:Choosing the right fit, giving a realistic job preview Strong induction and orientation programme To keep up the morale of people and drive them towards excellent performance through recognition letters, profit sharing schemes, long performance awards etc. Regular feedback to all people Communication forums like the in-house magazine, and regular surveys and conferences By helping to maintain the quality of work-life and a balance between personal/professional lives, there are recreational activities like festivities, get-togethers, sports etc. An open and transparent culture to empower its people. The result of these practices can be evident through the regular feedback from our employees collected through surveys,

Diagnostic tool for employee engagement include the following

- training - development - career - performance appraisals - performance management - communication - equal opportunity - fair treatment - pay - benefits - health - safety - cooperation - family orientation - friendliness - job satisfaction

which helps to create - feeling valued and involved which is - ENGAGEMENT.

Factors for Higher Employee EngagementHere is a list of some contributing factors:Understanding of corporate goals/mission Understanding of job and how it contributes to overall corporate goals Clear communication of goals, expectations, directions Job design Job fit Support and tools Independence & innovation Relationship with boss/direct reports Clear feedback on performance Recognition Learning and development opportunities Opportunities for advancement Pride in organization Employee input Employee involvement in decision making Work-life balance Workplace culture/morale Co-worker relationships/good team environment (enjoy colleagues) Fair HR practices

Measuring the Impact of Employee Engagement

SOME USEFUL COMPANY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS COULD INCLUDE A daily column, written by Directors, Chairman, on the intranet with company announcements / programs etc. Online real-time tracking of progress. Employees can view company progress towards targets / goals. Provide long term strategic vision for business growth. Employee suggestion systems / quick responses. Weekly blog related to serious business issues and staff to read / comments.

Questions to Measure Employee Engagement

Do you know what is expected of you at work? Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right? At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work? Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages your development? At work, do your opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important? Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work? Do you have a best friend at work? In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress? In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

We can also have a HR folder or an intranet for employees have you have sections like motivation stories, quotes, Support grievances jokes, etc... Some entertainment for employees

KEY EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT OUTCOME METRICS

- EMPLOYEE RETENTION - COMPANY PERFORMANCE - CUSTOMER SATISFACTION - PROFITABILITY

ACTIVITIES WHICH ARE HELD IN GENPACT

Education @ WorkRedesign work placeLetters to FamilyFun @ workCross TrainingTeam HuddlesFLA Growth CardLife Enrichment ActivitiesJob RotationClubs/ProjectsActive Team Leader

Education @ Work

Education @ Work Prepares employees for success by offering relevant programs from premier institutes across the world, using multiple delivery methodologies and making it convenient for employees to Learn while you Earn and helping to build career and helps in contributing to the organizations growth.

Programs that are offered by Education @ work are:

BankingFinance and AccountingLanguageManagement Risk ManagementSupply Chain ManagementInformation TechnologyProject Management\Customer ServiceMortgageInsuranceAnalyticsSoftwareCollections

Revamping the Floor: - Action plan was made to Revamp the floor by

Following Activities:

1. Change Wall Color-

Wall Painting-Beaches, Poster on work motivation is done.

Improving Ambience-

Plants on the floor-Money Plants, BamboosDanglers-Mortgage DanglersGames Area- Dart Board, Carom, Chess, Boxing Bag, Ludo, Chinese checkerLight music on the floor.Improve Lighting on the floor-Through Lamps.

Redesigning Work Station

Personalizing Work Space- Individual Sections, Family Photos, MementoesMaking work place special. Customizing it, basis imagination of employees.

Letters to Family: It was also part of Action plan in Mortgage.

As per this plan in Genpact- Personalized letters were to be sent to the families of all employees for the following:

Birthday card with a photograph of the Bday Celebration at office.Promotion letter informing the family about the promotion of the employeeConnect invite letters to the family members to visit Genpact any day of their choice.

Fun @ Work

Fun @ Work activities are considered to be backbone in a team bounding. Every team has a fun spoc whose responsibilities includes various games and other team building activities with the help of which internal team bounding can be improved. At the same time it can also be considered to provide ample of time as to relieve the stress that a normal BPO employee has to face.

Different activities include various indoor games, Seasonal activities celebrating festivals, Bay decoration, and Birthday celebration.

Fun at Work" might sound like an oxymoron, but it is a reality in the corporate world today. The most successful of organizations add a healthy dose of play into their routines because research shows that when people have fun at work, they enjoy their jobs and this translates them into being more creative, more productive and more committed to doing their job well.

Its also no secret that having fun at work can help boost morale, reduce stress, improve staff retention, mean less sick days and increase team building and spirit. Having true fun at work is very similar to the kind of fun one has when playing a sport or performing. For example, the last time I played a sport in front of an audience, I channeled all my attention and energy to the point where I was solely focused on my performance. I remember how much fun it was getting congratulations from my teammates and the audience! And even though I was completely exhausted following my performance, I remember how great I felt afterwards.

I think this is the type of fun that best fits the workplace - playful and competitive games that generate congratulations and cheers from coworkers. Additionally, sporting or performance types of fun fit well within the workplace where employers generally want us to have energy, drive, talent, determination, competitive spirit, and be goal orientated.

This kind of fun is successfully being implemented at Genpact. Weve already had a Football Championship which involved a lot of employees. Emotions were shared and the teams really had intensive fun. Now Genpact has its own football team, who represents the company at the biggest football tournament dedicated to all companies.

Cross Training :

Cross-training (Also known as conditioning) refers to training in different ways to improve overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of each training method, while at the same time attempting to neglect the shortcomings of that method by combining it with other methods that address its weaknesses.

Cross-training in business operations involves training employees to engage in quality control measures. Employees are trained in tangent job functions to increase oversight in ways that are impossible through management interactions with workers alone.

