EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Employee engagement is associated with many desirable outcomes, such as job satisfaction,
intention to stay and job performance. Companies with a greater number of engaged employees
typically have lower operating costs, higher customer satisfaction and higher profits. There is a
tangible monetary benefit to companies investing time and resources in fostering higher
engagement within their employees. The task of precisely defining employee engagement is still
ongoing, but it is most often defined in terms of behaviours exhibited in the workplace. Engaged
employees are prepared to go the extra mile in pursuit of workplace excellence. They are
ambassadors for their organisations, who will speak highly of the company and its people, even
when they are not in a work setting.
An engaged employee is identifiable by workplace
behaviours such as losing track of time as they are so absorbed in the task at hand. This is
distinct from excessive overtime in order to give the impression of ‘hard work.’ Both look the
same, but one is productive for the employer- employee relationship and one is not!
Academics would say that not enough is understood about what drives employee engagement as
most research in the area has tended to focus on business outcomes without investigating
underlying causes. As the impact of engagement on business has been positive and has been
linked with higher profitability, practice has raced ahead of the underpinning research in pursuit
of creating a more engaged and hence profitable workforce.
I undertook research to aid understanding of the area by investigating the relationship between
employee engagement and the retention level.
At the same time I looked at the interplay between individual differences and engagement levels
of the organization. I hoped to discover best practices of the organizations and the individual’s
expectations from such strategies.
1
CHAPTER NO. 1
BANKING INDUSTRY
Banking in India originated in the last decades first banks were The General Bank of India,
which started in 1786, and Bank of Hindustan, which started in 1770; both are now defunct. The
oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India, which originated in the Bank of
Calcutta in June 1806, which almost immediately became the Bank of Bengal. This was one of
the three presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay and the Bank of Madras, all
three of which were established under charters from the British East India Company. For many
years the Presidency banks acted as quasi-central banks, as did their successors. The three banks
merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence, became
the State Bank of India in 1955.
History
Merchants in Calcutta established the Union Bank in 1839, but it failed in 1840 as a consequence
of the economic crisis of 1848-49. The Allahabad Bank, established in 1865 and still functioning
today, is the oldest Joint Stock bank in India.(Joint Stock Bank: A company that issues stock
and requires shareholders to be held liable for the company's debt) It was not the first though.
That honor belongs to the Bank of Upper India, which was established in 1863, and which
2
survived until 1913, when it failed, with some of its assets and liabilities being transferred to the
Alliance Bank of Simla.
Foreign banks too started to app, particularly in Calcutta, in the 1860s. The Comptoir d'Escompte
de Paris opened a branch in Calcutta in 1860, and another in Bombay in 1862; branches in
Madras and Pondicherry, then a French colony, followed. HSBC established itself in Bengal in
1869. Calcutta was the most active trading port in India, mainly due to the trade of the British
Empire, and so became a banking center.
The first entirely Indian joint stock bank was the Oudh Commercial Bank, established in 1881 in
Faizabad. It failed in 1958. The next was the Punjab National Bank, established in Lahore in
1895, which has survived to the present and is now one of the largest banks in India.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, the Indian economy was passing through a relative period
of stability. Around five decades had elapsed since the Indian Mutiny, and the social, industrial
and other infrastructure had improved. Indians had established small banks, most of which
served particular ethnic and religious communities.
The presidency banks dominated banking in India but there were also some exchange banks and
a number of Indian joint stock banks. All these banks operated in different segments of the
economy. The exchange banks, mostly owned by Europeans, concentrated on financing foreign
trade. Indian joint stock banks were generally undercapitalized and lacked the experience and
maturity to compete with the presidency and exchange banks. This segmentation let Lord Curzon
to observe, "In respect of banking it seems we are behind the times. We are like some old
fashioned sailing ship, divided by solid wooden bulkheads into separate and cumbersome
compartments."
The period between 1906 and 1911, saw the establishment of banks inspired by the Swadeshi
movement. The Swadeshi movement inspired local businessmen and political figures to found
banks of and for the Indian community. A number of banks established then have survived to the
present such as Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank
and Central Bank of India.
3
The fervour of Swadeshi movement lead to establishing of many private banks in Dakshina
Kannada and Udupi district which were unified earlier and known by the name South Canara (
South Kanara ) district. Four nationalised banks started in this district and also a leading private
sector bank. Hence undivided Dakshina Kannada district is known as "Cradle of Indian
Banking".
4
CHAPTER NO. 2
PROFILE OF AXIS BANK
A. Background of Axis Bank
1993
The Bank was incorporated on 3rd December and Certificate of business on 14th December. The
Bank transacts banking business of all description. UTI Bank Ltd. was promoted by Unit Trust
of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, General Insurance Corporation of India and its four
subsidiaries.
The bank was the first private sector bank to get a license under the new guidelines issued by the
RBI.
1997
The Bank obtained license to act as Depository Participant with NSDL and applied for
registration with SEBI to act as `Trustee to Debenture Holders'.
Rupees 100 crores was contributed by UTI, the rest from LIC Rs 7.5 crores, GIC and its four
subsidiaries Rs 1.5 crores each.
1998
The Bank has 28 branches in urban and semi urban areas as on 31st July. All the branches are
fully computerised and networked through VSAT. ATM services are available in 27 branches.
The Bank came out with a public issue of 1,50,00,000 No. of equity shares of Rs 10 each at a
premium of Rs 11 per share aggregating to Rs 31.50 crores and Offer for sale of 2,00,00,000 No.
of equity shares for cash at a price of Rs 21 per share. Out of the public issue 2, 20,000 shares
were reserved for allotment on preferential basis to employees of UTI Bank. Balance of 3, 47,
80,000 shares were offered to the public.
The company offers ATM cards, using which account-holders can withdraw money from any of
the bank's ATMs across the countries which are inter-connected by VSAT.
5
UTI Bank has launched a new retail product with operational flexibility for its customers.
UTI Bank will sign a co-brand agreement with the market, leader, Citibank NA for entering into
the highly promising credit card business.
UTI Bank promoted by India's pioneer mutual fund Unit Trust of India along with LIC, GIC and
its four subsidiaries.
1999
UTI Bank and Citibank have launched an international co-branded credit card.
UTI Bank and Citibank have come together to launch an international co-branded credit card
under the MasterCard umbrella.
UTI Bank Ltd has inaugurated an offsite ATM at Ashok Nagar here, taking the total number of
its offsite ATMs to 13.m
2000
The Bank has announced the launch of Tele-Depository Services for its depository clients.
UTI Bank has launch of `iConnect', its Internet banking Product.
UTI Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with equitymaster.com for e-broking
activities of the site.
Infinity.com financial Securities Ltd., an e-broking outfit is typing up with UTI Bank for a
banking interface.
Geojit Securities Ltd, the first company to start online trading services, has signed a MoU with
UTI Bank to enable investors to buy\sell demat stocks through the company's website.
Indiabulls has signed a memorandum of understanding with UTI Bank.
UTI Bank has entered into an agreement with Stock Holding Corporation of India for providing
loans against shares to SCHCIL's customers and funding investors in public and rights issues.
6
ICRA has upgraded the rating og UTI Bank's Rs 500-crore certificate of deposit programme to
A1+.
UTI Bank has tied up with L&T Trade.com for providing customised online trading solution for
brokers.
2001
UTI Bank launched a private placement of non-convertible debentures to raise up to Rs 75 crore.
- UTI Bank has opened two offsite ATMs and one extension counter with an ATM in
Mangalore, taking its total number of ATMs across the country to 355.
UTI Bank has recorded a 62 per cent rise in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2001,
at Rs 30.95 crore. For the second quarter ended September 30, 2000, the net profit was Rs 19.08
