Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue in support of a model that shows how four key HRM practices focused on engagement influence organizational climate, job demands and job resources, the psychological experiences of safety, meaningfulness and availability at work, employee engagement, and individual, group and organizational performance and competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual review focuses on the research evidence showing interrelationships between organizational context factors, job factors, individual employee psychological and motivational factors, employee outcomes, organizational outcomes and competitive advantage. The proposed model integrates frameworks that have previously run independently in the HR and engagement literatures. Findings – The authors conclude that HRM practitioners need to move beyond the routine administration of annual engagement surveys and need to embed engagement in HRM policies and practices such personnel selection, socialization, performance management, and training and development. Practical implications – The authors offer organizations clear guidelines for how HR practices (i.e. selection, socialization, performance management, training) can be used to facilitate and improve employee engagement and result in positive outcomes that will help organizations achieve a competitive advantage. Originality/value – The authors provide useful new insights for researchers and management professionals wishing to embed engagement within the fabric of HRM policies and practices and employee behaviour, and organizational outcomes.

Proud to Be a Public Servant? An Analysis of the Work-Related Determinants of Professional Pride among Dutch Public Servants

“…Studies focusing on work engagement and inherently pride showed that commitment with the organization, job satisfaction, and public service motivation are job attitudes which work in tandem to produce organizational outcomes (Albrecht et al, 2015;Perry & Vandenabeele, 2015). Lavigna (2015) argues that public organizations should recruit and retain employees who have a high degree of PSM and then build on that gene to drive high levels of engagement and inherently pride.…”

“…As mentioned in the introduction, while the JD-R model is focused on the work environment and work experience of employees, the HPWPS taxonomy is focused on concrete instruments. Albrecht et al (2015) theorized that a combination might have a positive effect on work engagement and inherently pride. Bakker and Demerouti (2014) argue that the effects of these determinants might depend on the specific occupation under consideration.…”

“…The HPWPs taxonomy makes a distinction between five key high-performance work practices (Albrecht et al, 2015;Boselie, 2005): (1) selective recruitment and selection, (2) employee benefits, (3) appraisal and performance management, (4) training and development, and (5) employee involvement and socialization. The approach builds on the notion that individual HPWPs can have a positive effect, but bundling these practices with each other will be even more successful (Boselie, 2005).…”

“…The JD-R model is aimed at the work environment and work experience of employees which are hard to influence by the organization. Recently, Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, and Saks (2015) therefore opted to extend the analysis by testing the influence of actual human resource management (HRM) instruments on indicators of engagement such as professional pride. Typical HRM instruments are the high-performance work practices (HPWPS) such as employee benefits and training (Boselie, 2005).…”

“…However, these scholars also show that employee benefits including job security and work-life balancing benefits do have a large significant effect on the motivation of public servants (Buelens & Van den Broeck, 2007;Houston, 2000). Whether these employee benefits and other HRM practices influence professional pride have barely been tested in the private sector, let alone in the public sector (Albrecht et al, 2015). In other words, HRM practices might be practical instruments through which HR directors can directly influence public servants' professional pride and even more important their performance.…”