Advantages:Helps patrons/customers/clients in the long run, as employees are empowered to answer questions about the entire organization. Requires staff to re-evaluate the reasons and methods for accomplishing their work; inefficient methods, outdated techniques and bureaucratic drift are challenged, if not eliminated. Raises an awareness of what other departments do. Routine scheduling is enhanced with the ability to move staff about the "Operation". Better coverage, increased flexibility and ability to cope with unexpected absences, emergencies, illness, etc. Can increase the "employability" of staff that has the opportunity to train in areas they were not originally hired for. Other advantages include

Increased flexibility and versatility, Appreciated "intellectual capital" Improved individual efficiency, Increased standardization of jobs, Heightened Morale

Team Huddle:

A huddle is when a team gathers together, usually in a tight circle, to strategise, motivate, and/or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation when the level of noise in the venue is such that normal on-field communication is difficult. Commonly the leader of the huddle is the team captain and it is the captain who will try and inspire his fellow team members to achieve success. Similarly after an event a huddle may take place to congratulate one another for the teams success (or commiserate a defeat). The term "huddle" can be used as a verb as in "huddling up".

FLA Growth Card:

Goal sheets for each team member created, which is monitored on a daily basis. The result of the goal sheet decides the cheer winner for the month. The categories on which the FLAs are assessed are:

Performance Related It includes: AES Score Cross Training Effectiveness Process Knowledge Score

Compliance: It Includes:

Process Compliance Adherence Data Protection Act Adherence Dress Code Policy adherence

Quality/Six Sigma: It includes

Lean ideas FiledE2E Ideas generated

Job Rotation: Change in roles and responsibilities, like SME,QC, Dashboard, IT, HR, Quality, Logistics.

Life Enrichment Activities: Though life enrichment activities stress and health of the Employees can be taken care of.

It includes:Introduction of YogaDe-Stress ActivitiesOffice Ergonomics

COMPANY PROFILE

COMPANY PROFILE

ORGANISATION DESCRIPTION:

The development of the Refractories industries in India and other parts of the globe is inextricably linked with the growth of steel industries and Tata Refractories Limited (TRL) played a vital role in it. To achieve the twin objectives of self reliance and development of backward areas, TRL was setup in 1958 by Tata Steel and Didier-Werke AG at Belpahar in Orissa.

With an annual capacity of 245,600 MT the company has also equity participation from SAIL, the largest public sector steel producer of India. Its main Works is strategically located at Belpahar, Jharsuguda dist. Orissa, which is nearer to major steel plants and some raw material sources. TRL has also plants and operations in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and Karuppur (Salem, Tamilnadu)and captive mines in Chhuinpali and Talbasta in Orissa. A new green field plant has been setup in China to manufacture Magnesite based bricks. Also a new operation has come up in Gujarat to manufacture High Alumina Castables and bauxite.

Refractories are used in all high temperature processes to protect the reactors and personnel from the influence of heat and hot materials when processed. Thus Refractories are critical consumables in metallurgical, other industries and industries where pyro processes are involved.

TRL has today grown into the leading Refractories manufacturer in India meeting the demands of sophisticated Refractories for the steel, glass, non- ferrous and petro- chemical Industries both in India and abroad. TRL today, is the largest Refractories maker in India. It has pioneered Refractories making in the country and is the number one Refractories company in India with around 22% of the market share. TBEM has been adopted as the key change driver since last 12 years, one of the first Tata Steel group company to go for it

TRL strives rapidly towards becoming a Global Refractories company. With a clear strategic direction of achieving Rs.2000 crore turn over by 2012-13 under 'Mission 2000' programme, TRL is working out all the possibilities on strategic front for achieving this goal. It becomes more imperative for going ahead in this journey as the global competition is very challenging. TRL is working with all options for securing itself on raw materials which is about 45% of its cost. Today TRL has overcome the critical situation faced in late nineties, gathered itself up, transformed itself and poised to grasp every opportunity that can catapult it as a globally competitive and dominant player. It must be appreciated that this is an ever present requirement and therefore we cannot truly say that this programme is now completed.

It remains to be an ongoing work. The future shows an aggressive growth path, taking forward the Tata Group's aspirations to think bold, think big and to innovate being a climate friendly organization.

ORGANISATION CULTUREConsistent with Tata Group's philosophy, TRL has developed a unique culture, which is articulated in its vision, mission and values.VISIONA Global Refractories Company

MISSIONTata Refractories shall be high performance and technology driven organization committed to create value for all its stakeholders

VALUESCustomer delightLeadership by exampleIntegrity and transparencyFairnessFurthering excellence

TRL firmly believes that the purpose of an industrial enterprise is to improve the quality of life of the people and community it serves. Towards this, it creates economic, social and environmental values. The vision, strategic goals, objectives and the behavior it demonstrates are guided by this philosophy. TRL is an equal opportunity employer and promotes high ethical values, improvement orientation, innovation, agility with respect to manpower, technology and products, learning and sharing and equal opportunity to all.

HISTORY1958 - Promoted jointly by Tata Steel and Didier-WerkeAG of Germany- Belpahar Refractories Ltd1959 - Production of Basic, High Alumina and SilicaRefractories1971 - R & D facility established1986 - Re-christened as Tata Refractories Limited1993 - Established leading market position1994 - Commissioned 30,000MTPA Dolomite plant1999 - ISO9002 certification for the whole plant2006 - Integrated Management System certification(QMS, OEMS, OSHA)

MANUFACTURING PLANTS

Belpahar(Orissa):Main WorksInstalled capacity-246,000MT/annumProducts - Basic, dolomite, silica, high alumina, flow control products, monolithic, Refractories binder.