crore. The total income of the bank during the quarter was up 53 per cent at Rs 366.25 crore.
2002
UTI Bank Ltd has informed BSE that Shri B R Barwale has resigned as a Director of the Bank
w.e.f. January 02, 2002. A C Shah, former chairman of Bank of Baroda, also retired from the
bank’s board in the third quarter of last year. His place continues to be vacant. M Damodaran
took over as the director of the board after taking in the reins of UTI. B S Pandit has also joined
the bank’s board subsequent to the retirement of K G Vassal.
UTI Bank Ltd has informed that Shri Paul Fletcher has been appointed as an Additional Director
Nominee of CDC Financial Service (Mauritius) Ltd of the Bank.And Shri Donald Peck has been
appointed as an Additional Director (nominee of South Asia Regional Fund) of the Bank.
UTI Bank Ltd has informed that on laying down the office of Chairman of LIC on being
appointed as Chairman of SEBI, Shri G N Bajpai, Nominee Director of LIC has resigned as a
Director of the Bank.
2002
B Paranjpe & Abid Hussain cease to be the Directors of UTI Bank.
7
UTI Bank Ltd has informed that in the meeting of the Board of Directors following decisions
were taken: Mr Yash Mahajan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab Tractors Ltd
was appointed as an Additional Director with immediate effect. Mr N C Singhal former Vice
Chairman and Managing Director of SCICI was appointed as an Additional Director with
immediate effect.
ABN Amro, UTI Bank in pact to share ATMs.
UTI Bank Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank is
scheduled to be held on October 24, 2002 to consider and take on record the unaudited half
yearly/quarterly financial results of the Bank for the half year/Quarter ended September 30,
2002.
UTI Bank Ltd has informed that Shri J M Trivedi has been appointed as an alternate director to
Shri Donald Peck with effect from November 2, 2002.
2003
-UTI Bank Ltd has informed BSE that at the meeting of the Board of Directors of the company
held on January 16, 2003, Shri R N Bharadwaj, Managing Director of LIC has been appointed as
an Additional Director of the Bank with immediate effect.
UTI Bank, the private sector bank has opeaned a branch at Nellore. The bank's Chairman and
Managing Director, Dr P.J. Nayak, inaugurating the bank branch at GT Road on May 26.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Nayak said, "This marks another step towards the extensive
customer banking focus that we are providing across the country and reinforces our commitment
to bring superior banking services, marked by convenience and closeness to customers.
UTI Bank Ltd. has informed the Exchange that at its meeting held on June 25, 2003 the BOD
have decided the following: 1) To appoint Mr. A T Pannir Selvam, former CMD of Union Bank
of India and Prof. Jayanth Varma of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad as
additional directors of the Bank with immediate effect. Further, Mr. Pannir Selvam will be the
nominee director of the Administrator of the specified undertaking of the Unit Trust of India
(UTI-I) and Mr. Jayanth Varma will be an Independent Director. 2) To issue Non-Convertible
8
Unsecured Redeemable Debentures upto Rs.100 crs, in one or more tranches as the Bank's Tier II capital.
UTI has been authorised to launch 16 ATMs on the Western Railway Stations of Mumbai
Division.
UTI filed suit against financial institutions IFCI Ltd in the debt recovery tribunal at Mumbai to
recover Rs.85cr in dues.
UTI bank made an entry to the Food Credit Programme, it has made an entry into the 59 cluster
which includes private sector, public sector, old private sector and co-operative banks.
Shri Ajeet Prasad, Nminee of UTI has resigned as the director of the bank.
Banks Chairman and MD Dr.P.J.Nayak inaugurated a new branch at Nellore.
UTI bank allots shares under Employee Stock Option Scheme to its employees.
Unveils pre-paid travel card 'Visa Electron Travel Currency Card'
Allotment of 58923 equity shares of Rs 10 each under ESOP.
UTI Bank ties up with UK govt fund for contract farming
Shri B S Pandit, nominee of the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of
India (UTI-I) has resigned as a director from the Bank wef November 12, 2003.
UTI Bank unveils new ATM in Sikkim
2004
Comes out with Rs. 500 mn Unsecured Redeemable Non-Convertible Debenture Issue, issue
fully subscribed
UTI Bank Ltd has informed that Shri Ajeet Prasad, Nominee of the Administrator of the
Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (UTI - I) has been appointed as an Additional
Director of the Bank w.e.f. January 20, 2004.
9
UTI Bank opens new branch in Udupi
UTI Bank, Geojit in pact for trading platform in Qatar
UTI Bank ties up with Shriram Group Cos
Unveils premium payment facility through ATMs applicable to LIC & UTI Bank customers
Metaljunction (MJ)- the online trading and procurement joint venture of Tata Steel and Steel
Authority of India (SAIL)- has roped in UTI Bank to start off own equipment for Tata Steel.
DIEBOLD Systems Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diebold Incorporated, has secured
a major contract for the supply of ATMs and services to UTI Bank
HSBC completes acquisition of 14.6% stake in UTI Bank for $67.6 m
UTI Bank installs ATM in Thiruvananthapuram
Launches `Remittance Card' in association with Remit2India, a Web site offering money-transfer
services
2005
UTI Bank enters into a bancassurance partnership with Bajaj Allianz General for selling general
insurance products through its branch network.
UTI Bank launches its first Satellite Retail Assets Centre (SRAC) in Karnataka at Mangalore.
2006
UTI Bank unveils priority banking lounge
UTI Bank launches operations of UBL Sales, its Sales Subsidiary - Inaugurates its first office in
Bengaluru
UTI Bank announces the launch of its Credit Card Business
UTI Bank becomes the first Indian Bank to successfully issue Foreign Currency Hybrid Capital
in the International Market
10
UTI Bank Business Gold Debit Card MasterCard Launched - Designed for business related
spending by SMEs and self employed professionals
2007
AXIS Bank Ltd has informed that consequent upon handing over charge as Administrator of the
Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), Shri. S B Mathur, the Nominee
Director of SUUTI has resigned as a Director of the Bank w.e.f. December 06, 2007.
AXIS Bank Ltd has informed that Fitch Ratings on December 14, 2007, has upgraded the Bank's
National Long-term rating to 'AAA(ind)' from 'AA+(ind)'.
AXIS Bank Ltd hasappointed Shri K N Prithviraj as an Additional Director on the Board at
Directors of the Bank.
Company name has been changed from UTI Bank Ltd to Axis Bank Ltd.
2008
Axis Bank launches Platinum Credit Card, India's first EMV chip based card
Axis Bank set up its branch at Ilanji at Meenakshi Nagar on the Coutralam-Madurai road on
April 16.
2009
Axis Bank today said its board has recommended the appointment of Shikha Sharma, currently
chief of ICICI group's life insurance business, as its next managing director and CEO.
Axis Bank has set up a new branch at Perumbavoor. The bank has a network of 832 branches
along with 8 extension counters and 3622 ATMs across the country.
Axis Bank, on Wednesday entered into a strategic alliance with Motilal Oswal, the financial
services firm, in order to facilitate the online trading for the bank's customers.
AXIS Bank Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on June
01, 2009, inducted Smt. Shikha Sharma as an Additional Director of the Bank.
11
Axis bank has received final clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
to begin its mutual fund operations and will launch debt and equity schemes soon whereas IDBI
Bank is awaiting the regulator's permit for an entry.
Axis Bank opened the new branch at Irinjalakuda while it has a network of 892 branches, 8
extension counters and 3,806 ATMs across the country.
2010
Axis Bank Limited has informed that at the meeting of the Board of Directors held on January
15, 2010, the following decisions were taken: (1) To appoint Dr. Adarsh Kishore, former Finance
Secretary, Government of India and former Executive Director, International Monetary Fund
representing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka, as the Non-Executive Chairman of the
Bank, subject to RBI approval; (2) To appoint Shri S.B. Mathur, former Chairman, LIC and the
National Stock Exchange of India, as an Additional Independent Director, with immediate effect.
AXIS Bank Ltd has appointed Shri M. S. Sundara Rajan, former CMD, Indian Bank as an
Additional Independent Director with immediate effect.
Axis bank acquires 4 percent stake in Max New York Life
Axis Bank has bought a property in central Mumbai from Bombay Dyeing where it will shift its
corporate headquarters. Its worth Rs.782 crore.
Axis Bank is acquiring investment banking and securities unit of Enam Securities Pvt Ltd in an
all stock deal for Rs.2,067 Cr (around $456 Mn) in order to expand its broking and investment
banking business.
2011
Axis Bank launches online trading platform AxisDirect
Axis Bank has launches pre-paid VISA card i.e. MY MONEY CARD.
Axis Bank opens new representative office in Abu Dhabi
12
2012
Axis Bank partners with NIIT IFBI to introduce PG Diploma in Retail Banking.
Axis Bank inducts Schroders as a 25% partner in Axis AMC.
Axis Bank, Axis Capital, joined hands with Baird, an international, employee-owned financial
