Employee Engagement in Paediatric Associates - Case Study Example

Case Study – Paediatric Associates A: OVERVIEW Importance of employee engagement for organisational performance in the 21st century There is a consensus among academicians and business leaders that employee engagement is one of the most important drivers of organisational performance in the current times. For example, Markos and Sridevi (2010, p. 90) observe that currently, organisations are driven by the need to outperform their competitors. As a result of the growing need to beat the competition, organisations are obliged to use every resource that is at their disposal to improve their performance in the market. It is also observed that the occurrence of constant changes in the business environment is another important factor that makes it necessary for businesses to improve their performance (Markos & Sridevi 2010, p. 93). Thus, the need to adapt to changes in the business environment and beat the competition are the main factors that make it necessary for businesses to improve their performance on a constant basis. Employees play a central role in determining the performance of organisations (Harvard Business Review Analytic Services 2013, p. 3). It is based on how employees perform their duties that the overall performance of any organisation can be determined. If employees fail to perform the tasks assigned to them to the expected level, it is obvious that the overall performance of the organisation in question will be compromised (Markos & Sridevi 2010, p. 92). Hence, it is based on the complex relationship between the way employees carry out their tasks and the performance of organisations that the importance of employee engagement arises. Interestingly, companies are now using their human resource function as a source of competitive advantage. The reasons for this approach are varied. However, the basic argument is that when the employees of an organisation are engaged, the organisation as well as the employees benefit over the long-term. In other words, it is clear that employee engagement is beneficial to the employees as well as the organisation. One of the ways in which employee engagement is beneficial to the employees relates to the productivity of the employees. In general, employee engagement helps to improve the level of productivity of the employees. Employees who are engaged in their work tend to take their duties more seriously and enthusiastically than those who are not engaged (Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 2013, p. 3). When employees are motivated to carry out their duties and help an organisation succeed, they tend to perform better than it is the case when they are less engaged in their work. Therefore, organisations are keen to take advantage of the relationship between employee engagement and employee performance. Moreover, employees who are engaged tend to remain within the organisation for a long time (Markos & Sridevi, 2010, p. 91). When employees are engaged, they are willing to remain loyal to an organisation and are less likely to be interested in changing jobs. Thus, it appears that organisations are keen to retain their employees who perform well by making sure that they are engaged. The bottom-line of the relationship between employee engagement and organisational performance is that employees who are engaged tend to love their organisations more and perform better than those who are not engaged. On the other hand, employee disengagement is characterised by employees who do not love their organisations and are not willing to put in more effort to make their organisations succeed. Also, whereas employee engagement benefits the employees as well as the organisation, employee disengagement is harmful to the employees and the organisation. Disengaged employees are likely to be less motivated. Moreover, their poor performance is likely to undermine the overall performance of their organisations. Therefore, in the current times, organisations are keen to avoid the negative effects of employee disengagement as much as they are keen to benefit from the relationship between employee engagement and employee performance. The need for high levels of employee engagement within Paediatric Associates From the facts presented in the case, it is clear that there is a need for employee engagement within Paediatric Associates. There are several reasons for this. In the first place, employee engagement is critical for the success of the business, given the nature of its services. Paediatrics Associates is now an international line of clinics that specialise in tackling obesity among children. The company depends on the professionalism of its medical and non-medical staff members. Given that the organisation works in the healthcare industry, its success depends on how well its employees perform their duties. On the other hand, incidents of unprofessional conduct among its employees may seriously damage its reputation. Therefore, for the company to succeed, it is necessary for its employees to be fully engaged in their work. The second reason as to why there is a need for employee engagement at Paediatrics Associates relates to the current financial performance of the organisation. It has been pointed out that the company is already losing money as a result of a decline in the productivity of its employees. In theory, it is observed that when employees are disengaged, they tend to perform much less than it is the case when they are engaged (Saunders & Tiwari 2014, p. 45). Thus, it can be deduced that employee disengagement is a precursor of an overall decline in the financial performance and productivity of an organisation. In this case, Paediatric Associates has been performing poorly financially over the last few years. The poor performance of the organisation can be traced to various factors such as a high rate of employee turnover and lack of dedication. Given that these factors are symptomatic of employee disengagement, it can be pointed out that Paediatric Associates is in a dire need of employee engagement. The third point is that the company is planning to expand to other countries in the world, in a bid to become a truly global brand. However, for the company to achieve this objective, it will heavily depend on a workforce of highly competent and motivated professionals. It is necessary for the organisation to have in place such a workforce for it to deliver to the expectations of its clients. Having in place a team of highly engaged professionals will therefore go a long way in helping the company achieve its dream. B: CRITICAL EVALUATION How the senior management team approaches employee engagement The way the senior management team at Paediatric Associates approaches employee engagement can be analysed by evaluating various aspects of the approach that the organisation takes. First, it is clear that the senior management team does not provide all the resources that the employees need to deliver in their duties. The organisation lacks the funds needed to expand its team of professional medics and support staff members in tandem with its global expansion goals. Because of the