Jamshedpur Operation (Jharkhand)Installed capacity-30,000MT/annumProducts - High alumina, silica, monolithic

Karuppur Operation (Tamilnadu)Installed capacity-15,000MT/annumProducts - Basic, monolithic

INORGANIC GROWTH

DomesticTRL Gujarat operationProducts - Bauxite, based high alumina bricks, monolithic-36,000MTAOperation started from Jan 2006AbroadTRL China operationMagnesia-carbon& direct bonded, Mg-chrome refractories-60,000MTAOperation started from Jan 2007

HIGHLIGHTS 2007-08Installed capacity - 380,000MTPAProduction - 230,300MTPASales - 270,000MTPARevenue - INR764cr/US $152 million

PRODUCT RANGE(Shaped and unshaped Refractories)One stop shop for all RefractoriesBasic RefractoriesDolomite RefractoriesHigh alumina RefractoriesFlow control productsMonolithicsSilica RefractoriesTRS & TRM

SERVICE PROFILE

In order to free the customers from the challenges of refractory technological issues, TRL has taken up the responsibility of Total Refractories Management(TRM) &Total Refractories Solution(TRS)

Scope of TRMDesign and material selectionRefractory inventory management and installationRegular maintenanceCo-development

Benefits to customerStable specific refractory costFree from the hassle of day to day refractory problemsFree to concentrate only on core business processes

Scope of TRSLining design and developmentFurnace design and constructionHeat flow and Thermo-mechanical stress studies of refractory liningsTurnkey jobsConsultancy and Expert Supervision servicesLining installation and maintenance

IT FACILITIESState of Art facilities exist with:LAN of 100 MBPS (optical fibre networking) with unlimited 512KBPS Internet VPN connectivityOutside locations (KOL, JSR, SALEM) are connected through VPN communicationERP BaaN) In all areas including China and Gujarat. Internet connection to Home PCsKnowledge Management through Internet.

COLLABORATORS

Krosaki, JapanMgC BricksBasic monolithicSlide plates

Dolomit Werke ,GermanyDolomite refractories

Stopinc, SwitzerlandL.S system for slidegate

Monocon, U.KBasic spraying mass

Lichtenberg, GermanyCoke oven repair materials

A.P Green, U.S.ACastables

PRODUCTION FACILITIESLongest Silica tunnel kiln in Asia-180mt longHigh temperature kiln(+1850deg)Fully automated and state-of-art Monolithic plant7 nos of high capacity microprocessor controlled SACMI pressesHigh capacity inclined mixer machines2 n0s of 100 TPD rotary kilnFIFO system aided by latest logistics for smooth and speedy dispatch

R & D FACILITIESX Ray DiffractometerX RFCreep testing machinesHigh temperature furnaces upto (1850degC)Hot MORHot stage microscopeThermal conductivity(DIN)Climate chamber

CAPTIVE MINESCHHUIINPALLI MINES TALBASTA MINESMineralquartzitefire clayLease area102hects171hectsLease period20 yrs from now20yrs from1995Reserve716 million MT0.8 millionMT

AWARDS

Every year no.of national and state level Quality Circle awardsProductivity award from IMRACAPEXIL award for exporter consecutive last 12yrsState safety award for occupational health care from govt of Orissa in 95-96,96-97,99-001996 ISO9001 certification for total product range2002 PCRA award for fuel conservation2002 - Golden Peacock award for best EMS(EnvironmentManagement System)2005 - award for active promotion of Tata BusinessExcellence Model(TBEM)2006 Green Tech Silver award for environmentManagement2006 IMS certification covering QMS,EMS & OSHA2007 Golden Peacock innovation award for products

IN 2008-09

Installed capacity 3,80,000 MT/yrProduction 000MT 230.000Sales 000MT 270.000Revenue Rs.764 croresExport Rs.102.00 croresProfit (PBT) Rs.54 crores

EMPLOYEE PROFILE

TRL has achieved significant improvements by building a competent work force. TRL's employees are in two broad categories of officers and workmen. The workmen have formed Tata Refractories Shramik Sangh - the only bargaining unit. TRL injects fresh talents from campus interviews from reputed engineering colleges, Institutes and lateral recruitments. Contract workers are employed in areas having a fluctuating and non-permanent nature of work (such as cleaning, sorting & packing) or in such areas where the specialized agencies can provide better services (e.g. security, gardening packaging etc.). Marketing personnel are located across the country and abroad near the clusters of customers to provide prompt service. TRL's employees are from diverse back ground represented by female employees and employees from other states.TRL has the highest percentage of professional and well-trained staff for any Refractories company in India and compares favorably even with the global Refractories companies.

ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES

COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENTThe global Refractories industry has a size of around Rs 70,000 Crores and about 20 Million Tonnes in volume. The domestic industry has a size of approx. Rs 3600 Crore and approx. 1.25 Million tonne in volume. With Tata Steel's acquisition of Corus, it has opened us a new market of about Rs 1000 Crore . This has prompted TRL to have a foothold in Corus. Domestic Refractories industry is a fragmented one having a total of about 150 companies out of which 22 companies are in large/medium scale and rest are in small scale. TRL has highest market share (22% )in India.

Global challenges: Large refractory manufacturers such as RHI have now targeted Indian Refractories market.Business challenge: Existence of large number of small Refractories in the unorganized sectors operating at 40-50% capacity utilization.Customers: customers of Refractories product generally belongs to large industrial organization therefore have strong negotiating position.Suppliers: In highly competitive environment & ever increasing customer expectations. Key challenge is to meet the need of continuous cost reduction demand through efficient supply chain management.

COMPETITORS OF TRLAs other fields have competitors, the Refractories market also has a competition. Here we are discussing about the main competitors of TRL.ODISHA CEMENT- It has the turnover of 200 crores & export worth Rs.25 crore. Presently they are trying to establish the production & quality of ladle tundish shrouds. OCL is capturing order of the mini steel plant for well blocks in LCC 90 quality & feedback report from mini steel is very good.BHARAT REFRACTORIES- BRL as around 125 M.T of specialty product per month as INDO FLOGATES is presently taking from OAL, the slide plates. They are approaching MSP & TISCO for supply specialty product.ACC CEMENT- It has turnover for the year was 179 crores. Along with other competitors, acc is also making his presence in domestic market.IFGL REFACTORIESVISHUVYAS REFRACTORIES.