services firm, to ofer investment banking services.
B. Nature of The Business Carried
RETAIL BANKING
Axis Bank has developed a strong retail banking franchise over the years. Retail Banking is one
of the key drivers of the Bank’s growth strategy and it encompasses a wide range of products
delivered to customers through multiple channels. The Bank offers a complete suite of products
across deposits, loans, investment solutions, payments and cards to help customers achieve their
financial objectives. The Bank focuses on product differentiation as well as a high level of
customer-service to enable it to build its retail business.
The Bank has continued to develop its risk management capabilities in Retail business, both
from a credit and operations risk standpoint. The branch channel is effectively utilised for
growing the retail assets business, with loan and card products being offered to existing clientele.
The growth areas identified by the Bank are in the areas of residential mortgages and passenger
car loans. Of the total retail loans portfolio, 88.47% is in the form of secured loans (residential
mortgages and auto loans).
The Bank offers a wide range of payment solutions to its customers in the form of debit cards,
prepaid cards and credit cards. As on 31st March 2012, the Bank has a base of approximately
124.99 lac debit cards, placing it among the leading players in the country. The Bank is also a
dominant player in prepaid cards.Axis Bank has over 2 lakh installed EDC machines - a highest
for any bank in India.
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Axis Bank Privée’, an exclusive private banking service offers advisory, investment and lending
solutions to its customers across 10 cities in the country. Privée follows a client-focused
investment process and a team-based approach for managing client relationships. The
relationship management team is supported by a team of product specialists, client servicing
teams, investment consultants and research experts. The private banking business focuses on
addressing both the personal and corporate advisory needs of an entrepreneur or business family
by bringing solutions offered by various business groups across the retail and corporate
businesses within the Bank under an integrated platform.
The Bank launched ‘Axis Bank Wealth’ in 2008-09 targeting customers who have a total
relationship value with the Bank of between Rs.30 lacs and Rs.200 lacs. The value proposition
aims at delivering a ‘One Bank’ experience to such customers and is positioned as a complete
solution involving banking, investment and asset needs.
The Bank also distributes third party products such as mutual funds, Bancassurance products
(life and general insurance), online trading, and Gold and Silver coins through its branches.
The retail business of the Bank is supported by innovative services and alternate channels which
provide convenience of transactions to customers. These channels include an extensive ATM
network, internet banking, mobile banking and phone banking.
INTERNATIONAL RETAIL
International Retail Business focuses specifically on the overseas sales channel, retail foreign
exchange business, remittances and retail businesses in overseas centres such as Hong Kong and
Sri Lanka, where the Bank has a presence. The products offered in the area of retail Forex and
remittances include travel currency cards, inward and outward wire transfers, traveller’s cheques
and foreign currency notes, remittance facilities through online portals as well as through
collaboration with correspondent banks, exchange houses and money transfer operators. The
Bank continued to have a market leadership position in Travel Currency Cards with 11 currency
options other than INR being offered. The aggregate spends on Travel Currency Cards have
crossed USD 3 billion during the year 2012-13.
14
BUSINESS BANKING
Business Banking leverages the Bank’s strengths – a well distributed network of branches and a
strong technology platform to offer the best in transaction banking services. The Bank offers a
range of current account products and cash management solutions across all business segments
covering corporates, institutions, central and state government ministries and undertakings as
well as small and retail customers.
The Bank is one of the top CMS providers in the country. The Bank acts as an agency bank for
transacting government business offering services to various Central Government Ministries /
Departments and other State Governments and Union Territories.
In order to provide solutions for business to effectively manage their funds flow, the Bank has
introduced liquidity management solution for corporate customers. Similarly, a single window
for all payment requirements was launched with several advanced features such as setting a daily
transaction limit for corporate users, setting transaction limits for individual beneficiaries,
prioritising payment methods, online stop payment and cancellation facilities.
CORPORATE CREDIT
Axis Bank has built a strong corporate banking franchise across corporate, liability and asset
businesses. Axis Bank provides customized structuring and financing solutions in a timely and
comprehensive manner to its corporate customers with a focus on building out a high quality
credit portfolio. The Bank is a market leader in Debt Capital Markets and loan syndication
business across segments, sectors and geographies. The Bank also provides full range of
Treasury and Trade Finance solutions to its corporate clients. The Bank offers technology
enabled transaction banking and cash management services to customers across Government,
financial institutions and corporate segments.
Bank’s infrastructure business includes project and bid advisory services, project lending, debt
syndication, project structuring and due diligence, securitisation and structured finance. During
the year the Bank launched its first ever ‘D&B-Axis Bank Infra Awards 2011’ in association
with Dun & Bradstreet. The award felicitates leading infrastructure projects and infrastructure
15
companies. In October 2010, the Bank launched the Axis Infra Index (AII) with the primary
objective of conveying a sense of investment conditions in the infrastructure sector. The Index,
as a composite measure of investor confidence, comprises four components: flow of equity and
debt funds into infrastructure sectors, project completion and commencement of operations,
output related to infrastructure segments and regulatory and policy developments relevant for the
sector. It is designed to capture the evolving fundamentals of the sector and is updated and
disseminated on a quarterly basis.
TREASURY
The Bank has an integrated Treasury, covering both domestic and global markets, which
manages the Bank’s funds across geographies. The Bank’s treasury business has grown
substantially over the years, gaining market share and continuing to be among the top five banks
in terms of forex revenues. The Treasury plays an important role in the sovereign debt markets
and participates in the primary auctions held by RBI. It also actively participates in the secondary
government securities and corporate debt market. The foreign exchange and money markets desk
is an active participant in the inter-bank/ FI space. The Bank has been exploring various crossborder markets to augment resources and support customer cross-border trade.
INTERNATIONAL BANKING
The international operations of the Bank form a key enabler in its strategy to partner with the
overseas growth potential of its domestic clientele, who are venturing abroad or require nonrupee funds for domestic projects. The Bank now has a foreign network of four branches
(Singapore, Hong Kong, DIFC (Dubai) and Colombo (Sri Lanka)) and three representative
offices (Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi) with presence in six countries. While corporate
banking, trade finance, treasury and risk management solutions are the primary offerings through
the branches at Singapore, Hong Kong, DIFC (Dubai) and Colombo, the Bank also offers retail
liability products from its branches at Hong Kong and Colombo. Further, the Bank’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiatives in the form of representative offices in Dubai and Abu
Dhabi, and alliances with banks and exchange houses in the Middle East provide the support for
leveraging the business opportunities emanating from the large NRI diaspora present in these
countries.
16
SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) segment is a thrust area of the Bank. The business
approach towards this segment, which is expected to contribute significantly to economic growth
in future, is to build relationships and nurture the entrepreneurial talent available. The
relationship based approach enables the Bank to deliver value through the entire life cycle of
SMEs. The Bank has segmented its SME business in three groups: Small Enterprises, Medium
Enterprises and Supply Chain Finance. The Bank extends working capital, project finance as
well as trade finance facilities to SMEs. The Bank has launched ‘Business Gaurav SME Awards’
in association with Dun & Bradstreet to recognize and award achievers in the SME space.
C. Vision, Mission and quality Policy
Vision 2015
To be the preferred financial solutions provider excelling in customer delivery through insight,
empowered employees and smart use of technology
Core Values

