Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!
Since we are discussing ways of developing human potential, I would like to start my speech with a popular statement that employee engagement plays a critical role in improving performance within the organizational environment . I totally agree with this statement. Employee engagement has emerged as a major area of emphasis within the internal environment of an organization (Harvard Business Review, 2013) . In this rapidly growing economy, leaders in business understand that a top-performing workforce plays a critical role in fostering a high-performance culture in the areas where they work (Quizlet, 2018) . They are realizing that highly engaged employees increase, productivity, innovation, and improved performance while costs affiliated with hiring and retention efforts in markets characterized by intense competition reduce tremendously (Harvard Business Review, 2013) . However, I would like to pinpoint that whereas many executives realize a need for boosting employee engagement, most of them have not yet established tangible means of realizing the goal (Rick, 2014) . In my speech, therefore, I wish to inform existing and upcoming business leaders to devise ways of engaging their workforce to ensure that their businesses realize increased productivity and unrivalled performance in today’s business environment.
To emphasize on the issue, I would like you to note that the question as to why businesses should invest their resources in employee engagement has continued to realize unending debates (White, 2016) . The simple reason for this is that employee engagement is significantly vital to the results that a business realizes. It also allows them to exercise commitment to their jobs. The three major forms of commitment to an organization comprise of affective commitment (affection for job), continuance commitment (fear of losing), and normative commitment (sense of obligation to remain within an organization) (Mind Tools, 2018) . With these kinds of commitment, the workforce is able to drive their organization toward increased profitability and competitiveness.
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Studies indicate that a progressive relationship prevails between workforce engagement and enterprise results , such as customer loyalty , employee retention , productivity, and profitability . Costs of employment and rates of turnover usually decrease among employees who are exceedingly engaged (Harvard Business Review, 2013) . Additionally, an increase in the number of engaged employees in an organization allow their organizations to surpass the average revenue growth in their respective industry (QuestionPro, 2018) . Therefore, I agree with the idea that organizations that want to make it in the market should ensure to link and engage with their employees to ensure continued growth. This way, they will be adequately prepared to handle and challenges or changes facing the business environment.
An additional issue I would like you to note is that whereas engagement contributes to improved performance at the level of individuals employees, it also fosters execution at the enterprise level (van der Werf, 2016) . No single approach for engaging employees can meet the requirements for all companies. Employee engagement revolves around a combination of organizational culture , objectives, values, and the things that drive a group in a company (Harvard Business Review, 2013) . Because these differ with every organization, a no-size-fits-all situation arises. Engaged employees need to portray three typical practices that boost the performance of their organization. Firstly, they portray a need for remaining part of a business despite being offered opportunities for working elsewhere (Whittington, Meskelis, Asare, & Beldona, 2017) . Secondly, the workforce refers probable clients and recruits as well as co-employees to their organization with the goal of promoting it. Thirdly, the workforce devotes extra time, effort, and initiative to ensure the company realizes its goals (IRMI, 2018) . Therefore, engaged employees are significantly beneficial in the areas organizations where they work. As such, organizations should be focusing on how they can prepare and create a workforce that allows everyone to survive and flourish.
Nevertheless, certain organizations harbor disengaged employees . When these interact with clients directly, numerous complaints arise. If left unattended, the disengaged workforce ends up demotivating the co-workers (Mind Tools, 2018) . Estimates reveal that companies with engaged employees outdo those characterized by disengaged workforce by approximately 202 percent (Cowan, 2017) . Conversely, Gallup approximations show that employee disengagement costs businesses within the U.S. from around $450 to $550 billion annually because of deteriorated productivity (QuestionPro, 2018) . Several key elements lead employee disengagement to affect profitability (Mone & London, 2014) . These include poor relations with clients and rising rates of turnover that result to increased hiring costs
Also, managers need to understand that the revitalization of their organizations might result from the group upwards. However, questions arise as to how they can do that without making the workforce less productive. Empowerment serves as the answer. Participative empowerment serves as one of the key contributors. Encouraging acknowledgement, responsibility, and creativity allows the workforce to feel they “own” their jobs (Byham & Cox, 1998) . Formal evaluations and one-on-one conversations allow bring positive results.
Due to the tremendous impact that employee has on organizational performance, I would suggest that employers spend time to understand what engages their employees. Doing so would allow them to provide them with relevant incentives, which would reduce turnover and costs of hiring while at the same time increasing profitability .
I hope that my speech has given you all food-for-thought about employee engagement.
Thank you for your attention!
References
Byham, W. C., & Cox, J. (1998). Zapp!: The lightning of empowerment : how to improve productivity, quality, and employee satisfaction. New York: Ballantine Pub. Group.
Cowan, D. (2017). Strategic internal communication: How to build employee engagement and performance. London: Kogan Page.
Harvard Business Review. (2013). The impact of employee engagement on performance. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.
IRMI. (2018). Employee engagement and organizational performance. Retrieved from https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/employee-engagement-and-organizational-performance
Mind Tools. (2018). The three component model of commitment. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/three-component-model-commitment.htm
Mone, E. M., & London, M. (2014). Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Abingdon: Routledge.
QuestionPro. (2018). Employee engagement and performance: Is there a relation? Retrieved from https://www.questionpro.com/blog/employee-engagement-performance-relation/
Quizlet. (2018). Management Chapter 3. Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/93495217/management-chapter-3-flash-cards/
Rick, T. (2014). The connection between employee engagement and performance. Retrieved from https://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/performance-management/the-connection-between-employee-engagement-and-performance/
van der Werf, R. (2016). 3 key types of organisational commitment. Retrieved from https://www.effectory.com/knowledge/blog/3-key-types-of-organisational-committment/
White, A. (2016). The role of engagement in performance management. Retrieved from https://ww.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/role-engagement-performance-management/
Whittington, J. L., Meskelis, S., Asare, E., & Beldona, S. (2017). Enhancing employee engagement: An evidence-based approach. Berlin: Springer.