TRL's approach is to optimize the price performance balance and offer value for money.

PRINCIPAL FACTORS OF SUCCESS

Brand imageProduct consistency and performanceTimely deliveryLarge volume and multiproduct capabilitiesDesign and application solution.Opportunities for innovation

In 2002~03, a strategic initiative named Fortune 500 was initiated which crafted the growth story of TRL. Fortune 500 program meant Rs. 500 Crore revenue with Rs. 50 Crore profit within 5 years, i.e. by 2007~08.However the land mark of crossing Rs 500 Crore turnover has been achieved in 2006~07, one year before the schedule. Under this program, apart from major expansions and modernization program at Belpahar, TRL has established a green field project in China in 2007 to take advantage of best quality magnesite (a critical raw material) in JV and enhancing our core competencies. Another joint venture (MAPL) plant has been established in Gujarat for bauxite based products for taking advantage of proximity to raw material source and also to address the cement sector. Fortune 500 has made TRL a Young TRL. After the success of Fortune 500, TRL has initiated another program called Mission 2000 which will take the company to a revenue of Rs 2000 Crore within in next 5 years time.

LITERATURE REVIEW

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTAn organizations productivity is measured not in terms of employee satisfaction but in terms of employee engagement. Employees are said to be engaged when they show a positive attitude towards the organization and express a commitment to remain with the organization. It is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards the organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of the business context and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization.Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn (1990)as the harnessing of organizational members selves to their work roles. In engagement people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances.The second related construct to engagement in organizational behavior is the notion of flow advanced by Csikszentmihalyi (1975).He defines Flow as the holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement .Flow is the state in which there is little distinction between the self and environment. When individuals are in flow state little conscious control is necessary for their actions. Employee engagement is thus the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its value. The organization must work to develop and nuture engagement which requires a two way relationship between employer and employee. Thus employee engagement a barometer that determines the association of a person with the organization.Engagement is most closely associated with the existing construction of Job Involvement, Brown(1996).Job Involvement is defined as the degree to which the job situation is central to the person and his/her identity. Kanungo(1982)maintained that job involvement is thought to depend on need saliency and the potential of a job to satisfy these needs. Thus job involvement results from a cognitive judgement about the need satisfying abilities of the job. Jobs in this view are tied to ones self image. Furthermore engagement entails the active use of emotions. Finally engagement may be thought of as an antecedent to job involvement in that individuals who experience deep engagement in their roles should come to identify with their jobs. When Khan talked about employee engagement he gave importance to all three aspects, physical, cognitive and emotional. Whereas in job satisfaction importance has been more given to cognitive side.According to the study of WatsonWyatt, the profit chain establishes relationship between profitability, customer loyalty and employee satisfaction, loyalty and productivity.The links in the chain (which should be regarded as propositions) are as follows; profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty. Loyalty is a direct result of customers satisfaction. Satisfaction is largely influenced by the services provided to customers. Satisfied, loyal and productive employee create value. Employee satisfaction in turn results primarily from high quality support services and policies that enable employees to deliver results to customers.HR practioners believe that the engagement challenge has a lot to do with how employee feels about the work experience and how he/she is treated in the organization. It has a lot to do with emotions which are fundamentally related to drive bottom line success in a company.Employee engagement represents an alignment of maximum job satisfaction with maximum job contribution. By plotting a given population against these two axes, five distinct employee segments are identified-fully engaged, almost engaged, honeymooners & hamsters, crash & burn and disengaged.According to BW-HR global survey 34% of the employees in India are fully engaged and 13% disengaged. As many as 29% are almost engaged.FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTEngagement by industry -With the exception of government sector which has relatively low engagement levels some high tech industries (pharma, biotech)score low whereas some service focused industries(retail, consumer products)score high.Engagement by level -Studies show that people higher up in the organization experience higher engagement. However there is a drop in engagement past the vice-president level.Engagement by gender -the survey reveals a larger disparity between men and women. Men count 8%more fully engaged and 6%less disengaged than women.Taking global figures into account, it can be said that Indian workers are among the most focused and satisfied in the world.BASIC ASPECTS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTThere are three basic aspects of employee engagement:The employees and their own unique psychological makeup and experience.The employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee engagement.Interactions between employees at all levels.Thus employee engagement is a partnership between a company and its employee where everyone works together to achieve the business objectives of the company and fulfill their personal aspirations. It is therefore largely the organizations responsibility to create an environment and culture conducive to this partnership and a win-win equation.CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEESThere are three different types of employees. They are engaged, not engaged, actively disengaged.ENGAGED - Engaged employees are builders. They want to know the desired expectations for their role so that they can meet and exceed them. They are naturally curious about their company and their place in it. They perform at consistently high levels. They want to use their talents and strengths at work everyday. They work with passion and they drive innovation and move their organization forward.NOT ENGAGED - Not engaged employees tend to concentrate in tasks rather than the goals and outcomes they are expected to accomplish. They want to be told what to do just so that they can do it and say they have finished. They focus on accomplishing tasks vs achieving an outcome. Employees who are not engaged tend to feel their contributions are being overlooked and their potential is not being tapped. They often feel this way because they dont have productive relationships with their managers or with their co-workers.