Customer Centricity

Ethics

Transparency

Teamwork

Ownership
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D. Board of Directors
ADARSH KISHORE (CHAIRMAN)
SHIKHA SHARMA (MD & CEO)
K. N. Prithviraj (Director)
V. R. Kaundinya (Director)
18
S. B. Mathur (Director)
Prasad Menon (Director)
Rabindranath Bhattacharyya (Director)
Prof. Samir K Barua (Director)
19
CHAPTER-I
Objective of the Research
Research Methodology
Limitation of the Study
1.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH:
1. To find out the employee engagement strategies in organizations.
2. To benchmark the employee engagement practices adopted in various organizations.
3. To study the correlation between the employee engagement practices carried out in the
company and retention levels.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the problem. In my research work
various steps where adopted to study the problem. The Research methodology includes
description about why the research study has been undertaken. So by framing a right
methodology it is possible to gain a deeper insight in to the research problem also to give a full
proof for action plan for carrying out the project successfully.
1. Statement of problem
The particular topic is chosen because job satisfaction exercises a potential influence on
employee productivity and human relation climate in an organization. The project is aimed at
understanding the satisfaction of employees relating to their job. Their working condition their
supervisors, their fellow workers their payment and overall organization.
2. Purpose of study
a. The purpose of doing this project is to find whether the employees are satisfied in
general.
b. The type of training programs given to the workers and to find out whether there
where a healthy relation between the workers.
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3. Scope of study
The study is conducted for Axis Bank to find out the Engagement of employees.
The study also covers the tools which increase the productivity and find out the
benefits other than salary which receives by the employees.
4. Questionnaire design
The questionnaire was prepared after gathering primary information about the current
motivation system and techniques in the organization.
5. Nature of Data
The data were collected both primary and secondary sources. The primary source
consists of information arrived from employees through interview schedule. The
secondary source includes company records books, manual etc.
6. Method of data collection
The data were collected from employees through a structured questionnaire and
interview schedule.
7. Sampling plan
1. Sampling unit.
The universe of the study consists of factory workers belonging to the
different section of manufacturing process.
2.
Sample size:The sample size is 100
3. Sampling method
The sampling method is used from the study is random sampling.
Different data where identified and samples has been taken.
4. Tools of analysis
The data was analyzed by applying the percentage analysis as the
statistical tool.
21
LIMITATION
1. The employees were engaged in their work. So we cannot use more time to get a
correct feedback.
2. The working place was noisy so there will not conduct effective communication with
workers.
3. Some of employees are newly joined in the company. Hence they did not give correct
feedback about overtime work.
4. The figures used for analysis have been taken from annual report of Axis Bank. The
data contained in the records are historical and does not take into account the
fluctuation in the value of money caused by inflation.
22
CHAPTER-II
Definition of Employee Engagement
Historical Background of Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement in India
INTRODUCTION
Success today requires a good bit more than good attendance. Yet, multiple studies in different
countries and across industries show that employees who are passionate about their jobs and the
organizations in which they work are in the minority. Some of the Survey conducted by few
organization revealed that approximately 19% of the employees are highly engaged The
Corporate Executive Board, looking at levels of engagement across 50,000 employees around the
world, placed only 11 percent in what they dubbed “true believer” category.1 Towers Perrin’s
recent “Talent Report” is slightly more optimistic, finding just 17 percent of the 35,000
employees surveyed to be highly engaged. 40 to 70 percent of employees can be classified as
neutral, middle of the road, or agnostic. Worse yet, an alarming 10 to 20 percent of employees
are actively “disengaged”—just putting in their time or, worse yet, undermining or badmouthing
their organizations and bosses. The economic impact of low engagement can be staggering.
23
The global survey shows that 34 per cent of the employees in India are fully engaged and 13 per
cent disengaged. As many as 29 per cent are ‘almost engaged’.
What makes these numbers especially discouraging is that, supposedly, we have evolved from
the dark ages of “personnel management.” On one hand, for the past two decades we have been
trying to realize the benefits of empowerment, teamwork, recognition, people development,
performance management, and new leadership styles.
Evidently, there is a big difference
between putting in place initiatives that have the overall goal of increasing employee
engagement and truly seeing the payoffs. And, on the other hand, one might easily attribute low
engagement to persistent downsizing, which leads to an erosion of loyalty and commitment.
2.1 DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Employee engagement can be defined as an employee putting forth extra discretionary effort, as
well as the likelihood of the employee being loyal and remaining with the organization over the
long haul. Research shows that engaged employees: perform better, put in extra efforts to help
get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated
and optimistic about their work goals. Employers with engaged employees tend to experience
low employee turnover and more impressive business outcomes.
Employee engagement is more than just the current HR 'buzzword'; it is essential. In order for
organizations to meet and surpass organizational objectives, employees must be engaged.
Research has proven that wholly engaged employees exhibit,

Higher self-motivation.

Confidence to express new ideas.

Higher productivity.

Higher levels of customer approval and service quality.

Reliability.

Organizational loyalty; less employee turnover.

Lower absenteeism.
24
Need of Employee Engagement
The general principles of employee engagement have been around for decades. During the past
five years, though, there has been a surge in the popularity of employee engagement.
There are four primary drivers.
1. People have become the primary source of competitive advantage. The Brookings Institute
(2003) examined the primary source of market value in today’s organizations and how it has
changed over time. In 1982, 62 percent of an organization’s market value came from tangible
assets and 38 percent from intangible assets. Tangible assets include things like machinery,
products, facilities, etc. Intangible assets, on the other hand, include factors such as brand,
intellectual property, and, most important, the quality of the workforce. By 2002, 20 years later,
the source of value had almost totally flipped. Almost 80 percent of market value today comes
from the intangible with a scant 20 percent coming from tangible assets. As we all have heard
before, products can easily be copied, a technological edge can prove fleeting, and more facilities
can be built, but the quality of an organization’s talent, its passion and commitment, is nearly
impossible to replicate. Engagement is the fuel that drives the value of intangible assets.
2. Retention and the war for talent. The landmark 1998 McKinsey study, The War for Talent,
was among the first to talk about the potential for workforce shortages due to the aging
population. The study’s authors called upon organizations to take more seriously their efforts to
attract and retain talent, to assure that they would be able to survive and thrive in the future. In
the late 1990s and early 2000s, the slump in the global economy quickly took the spotlight off of
the anticipated talent shortage. And some predict that a portion of today’s aging workers will
delay their retirements out of necessity, attenuating the expected talent shortage. Since 2003 the
picture is once again changing, albeit not as quickly as expected. For example, the Society for
Human Resources Management reported that 48 percent of the employees it polled are actively
seeking new jobs. Additionally, the workforce is getting older, with many of the baby boomers
hitting 60 in 2006 and ready to retire. Over and above the workforce cost of increased
retirements, companies are beginning to take heed of the enormous financial costs of turnover
25
and increasingly viewing employee engagement as an imperative for keeping their key
employees— and attracting new ones—as the war for talent heats up once again.
3. Popular appeal. Remember the reengineering wave? Even those who used it as more than
just a guise for massive layoffs found it painful. Six Sigma implementations are invaluable to
business performance, but most companies are finding them too complex to implement well.
Engagement is a different matter altogether. While it still takes patience to implement,
engagement gets to the “hard stuff” by focusing on the “softer stuff.” As one manager said: “It’s
about appealing to the head and the heart.” Engagement is about creating passion, it’s about
focusing on what people do well, and it’s about development and recognition. Some have called
employee engagement a form of positive psychology which, on the whole, is an easy pill for
organizations and their employees to swallow.
4. Overwhelming impact. The human resources function has been under pressure for decades to
prove that it makes a difference. While CEOs may espouse the importance of their workforces in
their annual reports, when times get tough, HR is among the first to get the budget axe. Why? A
lack of convincing evidence on the value of HR initiatives. HR professionals are scrambling,
according to a recent Conference Board report, to prove that their activities and investments are
both efficient and positively influential to business strategy. The positive relationship between
engagement and performance (documented in hundreds of studies, with the evidence mounting
every day) provides a way for HR to prove its contribution. It’s a fact: The higher the level of
engagement, the higher the performance of the business. The research is not inconclusive, not
limited to one country or industry, and not contained to a few hundred people—it’s
overwhelming.
How to Make Employees Engage

Growth and development - An exciting position, with plenty of opportunity for growth,
learning, and advancement for employees is always helpful in retaining employees.

Support and recognition - Giving those rewards and recognition.

In many instances, employee retention starts just as soon as an employee is hired. If a
company sees an unusual amount of potential in a new hire, management could make
26
them feel appreciated right off the bat. In a way, this practice can be considered a
combination of recruitment and retention tools.

Employee Participation in decision making is also a very effective engagement activity in
the organization.

Aligning effort with strategy—Engagement begins with employees’ clear understanding
of what they should be doing on the job. Each employee needs a solid job description and
a clear set of performance expectations.