lack of funds, the organisation cannot recruit all the professionals that it needs to sustain its operations at the global scale. Lack of sufficient resources has been identified as one of the main factors that drive employee disengagement within organisations (Byrne 2014, p. 89). On the other hand, employees tend to perform better and show commitment towards their work and organisations when they have all the resources that they need to do their jobs effectively. Also, organisations can build highly effective teams of employees when they have the capacity to attract and retain leading talents in all the required fields (Byrne 2014, p. 90). In the case study, the employees of Paediatrics Associates are disengaged because they are few and the organisation lacks the resources that it requires to build a successful team of professionals to handle the anticipated demand for its services at the global level. The second important aspect of the manner in which the senior management team of Paediatrics Associates handles the employees at the organisation relates to the state of the relationship between the employees and the members of the management team. It is stated that when members of the management team of an organisation build and maintain healthy relationships with their employees, they can successfully connect with the organisation and show a high level of commitment (Branham 2012, p. 4). However, in the case study, it appears that all the senior managers of Paediatrics Associates have neglected the actual needs of their employees. Also, it appears that the senior management team members of the organisation are not able to build a friendly environment at the place of work, given the demands that they make on their juniors. In other words, the work environment at Paediatric Associates is toxic, given the tense relationship between the senior management team members and the other employees of the organisation. Summary of the challenges that they are facing In summary, the company is facing three sets of challenges related to the manner in which its senior management team members handle its employees. The first challenge relates to the high rate of employee turnover and absenteeism that the company is facing. In theory, a high rate of employee turnover is an important indicator of poor levels of commitment among the employees (Saunders & Tiwari 2014, p. 46). Specifically, it is clear that the perennial absenteeism among the employees is an indication of the general feeling that the employees have towards the organisation. Similarly, the high rate of employee turnover at the organisation is an indication that the employees at the hospital are disengaged. Secondly, the manner in which the management team at Paediatrics Associates is treating its employees has resulted into poor performance within the organisation. Organisational performance is normally tied to the individual performance of the employees (Branham 2012, p. 4). When employees are productive as individuals, their cumulative productivity boosts the overall performance of the organisation. On the other hand, individual failure of employees normally leads to the failure of the entire organisation. Therefore, as a result of the manner in which the organisation is treating its employees, the employees are performing poorly. The low levels of productivity of the employees undermine the capacity of the organisation to achieve its desired results. The third consequence of the manner in which the senior managers at the hospital are treating employees relates to the capacity of the employees to handle the growing workload at the organisation. From the facts presented in the case, Paediatric Associates is poised to expand internationally. However, the hospital does not have a good number of professionals to handle the workload that is expected when the company expands into many other countries. This is a direct consequence of the fact that the senior management team members of the organisation have failed to take care of their employees. As a result, the employees are not loyal to the organisation. Consequences of failing to take action If the management of Paediatric Associates fails to take action to address the challenges that the organisation is facing, they are likely to face various consequences. Here are some of the consequences that the organisation can face as a result of inaction on the part of the managers. First, the organisation will suffer more financial losses. Currently, it is stated that the organisation is losing money as a result of poor productivity among its workers. Some of the workers fail to perform their duties as is expected of them and this is affecting the financial performance of the company. It has been established that the financial performance of an organisation is tied to the performance of its individual employees. In the case study, Paediatric Associates is losing money because some of its employees are performing poorly. Therefore, if the senior management team fails to address the issue of employee engagement, the company is likely to suffer more losses. Moreover, inaction on the part of the senior management team will lead to poor service delivery. Presently, the quality of the services offered at the hospital has drastically declined because the employees are disengaged. Lack of morale, commitment and enthusiasm for work are clear indicators of employee disengagement. If the situation at Paediatric Associates persists, it is likely that the global expansion plans of the company will be jeopardised. The organisation will not manage to expand into different countries when it cannot build and sustain a compelling service offering in the three countries in which it is already present. C: RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Paediatric Associates should drop its global expansion plans and concentrate on addressing the employee engagement-related challenges that it faces now. 2. The senior management team of the organisation should revise their approach towards managing human resource management and prioritise employee engagement over the pursuit for profits. 3. The organisation should urgently recruit highly qualified professionals to replace the professionals who have left the company in the recent past. References Branham, L 2012, The 7 hidden reasons employees leave: how to recognise the subtle signs and act before it is too late, AMACOM, New York. Byrne, ZS 2014, Understanding employee engagement: theory, research and practice, Routledge, London. Harvard Business Review Analytic Services 2013, The impact of employee engagement on performance. A Report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/resources/pdfs/comm/achievers/hbr_achievers_report_sep13.pdf Markos, S & Sridevi, SM 2010, ‘Employee engagement: the key to improving performance.’ International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 5, no. 12, pp. 89-96, viewed 29 March 2017, . Saunders, L & Tiwari, D 2014, ‘Employee engagement and disengagement: causes and benefits,’ The International Journal of Business & Management, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 44-52, viewed 30th March 2017, . Read More