ACTIVELY DISENGAGED - The actively disengaged employees are the cave dwellers. They are consistently against virtually everything. They are not just unhappy at work they are busy acting out their unhappiness. They sow seeds of negativity at every opportunity. Everyday actively disengaged workers undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish. The problems and tensions that are fostered by actively disengaged workers can cause great damage to an organizations functioning.THE ROLE THEORYEmployee engagement can be defined in terms of what people do at work, something called the role theory. Role theory reviews different roles that people engage in at work, and it explains reasons why people engage in certain roles and not in others.The five work related roles that exist in any company are:Job holder role -Employees come to work and do the job that is listed in their job descriptionTeam member role -Employees go above and beyond to help members of their team work towards common goals.Entrepreneur role -Employees come up with new ideas and processes and try to get those ideas implemented.Career role -Employees do things to enhance their career in the organization; they learn, they adapt new skills, and more.Organization member role -Employees do things that promote and help the company even if its not part of their jobs or their teams dutiesIn general we find that most employees have a sense of fairness and even if their employer treats them poorly most will show up to work and do the job role. But having employee show up at work simply doing their jobs gets an employer nowhere in terms of long term competitiveness.If all your employees show up and only do their jobs, then you are not building organizational strength and long term competitiveness through people because anyone can hire those same employees and duplicate what you are doing.It is the synergy that comes from people working together and gathering creative ideas that leads to long term organizational wealth creation. That synergy and above and beyond behavior is evidence of employee engagement.EINSTEINS THEORY ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Einsteins theory was based on the formulae that is E=MR2

ENGAGEMENT= MEANINGFUL RELEVANT RECOGNITION

K-A-B MODELAccording to K-A-B MODEL for the success of employee engagement, the company must follow three steps i.e.KnowledgeAttitudeBehaviour

KNOWLEDGE:- Stakeholder must be aware of what is happening ,what the change or engagement effort is, and what they will see happening across the organization, to and by whom ,over what time period .this is the launch part of engagement programmes, and is also where much of the effort is focused-often to the detriment of the subsequent stages.

ATTITUDE:- Once the stakeholders have internalized the knowledge, they need to form an attitude about what they know .generally this means that they must see tangible, positive evidence that the organization is serious about and committed to the programme .Evidence of behaviour change emerges in key leaders, managers and employees as, for example, process begin to evolve and changes are made.

BEHAVIOUR:- Once stakeholders have internalized the information and formed an attitude about the change and what it means to them, it is essential that they are given the tools, guidance and support needed to change their behaviours and must be visibly intolerant of behaviours that do not align with achieving the objectives behind the overall engagement efforts.

THE TEN CS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTHow can leaders engage employees heads, hearts, and hands? The literature offers several avenues for action; we summarize these as the Ten Cs of employee engagement.1. Connect: Leaders must show that they value employees. Employee-focused initiatives such as profit sharing and implementing worklife balance initiatives are important.