Empowerment—Empowerment is a feeling of job ownership and commitment brought
about through the ability to make decisions, be responsible, be measured by results, and
be recognized as a thoughtful, contributing human being rather than a pair of hands doing
what others say.

Teamwork and Collaboration - In the context of engagement, teamwork and
collaboration require good relationships both within the work group and across work
groups. Many organizations have strong teams with members who work well with each
other.
The Benefits of Employee Engagement
The power of employee engagement is that it is closely connected to business results. When
employees work in an environment in which they can focus their attention on their work and
have a drive to do their best, organizations experience higher levels of productivity and
profitability. Engaged employees look for better ways to do their work, spend less time on
wasted activities, and make effective use of resources. In the end, companies deliver better
products or services and have more resources left to invest in further improvements. Although it
is an important consideration, high financial compensation is not the only driver of increased
employee retention. As addressed previously, employees decide to stay with organizations for
other reasons, such as growth and development opportunities, strong leadership, and meaningful
work. Turnover costs organizations millions of dollars each year, and engagement has a proven
relationship to employee retention. No one likes going into a store where the sales clerks are
sullen, absent, or uncooperative. It’s easy to see why customers notice engaged employees and
are more satisfied and willing to purchase again. For example,Tom Labadie, director of training
and development at CompUSA states,“When you walk into a store with high engagement scores,
27
you can sense the positive tone. Employees whistle and smile, they approach customers, and the
store gives off that elusive approachable feeling that customers appreciate.” Organizations with
engaged employees have more satisfied customers, but it’s not just because employees have
better interactions with customers. Engaged employees are more likely to improve other critical
factors affecting customer satisfaction, such as responsiveness, product quality, thought
leadership, innovation, etc. Finally, higher engagement translates into higher and faster revenue
growth. Engaged employees are more innovative and place more emphasis on meeting customer
needs. The “what can I do better or differently” attitude of engaged employees versus the “it’s
not in my job description” attitude of the unengaged simply leads to better financial
performance.
ASSESSING ENGAGEMENT
Over the past eight years, The Gallup Organisation has been conducting exhaustive studies of
employee engagement to try and answer these fundamental questions. One of a handful of
engagement evangelists, Gallup has promoted the value of measuring employee engagement
through a series of books, seminars and programmes; it has also taken the lead in identifying and
managing the factors that impact engagement levels.
In order to rate the engagement of a workforce, first Gallup assesses employees to determine
whether they are engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged.
Engaged employees are the stars in a company. Passionate about what they do, they feel a
strong connection to their company and perform at high levels every day while looking for ways
to improve themselves and the company as a whole.
Not engaged employees, according to Gallup, are the company zombies who show up every day
and put in just enough effort to meet the basic requirements of their jobs. Without passion or
innovation, these employees neither commit to the company’s direction, nor do they work
against it.
Actively disengaged employees are those who present a big problem for businesses. Negative
by nature, these people are unhappy in their work and they compound their lack of productivity
28
by sharing this unhappiness with those around them. They are the proverbial bad apples who
revel in their discontent while undermining the accomplishments of others; as a result, not only
do they achieve little themselves, they also prevent others from being productive too.
2.3 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN INDIA
The recent Work Asia research study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide indicates that India has the
highest percentage of highly engaged workers at 78% in Asia as compared to Japan, which has
the lowest employee engagement level at 39%.
Head to head with China, the engagement level of the Indian worker is 20% more than his
Chinese counterpart. These are all encouraging signs - but the challenges and the opportunities
ahead are manifold. The imminent US slowdown, shrinking of talent pool, slowdown in hiring,
larger employee expectations are all challenges for internal communicators to cope with. The
Gallup Organization describes employee engagement as the "the involvement with and
enthusiasm for work".
The challenges faced by organizations in India are around attrition, communication, career
development and engagement while trying to keep pace with the explosive growth. Outsourcing
outfits have the highest attrition rates losing staff at a rate of between 100% and 200% a year. It
is widely believed that organizations spend an average of 36% of their revenues on their
employees but do not have a tangible way to measure its impact.
A Mercer study – ‘What’s Working’ – a series of national research on worker insights, highlights
factors that make a difference to employee engagement. The survey’s 125 questions elicit views
in the areas defined by Mercer’s Human Capital Strategy Model and cover training and
development, work environment, leadership, performance management, work/life balance,
communication, compensation, benefits, and engagement.
The India study throws up some fascinating directions for HR and internal communication
professionals. Employee engagement is no more just about the employee’s intent to leave. The
employee’s commitment to the organization and motivation to contribute to the organization’s
29
success plays a significant role. The top three drivers in India are trust in senior management,
how the organization is perceived for customer service and fair pay. Surprisingly, from an Indian
context, the least valued factors in the continuum were benefits, compensation and performance
management.
In India, having a long-term career is considered positive and stable. Frequent job changes are
viewed negatively and therefore the high scores around the commitment count are in line with
the mindset.
Internal communication and HR professionals need to take note of the employee’s need for
giving feedback and to observe action taken from this. Employees seem to be getting very little
information on the organization’s vision and future plans, a cause of concern. Other areas for
action include the organization’s reputation in the market – congruent to other research in this
space which believes that organization’s which are socially responsible are considered better
places to work. In the talent management bracket, managers fare poorly for their involvement,
understanding and support as well as for merit based appraisals.
In India, with a large number of global players entering the market, the talent pool has now a
plethora of choices and even these multinationals are finding it tough to retain staff. The
Canadian HR Reporter writes that employees want to know where their careers are heading and
that is a critical component of the talent retention strategy organizations need to focus on. Softer
styles of leadership have a better impact in India and China leaving organizations to develop or
seek leaders who can fill this need.
30
Chapter-III
3.1 THE LITERATURE REVIEW
Employee retention continues to remain a top priority at many organizations and one that
companies increasingly view as a driver of business strategy. Business-critical knowledge can
walk out the door when an employee leaves the company. While employee retention figures have
long been used by companies as a measure of their performance in developing an effective
organization, this view of employee retention is not only outdated, but these figures may not be
comprehensive enough to truly determine the organization's effectiveness.
The concept of employee retention is more complex than simply evaluating employee turnover
from one year to the next. These figures of employee retention can be somewhat misleading — it
isn't necessarily the number of employees an organization loses, it's the number of topperforming employees that leave the company that should be of concern. For example,
management is one of the key reasons employees decide to stay or leave an organization. If there
is high turnover among the management ranks, employees may also feel unstable in this everchanging environment. Yet, on the other hand, it may not be the best business strategy to retain a
manager that is disliked by employees.
The business strategy of employee retention actually lies with employee engagement; retention is
an outcome of engagement. What most organizations fail to realize is that employee engagement
is the biggest retention factor they have control over. Engaged employees not only stay longer
with the organization, they are more productive, more conscientious, make fewer errors, and take
better care of customers. The business strategy of employee retention must incorporate methods
that achieve a high level of employee engagement among the organization's top performers, not
necessarily the entire workforce.
The Importance of Retaining Top Performers
Many organizations ponder the questions, "What should the goal be for retention?" and "What is
an appropriate level for employee turnover?" Yet, in asking these questions, many organizations
don't realize that there are no set answers. If, for example, an organization loses five percent of
its top performers every year, the results from this turnover could be potentially devastating to
31
the company. On the other hand, if the company is losing 20 percent of its least productive
employees, this could actually be very beneficial for the organization and an opportunity to
increase the strength of its workforce each year.
In other words, it's not just about retention anymore — it's about retaining the very best people at
each level within the organization. The key to effective retention of top performers is to
determine the factors that currently do, and will, keep them engaged.
The Starting Point an organization must first determine who the top performers and high
potentials are within their workforce. Of the many ways this can be accomplished, some include
involving management at every level to create a list of those employees who are performing at
levels that exceed expectations and those who exhibit the potential to become top performers, or
utilizing the results from employee performance reviews to separate those who scored the
highest from those who scored the lowest.
This method of gaining a clear understanding of who the top performers are within an
organization is called employee segmentation. Once an organization has segmented its
workforce, it can then start to measure retention among its highest potential and highest rated, or
most productive, employees. By viewing each segment separately, organizations are creating a
more appropriate benchmark to measure employee retention, i.e., is the organization retaining or
losing a high percentage of its best people?
Understanding Employee Engagement
Employee engagement can be defined as an employee putting forth extra discretionary effort, as
well as the likelihood of the employee being loyal and remaining with the organization over the
long haul. Research shows that engaged employees: perform better, put in extra efforts to help
get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated
and optimistic about their work goals. Employers with engaged employees tend to experience
low employee turnover and more impressive business outcomes.
Employee engagement is more than just the current HR 'buzzword'; it is essential. In order for
organizations to meet and surpass organizational objectives, employees must be engaged.
Research has proven that wholly engaged employees exhibit,
32
§
Higher self-motivation.
§
Confidence to express new ideas.
§
Higher productivity.
§
Higher levels of customer approval and service quality.
§
Reliability.
§
Organizational loyalty; less employee turnover.
§
Lower absenteeism.
Current studies show that organizations are focusing on the meaning of employee engagement
and how to make employees more engaged. Employees feel engaged when they find personal
meaning and motivation in their work, receive positive interpersonal support, and operate in an
efficient work environment. What brought engagement to the forefront and why is everyone
interested in it? Most likely, the tight economy has refocused attention on maximizing employee
output and making the most of organizational resources. When organizations focus attention on
their people, they are making an investment in their most important resource. You can cut all the
costs you want, but if you neglect your people, cutting costs won’t make much of a difference.
Engagement is all about getting employees to “give it their all.” Some of the most successful
organizations are known for their unique work environments in which employees are motivated
to do their very best. These great places to work have been recognized in such lists as Fortune’s
100 Best Companies to Work For.
The concept of engagement is a natural evolution of past research on high-involvement,
empowerment, job motivation, organizational commitment, and trust. All of these research
streams focus on the perceptions and attitudes of employees about the work environment. In
some ways, there are variations on the same fundamental issue. What predicts employees “giving
their all?” Obviously, all organizations want their employees to be engaged in their work.
33
Hierarchy of Engagement
Employee Engagement at Each Level
In addition, employee segmentation is an important method to utilize when evaluating employee
engagement at each level. For instance, the factors that engage the most productive employees in
an organization may not be the same as the factors that engage the least productive employees.
Those employees who receive the highest rankings on their performance reviews may tend to
express higher levels of job satisfaction when they are presented with challenging opportunities
that allow them to grow and learn. Those that receive the lowest rankings might be more focused
on issues surrounding work/life balance and job security. While some factors, such as good
communication, are important among all employees, the attempt to focus on the full spectrum of
factors that engage the entire workforce may cause an organization to omit some of the factors
that are the most important to the company's most productive people.
34
Employee Satisfaction Does Not Equal Engagement
While organizations may be aware "through the grapevine" that employees are unsatisfied, it's
the reasons for the dissatisfaction that elude them. While employee satisfaction is important, it's
not the end game — it is only one piece of employee engagement. Satisfaction is imperative in
that, for those individuals who are top performers, satisfaction may be derived from their
achievement orientation, their ambition, or their sense of responsibility. On the other hand, the
attempt to satisfy an under-performer who will only be content with a lightened workload may
not be a worthy cause. Again, the focus is on ensuring that those individuals who have been
identified as top performers and high potentials are engaged in the organization.
As stated, employee engagement incorporates employee satisfaction, but also includes the
essential elements of pride, commitment and loyalty in the organization. Engaged employees
aren't concerned with meeting the minimum requirements to complete a task, they are focused on
what they can do to better the company. Essentially, they take ownership in the company despite
whether or not they actually own a share of stock.
Drivers of engagement

