Predictors of employee engagement in public & private insurance companies.
| Author | Rawal, Sugandh |
| Position | Report - Statistical data |
It has been observed that if a manager totally ignored employees, 40 % of them will be actively disengaged in their jobs. If a manager focuses on employees' weaknesses, 20 % will be disengaged. Only 1 % of workers will be disengaged if the boss focuses on employees' strengths. The Indian insurance industry is in a booming phase. There is greater exposure to employees in terms of monetary and non-monetary benefits. The results of logistic regression signified that team coordination, organizational support and working environment are better in public sector insurance companies, whereas the in the private sector only procedural justice is better.
Introduction
According to surveys, Indian employees are found more engaged with 46 percent of fully engaged to global average of 34 percent. However 54% of Indian employees are not satisfied with their jobs and HR professionals are required to take proactive steps. In the developing economies the war for talent is high and loyalty to stay is low. The engagement data indicates that employees may be attracted to work for a company with a strong reputation, but high turnover risks still apply as these same employees may go to a competitor for more pay, better benefits, and career advancement as soon as the opportunity is presented. The evidences of employee disengagement are salaries, work ethics, manager self-efficacy and rules and procedures followed in organizations. If a manager totally ignored employees, 40 % of them will be actively disengaged in their jobs. If a manager focuses on employees' weaknesses, 20 % will be disengaged. Only 1 % of workers will be disengaged if the boss focuses on employees' strengths. It means positive mentoring helps in increasing the productivity (Sange & Srivasatava, 2012). It's not only the work culture that brings the engagement but irresistible organizations are needed. The irresistible organizations are characterized by five elements i.e. meaningful work, great management, growth opportunities, flexible environment, and inspirational leadership.
In this age of information and uncertainty, more and more people have started recognizing the importance of insurance. The insurance industry has witnessed many spectacular changes in terms of advancement in technology, strengthening of the existing customer base and acquiring new customers. The Indian insurance industry is in a booming phase. In the post-liberalization phase, due to the opening up of industry for private players, there is greater exposure to employees in terms of monetary and non-monetary benefits which engage them in the organization. The foremost challenge before the insurance companies is the attraction and retention of customers as well as engaging employees to its various policies. This has forced the companies to rethink on their customer service strategy by adopting an employee-centric approach. From the service profit chain perspective, employee engagement is recognized to be an important determinant of customer retention and ultimately the success of service organization. In addition, for capturing customer feedback in the insurance industry, organizations should also be proactive in gathering employee feedback.
The employee engagement is important for the performance improvement. Gallup research shows that well-managed workgroups are more profitable (44 percent higher), more productive (50 percent higher) and have higher degrees of customer loyalty (50 percent higher). While Corporate Leadership Council (2004) states that by increasing employees' engagement levels, organizations can expect an increase in performance of up to 20 percentile points and 87% reduction in employees' probability of departure. The highly engaged employees outperform the average ones by two deciles and are dramatically less likely to leave the organization.
Employee Engagement Predictors
Employee engagement is an emotional bond between the employer and the employee, along with the common financial incentives like increments, bonuses and other prerequisites. A conducive atmosphere in the organization also raises the employee to the level of an engaged employee. Engaged workers are considered important as they deliver better performance. The engagement is a psychological and behavioral outcome that leads to better employee performance. The six categories of work experience that must be considered by the employers are work people do, people they work with, opportunities, total rewards, company practices and general quality of life. These drivers were found helpful in understanding the needs of their employees and focus on the specific areas of improvement to improve the business results (Aon Hewitt, 2013). The engaged employees are fully equipped with joy, enthusiasm and zeal. Because they have quick accessibility to resources, healthy environment and positive energies surround them.
Previous studies have proved that engagement is directly related to the performance. The individual attitude and behavior is shaped by the policies, procedures. perception of justice and others. The fairness and favorable elements like polices have positive bearing on employee engagement. The procedural justice explains better organization behavior because justice beliefs are better at representing the view of the organization values (Moorman et al., 1993). Other drivers like working environment have a direct effect on the employees' wellbeing. Physical demands and work conditions lead workers to perform tasks and are likely to be associated with the engagement. Rewards, interpersonal relations, security and accessibility increase the engagement level (Kahn, 1990). Karyn Greengrove (2008) also includes building a positive environment and trust. Trust helps in building collaborative work environment and resonating leadership style results in employee engagement. Recruitment strategies such as flexible work environment, career development, recognition, workplace autonomy, adequate resources, and work life balance are keys for engagement drivers. Interpersonal relations help the employees in development of new skills. Supportive environment and healthy relations help in increasing the learning ability of an individual. They play a crucial role in developing a work culture suited to meet the individual's objectives. While Greenberg Margaret & Arakawa Dana (2006) reported that the team influences an employee performance and interpersonal relations indicate higher project performance and increased engagement level. Engagement level has been measured in terms of job engagement and organizational engagement. Job engagement and organizational engagement increase due to support from the organization. Job characteristics like challenging work, variety in job and autonomy build job engagement. And organizational engagement increases due to the higher procedural justice i.e. perception of fairness at work (Saks, 2006). Shuck et al. (2011) suggested that when employees perceived their managers as supportive, they felt as if they contributed to their place of work, and experienced an appropriate level of challenge in their work; they were more likely to engage.
Brunetto Yvonne et al. (2011) compared the relationship among private and public sector nurses using a survey in 2008. The supervisor-subordinate relations...
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