However, if employees relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss. Employees look at whether organizations and their leader walk the talk when they proclaim that, Our employees are our most valuable asset.2. Career: Leaders should provide challenging and meaningful work with opportunities for career advancement. Most people want to do new things in their job. For example, do organizations provide job rotation for their top talent? Are people assigned stretch goals?Do leaders hold people accountable for progress? Are jobs enriched in duties and responsibilities? Good leaders challenge employees; but at the same time, they must instill the confidence that the challenges can be met.3. Clarity: Leaders must communicate a clear vision. People want to understand the vision that senior leadership has for the organization, and the goals that leaders or departmental heads have for the division, unit, or team. Success in life and organizations is, to a great extent, determined by how clear individuals are about their goals and what they really want to achieve.4. Convey: Leaders clarify their expectations about employees and provide feedback on their functioning in the organization. Good leaders establish processes and procedures that help people master important tasks and facilitate goal achievement. Good leaders work daily to improve the skills of their people and create small wins that help the team, unit, or Organization performs at its best.5.Congratulate: Business leaders can learn a great deal from Woo dens approach. Surveys show that, over and over, employees feel that they receive immediate feedback when their performance is poor, or below expectations. These same employees also report that praise and recognition for strong performance is much less common. Exceptional leaders give recognition, and they do so a lot; they coach and convey.6. Contribute: People want to know that their input matters and that they are contributing to the organizations success in a meaningful way. First, an employee understands of the connection between her work as operational zed by specific job-relevant behaviors and the strategic objectives of the company had a positive impact on job performance. Second, an employees attitude towards the job and the company had the greatest impact on loyalty and customer service than all the other employee factors combined. Third, improvements in employee attitude led to improvements in job-relevant behavior; this, in turn, increased customer satisfaction and an improvement in revenue growth. In sum, good leaders help people see and feel how they are contributing to the organizations success and future.7. Control: Employees value control over the flow and pace of their jobs and leaders can Create opportunities for employees to exercise this control A feeling of being in on things, and of being given opportunities to participate in decision making often reduces stress; it also creates trust and a culture where people want to take ownership of problems and their Solutions.8. Collaborate: Studies show that, when employees work in teams and have the trust and cooperation of their team members, they outperform individuals and teams which lack good relationships. Great leaders are team builders; they create an environment that fosters trust and collaboration. Surveys indicate that being cared about by colleagues is a strong predictor of employee engagement. Thus, a continuous challenge for leaders is to rally individuals to collaborate on organizational, departmental, and group goals, while excluding individuals pursuing their self-interest.9. Credibility: Leaders should strive to maintain a companys reputation and demonstrate high ethical standards. People want to be proud of their jobs, their performance, and their10. Confidence: Good leaders help create confidence in a company by being exemplars of high ethical and performance standards. Practitioners and academics have argued that Competitive advantage can be gained by creating an engaged workforce. Leaders should actively try to identify the level of engagement in their organization, find the reasons behind the lack of full engagement, strive to eliminate those reasons, and implement behavioral strategies that will facilitate full engagement. These efforts should be ongoing. Employee Engagement is hard to achieve and if not sustained by leaders it can wither with relative ease.THE LOYALTY FACTORThe key to employee engagement is creating greater motivation for their work and commitment to their organization. It is not possible to retain professionals only by paying high salaries and offering attractive benefits. We need to create enthusiasm for their roles, their work and the organization and ensure they are well integrated.Employee engagement relates to the employees commitment to the organizations success. Engaged employees who are inspired and guided by the leadership equipped with the right tools and managed by the right systems and process deliver superior performance. Employee engagement today encompasses training, development, work environment, leadership, performance management, work- life balance, communication, compensation, benefits, commitment, fun and social activities.The quality of output and competitive advantage of a company depends on the quality of people. Employees want to work for an organization that is-successful, legal, provides opportunities to grow, has managers who help employees and is socially responsible.FACTORS LEADING TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTThe critical factors which lead to employee engagement are;Career developmentOpportunities for personal development - Organizations with high levels of engagement provide employees with opportunities to develop their abilities, learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and realize their potential. When companies plan for the career paths of their employees and invest in them, then they prove to be the assets of the organization.Effective management of talent - Career development influences engagement for employee and retaining the most talented employees and providing opportunity for personal development.LeadershipClarity of company values - Employees need to feel that the core values for which their company stands are unambiguous and clear.Respectful treatment of employees - Successful organizations show respect for each employees qualities and contribution regardless of their job level.Empowerment - Employees want to be involved in decisions that affect their work. The leaders of high engagement work places create a trustful and challenging environment in which employees are encouraged to dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy and to input and innovate to move the organization forward.Image - How much the employees are prepared to endorse the products and services which their company provides its customers depends largely on their perception of the quality of those goods and services. High levels of employee engagement and are inextricably linked with high levels of customer engagement.Equal opportunity and fair treatment - The employee engagement levels would be high if their superiors provide equal opportunities for growth and advancement to all the employees.Re- inforcement of people focused policies - Continuous re-inforcement exists when senior management provides staff with budgets and resources to accomplish their work and empowers them.Communication - The company should follow the open door policy. There should be both upward and downward communication with the use of appropriate communication channels in the organization. If the employee is given a say in the decision making and has the right to be heard by his boss then the engagement levels are likely to be highQuality of working relationships with peers,superiors & subordinates - If employees relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade the employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss.Perception of the ethos and values of the organization -inspiration and values are the most important factors that influence engagement. Inspirational leadership is the ultimate perk. In its absence it is unlikely to engage employees.Performance appraisal - Fair evaluation of an employees performance is an important criterion for determining the level of employee engagement. The company which follows an appropriate performance appraisal technique (which is transparent and not biased)will have high levels of employee engagement.Pay and benefits - The company should have a proper pay system so that the employees are motivated to work in the organization. In order to boost his engagement levels the employee should also be provided with certain benefits and compensation.Health and safety - Research indicates that the engagement levels are low if the employees do not feel secure while working. Therefore every organization should adopt appropriate methods and systems for the health and safety of their employees.Job satisfaction - Only a satisfied employee can become an engaged employee. Therefore it is very essential for an organization to see to it that the job given to the employee matches his career goals which will make him enjoy his work and he would ultimately be satisfied with his job.Family friendliness - A persons family life influences his work life. When an employee realizes that the organization is considering his familys benefits also, he will have an emotional attachment with the organization which leads to engagement.Co-operation- If the entire organization works together by helping each other i.e., all the employees as well as superiors co-ordinate well then the employees will be engaged.DOES ENGAGEMENT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE?Should executives be concerned about these findings? Perhaps a more interesting question to executives is: Is there a strong relationship between, say, high scores on employee engagement indices and organizational performance? It seems obvious that engaged employees are more productive than their disengaged counterparts. For example, a recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology concluded that, employee Satisfaction and engagement are related to meaningful business outcomes at a magnitude that is important to many organizations. A compelling question is this: How much more productive is an engaged workforce compared to a non-engaged workforce? Several case studies shine some light on the practical significance of an engaged workforce. For example, New Century Financial Corporation, a U.S. specialty mortgage banking company, found that account executives in the wholesale division who were actively disengaged produced 28 percent less revenue than their colleagues who were engaged. Furthermore, those not engaged generated 23 percent less revenue than their engaged counterparts. Engaged employees also outperformed the not engaged and actively disengaged employees in other divisions. New Century Financial Corporation statistics also showed that employee engagement does not merely correlate with bottom line results it drives results.BENEFITS TO THE ORGANISATIONEmployee engagement builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organizations strategies and goals.Attracts more people like existing employee.Increases employees trust in organization.Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment.Lowers attrition rate.Increases productivity and improves morale.Provides a high energy working environment.Improves overall organizational effectiveness.Boosts business growth.Makes the employee effective brand ambassadors for the company.EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTKeeping remote employees engaged is a critical challenge for managers. Employees need to be engaged through various forums and interactions to build excitement and passion through various communication channels and events.For example, at Sun Microsystems, employees are treated with utmost importance. The senior management team interacts with the employees through the intranet where the employees are engaged in active dialogue on corporate goals and directions and also solicits their feedback. Management members engages with the employees on technological directions through personal blog.(holding six town halls with employees every year).The company also reaches out the employees family by inviting and involving them in some events. The internal website of the company is updated daily, thus keeping employees abreast of the happenings and developments in their organization.MEASURING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTEmployee engagement can be measured from two dimensions;How employees feel(their emotions towards the company, the leadership, the work environment etc).How they intend to act in the future(will they stay, give extra effort etc).Employee engagement can be revealed in several ways, including pulse to annual surveys, tracking changes in the attrition rate, increase in the number of employee referrals and growth in productivity and business.In many organizations the age old employee satisfaction surveys were considered the most popular method for measuring how happy an employee was in the organization. This is slowly being replaced by surveys that can effectively measure employee engagement. For example, employee opinion survey.The analysed results help us gauge the level of employee engagement within the company. It also helps to identify the weak areas. After each survey Action Planning Group is formed within the organization that comprises a cross-section of people from across the company; all departments and all levels are fairly represented. This group then works on different projects leveraging the strengths identified by the survey.Conducting a survey without planning how to handle the results can lead employees to disengage. It is therefore to feel the pulse, the action plan is just as essential.Employee engagement should be measured at regular intervals in order to track its contribution to the success of the organization.