A two-way relationship between the employer and employee

The importance of the individual being able to align themselves to the products,

services and values of the organisation

The ability of the organisation to communicate its vision, strategy, objectives

and values to its staff so that they are clearly understood

Management give staff sufficient ‘elbow room’ and autonomy to let them fulfil their
potential

The employer is highly effective at engaging in two-way communication with

its staff, in particular encouraging upward communication

Lastly, that management from the top to the bottom of the organisation are ‘committed
leaders’ and that the key role of the immediate line manager/supervisor is recognised as
one of the most important conduits to achieving effective employee engagement.
35
Elements of Engagement
Some researchers conclude that personal impact, focused work, and interpersonal harmony
comprise engagement. Each of these three components has sub-components that further define
the meaning of engagement.
Personal Impact-Employees feel more engaged when they are able to make a unique
contribution, experience empowerment, and have opportunities for personal growth. Past
research concurs that issues such as the ability to impact the work environment and making
meaningful choices in the workplace are critical components of employee empowerment. Some
research on retaining talent found that the perception of meaningful work is one of the most
influential factors determining employees’ willingness to stay with the organization.
Focused Work-Employees feel more engaged when they have clear direction, performance
accountability, and an efficient work environment. Aside from the personal drive and motivation
to make a contribution, employees need to understand where to focus their efforts. Without a
clear strategy and direction from senior leadership, employees will waste their time on the
activities that do not make a difference for the organization’s success. Additionally, even when
direction is in place, employees must receive feedback to ensure that they are on track and being
held accountable for their progress. In particular, employees need to feel that low performance is
not acceptable and that there are consequences for poor performance. Finally, employees want to
36
work in an environment that is efficient in terms of its time, resources, and budget. Employees
lose faith in the organization when they see excessive waste. For example, employees become
frustrated when they are asked to operate without the necessary resources or waste time in
unnecessary meetings.
Interpersonal Harmony-Employees feel more engaged when they work in a safe and cooperative
environment. By safety, we mean that employee trust one another and quickly resolve conflicts
when they arise. Employees want to be able to rely on each other and focus their attention on the
tasks that really matter. Conflict wastes time and energy and needs to be dealt with quickly.
Some researchers also find that trust and interpersonal harmony is a fundamental underlying
principle in the best organizations. Employees also need to cooperate to get the job done.
Partnerships across departments and within the work group ensure that employees stay informed
and get the support they need to do their jobs.
Making Use of Engagement
Measurement of employee engagement can have many applications in the organization. Earlier,
it is mentioned that engagement could serve as a general index of HR effectiveness in an HR
scorecard. Also, engagement measures serve as an easy way to benchmark the work climate
against other organizations.
Other uses include:
Needs Analysis-The fundamental issues measured in engagement provide a quick index of what
leaders and HR need to do to make things better. In addition, items in engagement surveys tend
to be very actionable. This means that leaders or others in the organization can take action that
will affect the score on a single item.
Evaluation-Many learning and performance interventions are designed to impact some aspect of
engagement. When an engagement measure is used as a pre-implementation baseline, the impact
of the intervention can be gauged by measuring post-implementation changes in engagement.
Climate Survey-Some organizations like to use engagement measures as simple indexes of the
workplace culture. While more extensive surveys are valuable, sometimes it’s easier to focus
attention on a few simple and proven factors.
37
Leader or Department Feedback-Depending on the demographic information collected when the
engagement measure is implemented, one can create breakout reports by department or leader.
This means departments and leaders can gain a better understanding of how engagement in their
groups differs from the rest of the organization. This information can be used to create
development plans or plans for larger-scale interventions.
Mention must be made here of Gallup’s Q12 which lists the 12 things important to employees:
1. Knowing what’s Expected ( Job Clarity )
2. Having the Right Materials & Equipment (Resources)
3. Opportunity to Do What I Do Best (Career Opportunities)
4. Recognition & Praise (Recognition)
5. Caring for Me as a Person ( Quality of Life)
6. Encourages Development ( opportunities)
7. My opinion Counts (Recognition)
8. Connection with Mission of Organization (Leadership & Company vision)
9. Co-Workers Committed to Quality Work (Team)
10. I have a Best Friend at Work (Team)
11. Someone Has talked with Me About my Progress (Team)
12. 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 experience

The employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee
engagement

Interaction between employees at all levels.
Thus it is largely the organization’s responsibility to create an environment and culture
conducive to this partnership, and a win-win equation.
Importance of Engagement
38
Engagement 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 and profitability criteria (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002).
An organization’s 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 are

Engaged 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 company’s clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and service
levels

It builds passion, commitment and alignment with the organization’s strategies and goals

