Employee Participation and Employee Engagement Strategy
Employee participation
Participation of employees in various decision making ventures can be achieved through a variety of means. The ownership of Melrose Hotels, PLC must involve their employees in crucial aspects of the business to achieve greater efficiency. For employees to participate effectively, they must be adequately empowered. Empowering the employees will involve recognition by the management of the Melrose Hotels, PLC that employees are in better position to oversee their work processes and duties. Without proper training employees can rarely manage themselves and participate effectively in decision making for the company. It is only after educating and informing employees on problem solving strategies that the management will transfer decision making authority to them ( Cook, 2008).
Employees’ participation involves Melrose Hotels, PLC actively encouraging its staff to help in improving and running business operations and processes. It involves recognizing the input and opinions of individual employees as well as understanding their unique management views. Soliciting the participation of employees may be achieved in different ways. For instance, the Melrose Hotels, PLC can ask its employees to give out their suggestions regarding the solutions to obstacles through a suggestion box. These suggestions should be subjected to review and then addresses at monthly meetings. Employees whose suggestions are executed should receive rewards from the management of Melrose Hotels, PLC. Employees must be allowed and encouraged to freely speak about their problems. This is the only way they will provide ideas on the ways of solving the problems ( Allen, 2015).
Employee Engagement Strategy
There are three types of employee engagement strategies. These are affinity, affiliation, and autonomy.
Affinity
Belief in something is a basic human need. If employees do not believe in their work, they will only put their feet and hands on their work rather than their hearts and minds. Melrose Hotels, PLC must realize that employees who will not find affinity at their places of work will solicit for it at home. This affinity that is portrayed elsewhere away from work tends to divert employees’ commitment from work. Apparently, organizations that do not have affinity engagement with their employees are normally outperformed by those that have. Melrose Hotels, PLC should be alive to the fact that employees have less enthusiasm about their jobs ( Wolf, 2011). However, Melrose Hotels, PLC can engage it employees by challenging them to get involved sensible causes with good rational pursuits ( Hughes & Rog, 2008). The best way to create affinity among employees of Melrose Hotels, PLC is to humanize them. Much focus must be directed towards human needs in place of organizational greed. Therefore, any effort by Melrose Hotels, PLC to purse humanistic or altruistic reasons must be focused towards winning over the hearts and minds of their employees who might be reluctant ( Georgiades, 2015).
Melrose Hotels, PLC should ensure that its employees not only participate in its activities but also belong to it. If it will not offer its employees affiliation, they will be forced to look for it elsewhere (Bhatnagar, 2007). On the other hand, if they are sufficiently facilitated, they will be able to pour a lot of their efforts towards the improvement of their performance. Otherwise they will look for other avenues to such as community, charity or churches to give their affiliations ( Singh & Kumar, 2011). There is a strong affiliation and it offers employees with an opportunity to fulfill the need of giving back to the community. When improvement efforts are enhanced a sense of affiliation may be provided. Strategies that will be useful in creating affiliation require right public relations and structure. Public relations should create belonging as structure facilitates participation ( Walker, 2011).
Autonomy
Autonomy does not imply absolute freedom for one to do whatever they please. People like to support what they took part in creating. This therefore put much emphasis in giving workers more power to participate in opportunities that give them a sense of belonging ( Saks, 2006). By allowing employees to create such opportunities, Melrose Hotels, PLC will realize that it gives a sense of fulfillment, ownership and pride. This will motivate their creativity. This can be accomplished by just allowing a committee or a team to design itself. It can be achieved within strategic limits and can also be reduced through a series of choices that are pre designed. If autonomy strategy is successfully utilized by the Melrose Hotels, PLC, affinity and affiliation strategies will be automatically utilized (Russell & Russell, 2010).
Appendix for Employee Participation & Trade Union
References
Allen, M. (2015). Strategic communication for sustainable organizations : theory and practice. Springer: Cham .
Bhatnagar, J. (2007). Talent management strategy of employee engagement in Indian ITES employees: key to retention. Employee Relations, 29.6, 640 - 663.
Cook, S. (2008). The essential guide to employee engagement : better business performance through staff satisfaction. Kogan Page: London ; Philadelphia.
Georgiades, S. (2015). Employee engagement in media management : creativeness and organizational development. Cham, Switzerland : Springer.
Hughes, J. C., & Rog, E. (2008). Talent management: A strategy for improving employee recruitment, retention and engagement within hospitality organizations. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20.7, 743 - 757.
Russell, L., & Russell, J. (2010). Engage your workforce. [Alexandria, Va.] : American Society for Training & Development.
Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21.7, 600 - 619.
Singh, P. N., & Kumar, N. (2011). Employee relations management. New Delhi : Pearson Education South Asia : Dorling Kindersley.
Walker, S. (2011). Employee engagement and communication research : measurement, strategy, and action. Philadelphia, Pa.: Kogan Page.
Wolf, J. A. (2011). Organization development in healthcare : conversations on research and strategies. Bingley : Emerald Group.