HOW TO MEASURE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTStep 1- ListenThe employer must listen to his employees and remember that this is a continuous process. The information employees supply will provide direction. This is the only way to identify their specific concerns. When leaders listen, employees respond by becoming more engaged. This results in increased productivity and employee retention. Engaged employees are much more likely to be satisfied in their positions, remain with the company, be promoted and strive for higher levels of performance.Step2- Measure current level of employee engagementEmployee engagement survey let us know what level of engagement the employees are operating. Customizable employee survey will provide with a starting point towards the efforts to optimize employee engagement. This kind of survey is a diagnostic tool of choice in the battle for the hearts of employees.Step3- Identify the problem areasIdentifying the problem areas helps to see which are the exact areas, which lead to disengaged employees.Step4- Taking action to improve employee engagement by acting upon the problem areasNothing is more discouraging to employees than to be asked for their feedback and see no movement toward resolution of their issues. Even the smallest actions taken to address concerns will let the staff know how their input is valued. Feeling valued will boost morale, motivate and encourage future input. Taking action starts with listening to employees feedback and a definitive action plan will need to be put in place finally.IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGEMENTEngagement is important for managers to cultivate, given that disengagement or alienation is central to the problem of workers lack of commitment and motivation. Meaningless work is often associated with apathy and detachment from ones works(Thomas& Velthouse ).In such conditions, individuals are thought to be estranged from their selves. An organizations capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its ability to achieve high performance levels and superior business results.In the workplace research on employee engagement(Harter,Schmidt&Hayes,2002)have repeatedly asked employee whether they have the opportunity to do what they do best everyday. While one in five employees strongly agree with this statement. These work units scoring higher on this perception have substantially higher performance. Thus, employee engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued employees.As organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to provide them with an organizational identity.Engaged employees are more likely to stay and be an advocate of the companys product and services. They contribute to the overall success of the organization. A greater number of loyal employees ensure low recruitment and training costs, in effect enhancing the productivity of the organization. They are also more willing to put in extra effort when the organization needs it. Their impact on the working environment is also significant as they are more focused on organizational benefit than personal goals. This consequently reduces feelings of acrimony and internal rivalries. They also project a positive image to new recruits and this motivates the latter to perform better and assimilate themselves in the office culture. Research also shows that engaged employees in customer-facing roles are more likely to treat customers in ways that positively influences customer satisfaction.

ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVESMost organizations have a range of programmes to improve the engagement level of their employee. It should start right at the selection stage.Choosing the right fit and giving a realistic job preview.Strong induction and orientation programme.Rigorous training and development from technical to soft skills to leadership development programme.To keep up the morale of people and drive them towards excellent performance, incentives can be given such as recognition letters, profit sharing schemes, long performance awards, ESOPs, building assets like own home.Regular feedback to all people.Communication forums like the in-house magazine and regular surveys and conferences.To maintain the quality of work-life and a balance between personal/professional lives, there are recreational activities like festivities, get-togethers, sports etc.An open and transparent culture to empower its people and develop entrepreneurs.INCREASING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTProvide Variety - Tedious, repetitive tasks can cause burn out and boredom over time.If the job requires repetitive tasks, look for the ways to introduce variety by rotating duties, areas of responsibility, delivery of service etc.Conduct periodic meetings with employees to communicate good news, challenges and easy-to-understand companys financial information. Managers and supervisors should be comfortable communicating their staff and able to give and receive constructive feedback.Indulge in employee deployment if he feels he is not on the right job .Provides an open environment.Communicate openly and clearly about whats expected of employee at every level-your vision, priorities, success measures etc.Get to know employee interests, goals, stressors etc. Show an interest in their well being and do what it enables them to feel more fulfilled and better balanced in work life.Celebrate individual, team and organizational success. Catch employee doing something right and say, Thank-You.Be consistent in your support for engagement initiatives. If you start one and then drop it, your efforts may backfire. Theres a strong connection between employees commitment to an initiative and managements commitment to supporting it.REAL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT RULESWe often think that super important corporate initiatives will transform our organization into places where everyone will come to work and want to be more engaged. Corporate initiatives cant make the magic. Employee engagement happens only when you remove barriers to work and these barriers are unique to every work group. The people who deliver the corporate initiatives have to make engagement happen, i.e., the managers.HOW TO MOVE OWNERSHIP TO MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEESIn order to move the employee engagement process from ownership by corporate HR to ownership by and employees, several things must happen-Measurement of employee engagement must be done more than once in a year. We need multiple ways to assess engagement , the engagement metrics must include performance measures.You cant have engaged employees without super engaged managers.Engagement improving efforts must start at top and work their way down. The most senior executive must be assured that they are engaging their senior team and that team has to work on creating a high engagement environment for its direct reports & so on.Engagement must be done by leadership through example. This process of top down engagement is owned by each level of management. Each manager himself benefits from the process, and then they share the benefits with their own employees. In this learning process managers own employee engagement.

Engagement is about getting rid of things that block productivity.We bring people to work, then put lots of obstacles in the way of their being able to succeed. Creating an engaged workforce means getting barriers out of the way for your employees to be effective. We cannot create a magic set of 20, 40, 80 survey questions that will assess the things that are getting in the way of productivity and performance. These things can be lumped into categories but they differ from company to company, department to department and employee to employee. These productivity blockers and de motivators are not taught in a basic introduction to management book. They are not going to disappear with the purchase of some new technology or from hiring the latest management guru. Engagement will happen when each individual manager learns whats getting in the way of his/her employees performance and each manager chooses to take action.The process of engagement is a process , you cant get it right at the year end. You have to create a continuous learning, continuous improvement, continuous measurement and continuous action process to maximize productivity.