Increases employees’ trust in the organization

Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment

Provides a high-energy working environment

Boosts business growth

Makes the employees effective brand ambassadors for the company
A highly engaged employee will consistently deliver beyond expectations. In the workplace
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.
39
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 EngagementStudies have shown that there are some critical factors which lead to Employee engagement.
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 most talented
employees and providing opportunities for personal development.
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.
40
Step I: Listen
The employer must listen to his employees and remember that this is a continuous process. The
information employee’s 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.
Measuring the Impact of Employee Engagement
Training, development and career: "Employee Development" was seen as too evocative of the
master-slave relationship between employer and employee for those who refer to their employees
as "partners" or "associates" to be comfortable with. "Human Resource Development" was
rejected by academics, who objected to the idea that people were "resources" — an idea that they
felt to be demeaning to the individual. Eventually, the CIPD settled upon "Learning and
41
Development", although that was itself not free from problems, "learning" being an over general
and ambiguous name. Moreover, the field is still widely known by the other names.
Training and development (T&D) encompasses three main activities: training, education, and
development. Garavan, Costine, and Heraty, of the Irish Institute of Training and Development,
note that these ideas are often considered to be synonymous. However, to practitioners, they
encompass three separate, although interrelated, activities:

Training: This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an
individual currently holds.

Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in
the future, and is evaluated against those jobs.

Development: This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing
the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost
impossible to evaluate.
The "stakeholders" in training and development are categorized into several classes. The
sponsors of training and development are senior managers. The clients of training and
development are business planners. Line managers are responsible for coaching, resources, and
performance. The participants are those who actually undergo the processes. The facilitators are
Human Resource Management staff. And the providers are specialists in the field. Each of these
groups has its own agenda and motivations, which sometimes conflict with the agendas and
motivations of the others.
The conflicts are the best part of career consequences are those that take place between
employees and their bosses. The number one reason people leave their jobs is conflict with their
bosses. And yet, as author, workplace relationship authority, and executive coach, Dr. John
Hoover points out, "Tempting as it is, nobody ever enhanced his or her career by making the boss
look stupid." Training an employee to get along well with authority and with people who
entertain diverse points of view is one of the best guarantees of long-term success. Talent,
knowledge, and skill alone won't compensate for a sour relationship with a superior, peer, or
customer.
42
IMMEDIATE MANAGEMENT: It is very often asserted that when there are employee morale
problems, the fault lies in first-level supervision. It makes sense intuitively to target those
managers because they are in direct contact with the workers and might be relatively
inexperienced in management. Yes, they are a big influence, but usually for the better! The
surveys reported in The Enthusiastic Employee demonstrate that, on the whole, immediate
managers are among the highest rated elements of the employee's work environment. The
surveys show that 78 percent of employees are positive toward their managers' technical skills
(knowing the job). Although the rating on their human relations skills is lower (66 percent), it is
still much higher than the ratings obtained on issues such as bureaucracy. In almost all
companies, only about 10 percent of managers receive ratings that can be described as
unfavorable. That 10 percent can do much harm and require attention, but, by and large, first-line
managers are bulwarks of organizations, even of those organizations that otherwise might be
dysfunctional almost to the point of collapse.
Therefore, intuition fails here and improvement steps, to the extent that they target the first level,
are often misplaced. The major problems, as seen by employees, are usually in the "middle"
(below senior management and the organization as a whole and above the immediate manager
and immediate work environment). The "middle" is where coordination and control among the
parts of the organization take place. When employees complain about "bureaucracy," they don't
usually see the villain as their own boss or the CEO, but rather middle management and staff
departments, such as Finance. When they complain about a lack of cooperation, they most often
see the problem stemming from departments other than their own and not being dealt with -- in
fact, sometimes magnified -- by the middle managers to whom their and those other departments
report. A complaint about disorganization is usually directed at inefficient work processes that
cut across departments, such as the way staff groups and the line don't communicate or
coordinate well with each other.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of
the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and
development. Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows:
1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans.
43
2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.
3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.
Advantages of Performance Appraisal
It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by
following advantages:
1. Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion
programmes for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed
or demoted in case.
2. Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation packages for
employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance
Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which include
bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on
performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority.
3. Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the
supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and
weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It
also helps in framing future development programmes.
4. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the
validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the
validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes
in selection methods can be made in this regard.
5. Communication: For an organization, effective communication between employees and
employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be
sought for in the following ways:
a. Through performance appraisal, the employers can understand and accept skills of
subordinates.
b. The subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in
superiors.
c. It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labour management
relationship.
44
d. It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees.
All the above factors ensure effective communication.
6. Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating
performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are
achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his
performance in the future.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Effective communication helps foster harmonious employer-
employee relationship and increase efficiency
A company had to relocate its plant from the urban area to a remote industrial district. On the
advice of the Labour Department, the management decided to set up a working group in advance
to make preparation for the relocation.
The working group comprised representatives from both management and employees and its
objective was to address the issues that might arise before and after the relocation. The group
also conducted briefings and at the same time collected employees' feedback on relocation
problems. Issues raised were then resolved gradually and systematically.
To allow the affected employees to familiarise themselves with the new working environment in
advance, site visits were arranged. Up-dated information was also provided to keep employees
informed of the latest development. As a result of effective communication between
management and employees, the relocation exercise was conducted smoothly. Besides, all
employees were able to settle down very quickly.
The subject of equal opportunities might be viewed by employers as a minefield, but prevention
of a problem is always better than a cure. The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October
2010. It replaces, and in some areas extends, existing legislation on discrimination and equality.
There are compelling reasons for putting an Equal Opportunities policy in place: Protecting the
company and our employees, compliance with the Equality Bill 2010 and winning business from
the public sector – not to mention making a better environment in which to work.
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The principles of fair treatment and respect need to be applied to everyone, regardless of any of
the following, so called “protected characteristics”
Gender
Marital or civil partnership status
Gender reassignment
Pregnancy and maternity leave
Sexual orientation
Age
Disability
Race
Colour
Ethnic background
Nationality
Religion or belief
PAY AND BENEFITS: A strategic plan for employee compensation determines how much you
want to pay employees and what type of employees you want to attract. Your compensation plan
entails a variety of aspects including pay scales, reward programs, benefits packages and
company perks. A successful strategic compensation plan allows your business to compete in the
market for the best employees in your industry.
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HEALTH AND SAFETY: The main legislation providing for the health and safety of people in
the workplace is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. This Act consolidates and
updates the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare Act 1989. It applies to all employers,
employees (including fixed-term and temporary employees) and self-employed people in their
workplaces. The Act sets out the rights and obligations of both employers and employees and
provides for substantial fines and penalties for breaches of the health and safety legislation.
(General Application) Regulations 2007: Almost all of the specific health and safety laws which
apply generally to all employments are contained in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work
(General Application) Regulations 2007 which came into effect on 1 November 2007. These
Regulations replaced the 1993 General Application Regulations and other secondary legislation
in the area of health and safety at work.
Employer’s duties
Under Section 8 of the Act the employer has a duty to ensure the employees’ safety, health and
welfare at work as far as is reasonably practicable. In order to prevent workplace injuries and ill
health the employer is required, among other things, to:

Provide and maintain a safe workplace which uses safe plant and equipment

Prevent risks from use of any article or substance and from exposure to physical agents, noise
and vibration

Prevent any improper conduct or behavior likely to put the safety, health and welfare of
employees at risk

Provide instruction and training to employees on health and safety

Provide protective clothing and equipment to employees

Appointing a competent person as the organization’s Safety Officer
Employees’ duties
The duties of employees while at work are set out in Section 13 of the Act. These include the
following:

To take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of themselves and of other people in the
workplace

Not to engage in improper behavior that will endanger themselves or others
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
Not to be under the influence of drink or drugs in the workplace

To undergo any reasonable medical or other assessment if requested to do so by the employer

To report any defects in the place of work or equipment which might be a danger to health and
safety
EMPLOYEE CO-OPERATION: Employee cooperation is vital to the success of your safety
program. The following measures can be powerful motivators to gain employee cooperation.

Create an effective safety culture by establishing a safety policy.

Secure worker interest by involving them personally.

Develop proper training methods.

Display relevant safety posters.

Make workers aware of the self-interest they have in their own safety.

Select motivated employees for safety committees and first aid training.

Involve all employees in your safety program.

Convince employees that safety policies are designed for their personal protection.

Demonstrate that unsafe acts and conditions are unacceptable in all facets of the operation.

Do not permit staff to deviate from safe practices.

No one is immune from accidents!
JOB SATISFACTION: Job satisfaction in regards to one’s feeling or state of mind regarding
nature of their work. Job can be influenced by variety of factors like quality of one’s relationship
with their supervisor, quality of physical environment in which they work, degree of fulfillment
in their work, etc.
Positive attitude towards job are equivalent to job satisfaction where as negative attitude towards
job has been defined variously from time to time.
In short job satisfaction is a person’s attitude
towards job.
Job satisfaction is an attitude which results from balancing & summation of many specific likes
and dislikes experienced in connection with the job- their evaluation may rest largely upon one’s
success or failure in the achievement of personal objective and upon perceived combination of
the job and combination towards these ends.
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According to pestonejee, Job satisfaction can be taken as a summation of employee’s feelings in
four important areas. These are:
1. Job-nature of work (dull, dangerous, interesting), hours of work, fellow workers,
opportunities on the job for promotion and advancement (prospects), overtime
regulations, interest in work, physical environment, and machines and tools.
2. Management- supervisory treatment, participation, rewards and punishments, praises and
blames, leaves policy and favoritism.
3. Social relations- friends and associates, neighbors, attitudes towards people in
community, participation in social activity socialibility and caste barrier.
4. Personal adjustment-health and emotionality.
Job satisfaction is an important indicator of how employees feel about their job and a predictor of
work behavior such as organizational citizenship, Absenteeism, Turnover. Job satisfaction
benefits the organization includes reduction in complaints and grievances, absenteeism, turnover,
and termination; as well as improved punctuality and worker morale. Job satisfaction is also
linked with a healthier work force and has been found to be a good indicator of longevity.
Job satisfaction is not synonyms with organizational morale, which the possessions of feeling
have being accepted by and belonging to a group of employees through adherence to common
goals and confidence in desirability of these goals.
Morale is the by-product of the group, while job satisfaction is more an individual state of mind.
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CHAPTER NO. 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF EMPLOYEES
Q1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q1
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0% 0%
0%
32%
68%
68% of the sample agreed to the fact that they are aware about the work which they have to
perform while 32% are strongly agree on this fact.
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Q2 At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q2
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
0%
29%
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0%
18%
53%
Majority (53%) of the employees get the opportunity to do best of their work everyday while
28% of them disagreed on this and 18% of them strongly agreed.
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Q3 In the last three months, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q3
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0% 0%
5% 11%
84%
84% of the employees have received recognition or praise in the last three months for doing
good work while 11% of the employees are highly satisfied with recognition in their organization
and 5% of them has not received any praise in the last 3 months.
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Q4 Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q4
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0% 0%
8%
8%
84%
Generally people feel sense of belongingness when someone is their at their workplace to
support them and 84% of the employees agreed on this fact while 8% have strongly agreed and
the other 8% disagreed.
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Q5 At work, do your opinions seem to count?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q5
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
3% 0% 0%
10%
87%
Employees participation in decision making is again a criteria of
measuring employee
engagement. 87% of the employees have agreed that their decision seems to count, 10% strongly
agreed to this and only 3% have disagreed.
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Q6 Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q6
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0%
11%
5% 5%
79%
79% of the sample agreed that their fellow employees are committed to do quality work while
11% have disagreed on this fact. 5% of them have chosen strongly on this and the other 5% has
given no comments on this.
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Q7 In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q7
Strongly Agree
Agree
5%
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0%
8%
21%
66%
Learning and Development is one of the most important aspect to find out the employee
engagement in the organization. 66% have agreed that they get the opportunity to learn and grow
in the organization while 21% of them have strongly agreed on it. 8% of the employee have not
given any reply and 5% were disagree.
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Q8 Are the pay and benefits in your organization comparable to similar companies?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q8
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0% 3%
16%
39%
42%
42% of the sample is satisfied with pay and packages of their organization while 32% are
highly satisfied with it. 16% disagree on the competitive pay and benefit packages.
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Q9 Are job promotions in this organization fair and objective?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q9
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
3% 3%
13%
31%
50%
Half the percentage (50%) of the employees believe that the promotions are done objectively,
31% strongly agree to the fairness of the same while 13% doubt the fairness and objectivity of
the process.
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Q10. Are organization policies clearly communicated in the organization?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Analysis:
Q10
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
0% 0%
11%
42%
47%
47% of the sample has agreed to be clear on the policies that prevail in their respective
organizations. A good proportion of 42% strongly agreed on the clarity while only 11% reported
ambiguity on the policies.
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CHAPTER NO. 5
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. As contrary to what managers believe that decision making is the most effective tool, the
employees still prefer rewards and recognition. The Managers should focus on the
rewards and recognition schemes in their organization.
2. Practically people don’t give much importance to stress management programs, work life
balance and retirement plans so there is scope of improvement in this area.
3. To increase employee engagement, the organizations should :
a. Provide variety: Tedious, repetitive tasks can cause burn out and boredom over
time. If the job requires repetitive tasks, look for ways to introduce variety by
rotating duties, areas of responsibility, delivery of service etc.
b. Conduct periodic meetings with employees to communicate good news,
challenges and easy-to-understand company financial information. Managers and
supervisors should be comfortable communicating with their staff, and able to
give and receive constructive feedback.
c. Indulge in employee deployment if he feels he is not on the right job. Provide an
open environment.
d. Communicate openly and clearly about what's expected of employees at every
level - your vision, priorities, success measures, etc.
e. Get to know employees' interests, goals, stressors, etc. Show an interest in their
well-being and do what it takes enable them to feel more fulfilled and better
balanced in work and life.
f. Celebrate individual, team and organizational successes. Catch employees doing
something right, and say "Thank you."
4. As we have got a very good response from employees so the companies should have the
engagement strategies to retain the employees.
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CHAPTER NO. 6
CONCLUSION
Employee retention continues to remain a top priority at many organizations and one that
companies increasingly view as a driver of business strategy. Business-critical knowledge can
walk out the door when an employee leaves the company. While employee retention figures have
long been used by companies as a measure of their performance in developing an effective
organization, this view of employee retention is not only outdated, but these figures may not be
comprehensive enough to truly determine the organization's effectiveness.
The concept of employee retention is more complex than simply evaluating employee turnover
from one year to the next. These figures of employee retention can be somewhat misleading — it
isn't necessarily the number of employees an organization loses, it's the number of topperforming employees that leave the company that should be of concern. For example,
management is one of the key reasons employees decide to stay or leave an organization. If there
is high turnover among the management ranks, employees may also feel unstable in this everchanging environment. Yet, on the other hand, it may not be the best business strategy to retain a
manager that is disliked by employees.
The business strategy of employee retention actually lies with employee engagement; retention is
an outcome of engagement. What most organizations fail to realize is that employee engagement
is the biggest retention factor they have control over. Engaged employees not only stay longer
with the organization, they are more productive, more conscientious, make fewer errors, and take
better care of customers. The business strategy of employee retention must incorporate methods
that achieve a high level of employee engagement among the organization's top performers, not
necessarily the entire workforce.
If effective engagement practices are in place, the organizations can curb the growing attrition
rates especially in IT and Banking sectors. Thus the research study proves the significance of
engagement activities as a part of retention strategy in an organization.
61
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES
ORGANIZATION
NAME
DESIGNATION
EMAIL ID
Q 1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?
a) Strongly Agree
e)
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
Q 2. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 3. In the last three months, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 4. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
62
e) Not Applicable
Q 5. At work, do your opinions seem to count?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 6. Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 7. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 8. Are the pay and benefits in your organization comparable to similar companies?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 9. Are job promotions in this organization fair and objective?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
Q 10. Are organization policies clearly communicated in the organization?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
e) Not Applicable
63
REFERENCES
http://bw.businessworld.in/
http://www.bayt.com/
http://www.thcu.ca/workplace/
http://projects99.com
“THANK YOU”
SSDN
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