CONCLUSIONEmployee engagement is the buzz word term for employee communication. It is a positive attitude held by the employees towards the organization and its values. It is rapidly gaining popularity, use and importance in the workplace and impacts organization in many ways. Employee engagement emphasizes the importance of communication on the success of business. An organization should thus recognize employees more than any other variable, as powerful contributors to a companys competitive position. Therefore employee engagement should be a continuous process of learning, improvement, measurement and action. Research studies have thus made a contribution in adding an additional P to the 4Ps of marketing i.e., Product, Price, Place, Promotion and now People to the mix.

CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN TRLThe people are the most important assets and through their capabilities and use of their knowledge, TRL has been able to maintain the leadership position in the market.Tata Refractories limited belongs to Tata steel group of companies and it is leader in Indian refractory industries. The human resource department of TRL experiments and conducts surveys to develop new concepts relating to employee well being, satisfaction and organizational Behaviors for the development of the employees in the organization.Engagement of an employee is an important factor of consideration for every organization for the prosperity and integrity of the organization. Satisfied knowledgeable workforce is therefore instrumental in achieving organizational success. If an employee is not satisfied in any of the factors which are basic ,prior and unavoidable like good and secured job, working environment ,salary, proper and effective interpersonal communication among all the level of the organization, scope of development ,recruitment policy, reward and appraisal system ,organizations discipline, training facility, recreation facility, complete understanding of the work, goals and values, decisions making policies then they will feel de motivated to work and the organization will not get the desired output even from the best employee working within it. In other words, job dissatisfaction leads to psychological withdrawal, dispensary visits, poor mental health, poor performance, lower attractiveness of the job and absenteeism. they will find opportunities elsewhere, where they can avail a better job that can satisfy all their needs. This will in fact lead to the increase in the level of absenteeism.Hence the human resource management conducts a survey on the employee satisfaction, every year, to find out the various factors of sin whish employee feels satisfied. This survey also helps them to find out in which an employee feels satisfied. survey also helps them to find out new factors apart from the standardize factors that are usually being prescribed as factors of satisfaction. Therefore these factors eventually help the department and the management to take proper action in future for the well being, motivation, satisfaction and development of the employees working within it from the human relations and organizational behavior point of view.Employee training & development, competency mapping through HRRA, career progression, succession planning is given utmost attention by top management for developing a world class workforce. HR programs are tailored to meet these objectives.

WORKFORCE FOCUS

In alignment with the company's vision, mission and values, TRL's workforce focus aims at creating a flexible, knowledgeable & satisfied workforce. The company achieves high performance by creating agile & flexible organization design, understanding workforce needs through various listening and learning posts, promoting innovation and creativity through Cross Functional Teams, motivating employees through performance management and professional development and providing a safe and supportive environment.

WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT

Determination of workforce engagement and satisfaction

Determination of key factors for employee engagement and satisfaction starts with classifying employees into appropriate groups based on hierarchical, functional levels etc. and capturing workforce needs through different listening and learning posts. The identified factors for workforce satisfaction and engagement are validated through reviews in the HR Council meetings correlating the same with the organizational results.

High performance work cultureThis objective is achieved through the following factors:

MOTIVATIONSenior leaders use many formal and informal means to motivate workforce through out the company. Some of the steps taken by senior leaders in this regard areCreating an environment of achievement by setting challenging targets for the subordinates,Giving adequate resources for enabling people to succeed,Personal involvement andReward and recognition based on consideration on meritorious performance.

EMPOWERMENTAn environment of empowerment is built through:(a) Enabling workforce through training and development to take decisions closest to the front line.

(b) Delegations of authority with trust & support, to take actions and make decisions, to satisfy the customers at first contact. General Managers and Chief Managers have been given both financial powers to reward workforce under them.(c) Providing easy access to the senior leadership (through open house, e-mail and freedom to meet informally).(d) De-layering for more freedom to act, job enrichment through task forces to work for special projects.REWARD AND RECOGNITION

Reward and recognition system is one of the most important elements of a high performance work culture at TRL. Important R & R schemes are CPI, PPI, Bonus, Sabash awards, Gunwant Karmachari award etc. In addition to this, senior leaders take active part in rewarding people in annual JDC meetings, Safety week, productivity week and innovation week celebration and quality nite etc. MD is personally present in the annual functions of rewarding the winners. This encourages workforce to take part in improvement groups such as QCs, VE and other innovation projects in most of the forums in India. Contract workmen are also rewarded during the Safety week celebration by the Senior leaders.

CO-OPERATIONThe change in the organization design from functional orientation to SBU-wise structure has resulted in improved cooperation and communication amongst production, marketing, technology and support services since these have become part of the individualSBUs. This has resulted in improved productivity and business results. The company's vision and strategic plan (Mission-2000) has been communicated across the organization; thus providinga clear big picture to the entire workforce about company's objectives and growth plans.

INFORMATION FLOW AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONCommunication across the work units, jobs and locations is achieved through

Documentation of all work procedures and instructions (in IMS) and their communication to all employees through trainingAvailability of these on in the intranet and as hard copies, which can be accessed by all,Through positional training where a highly skilled worker/officer trains a group assigned to him on-the-job as per the needs of his colleaguesKnowledge Management system (KM site) where the knowledge champions and experts gather and place knowledge pieces including all successful CIPs on the K.M. site,Departmental meetings for knowledge sharing. Logbooks maintained by departments, Job rotation.INDIVIDUAL GOAL SHARING & INNOVATIONThe CBSC is cascaded to Divisional/Departmental Goal Sheets and to individual KRAs, which help in aligning and integrating the performance targets; thus taking out any ambiguity and providing clear and specific goals for individuals. The workmen are trained and developed through Millwrigh