Personnel management of the organization
In modern realities, the importance of managing the involvement of the organization’s personnel in the labor process is increasing. In conditions of fierce competition, there is a need for employees who effectively cope with assigned tasks, quickly respond to changes, and show responsibility and initiative. Business entities feel the need for employees involved in the labor process who are interested in its success. Over the past years, the definition of employee engagement has gained popularity in various fields: management, human resource management, psychology, sociology, consulting and others.
Employee engagement is considered the highest manifestation of an employee's involvement in the work of the organization. Involvement is the attitude of an employee towards the organization, its management, working conditions and responsibilities, in which he shows an informal interest in the success of the organization and tries to fulfill his duties, exceeding the standards established in it [1].
The involvement of personnel in the work process of an organization in modern realities is one of the most pressing problems in the field of personnel management. This is due to the increasing degree of dependence of the organization on the human factor, since organizations are focused on quality rather than quantity of products and human resource management functions are becoming increasingly important. Human capital in the modern world has become a key factor determining the competitive advantage of business entities.
A small number of scientists deal with the problems of managing personnel involvement in the work process. This is because engagement is not a subject of active research. Various aspects of this problem have been studied by domestic and foreign scientists: O. Vedernikova, V. M. Masilova, G. Jordan, W. Maloney, W. Kahn, E. Thomas, B. Robert, D. Frank, P. Finnegan, R. Taylor others [2‑7]. The works of these scientists highlight the theoretical aspects of personnel involvement in the work process of an organization, but so far the studies have not provided comprehensive answers to pressing questions of the formation and management of personnel involvement in organizations and the stages of this process have not been clearly defined.
The main goal of the study is to study the theoretical foundations and analyze the practical aspects of managing personnel involvement in the work process of an organization and, on this basis, develop recommendations for improving this process in an organization’s environment.
The need to achieve this goal led to the solution of the following tasks:
personnel engagementas an object of scientific research.
Object of study: the process of managing personnel involvement in the organization’s labor process.
Subject of research:: theoretical foundations and practical aspects of managing personnel involvement in the organization’s labor process.
The methodological and theoretical basis of the study was formed by the works of domestic and foreign authors in the field of theory and practice of personnel management. The information base for the research was the reporting and statistical data of the organization and Internet resources. The information obtained during the study was processed using modern information technologies.
The lack of a universal definition of engagement is a major problem. In the scientific works of domestic and foreign authors, several definitions that are similar in meaning are used, such as satisfaction
, loyalty
and staff motivation
. However, the value of engagement in enhancing organizational performance necessitates a deeper understanding of the concept and the factors that drive it.
Satisfaction directly demonstrates the employee's attitude towards the organization. Job satisfaction consists of two parts. The first part is related to satisfaction with the main characteristics of work in the organization: like the team, the content of the work, the level of motivation, the complexity of the tasks being solved. The second part relates to satisfaction with the internal processes of the organization: these are all personnel management processes (selection, hiring and adaptation of personnel; reward system; development and training; motivation; control), the corporate culture of the organization, communication processes. Consequently, the employee is satisfied with what he gets
from his employer, which implies his desire to perform his duties and responsibilities to a high level.
Personnel loyalty is a conscious system of behavior of personnel and their activities, characterizing a positive attitude towards the organization and its management, the strategy of its activities, as well as the desire of employees to work to achieve not only its stable state, but also the realization of its goals.
Most often, in the context of management theories, it is customary to talk about motivation as the act or process of motivation
‑ external motivation. But engagement theory refers to a different meaning of motivation: the conditions under which intrinsic motivation occurs. Motivation, as the desire to make every possible effort, must arise from within, and not from external pressure (positive or negative), and not under the control of management.
Let's imagine in Fig. 1 diagram of the evolution of HR research in the aspect of engagement management [8].
Figure 1 – Evolution of HR research in terms of employee engagement management
The main difference between satisfaction
and engagement
is whether the employee is willing to go beyond the boundaries of his usual activities in order for the task to be completed better. Involvement
and satisfaction
are interdependent phenomena, the evaluation criteria of which largely overlap and coincide. However, engagement is not a predictor of satisfaction. A much more significant fact is that, unlike satisfaction, engagement has a direct impact on the financial and economic performance of the organization when the employee perceives the goals and objectives of the organization as his own.
A high level of involvement is a state of a person in which there is internal motivation to devote himself entirely to work or actions in the interests of the organization. In this state, the employee takes initiative and mobilizes all his capabilities and hidden reserves to achieve the goal.
The concept of work engagement was first defined by William Kahn. Under this phenomenon, W. Kahn reveals the concept as a process of employees mastering their work roles through the prism of personnel aspects. The physical aspect of employee engagement refers to the physical energy that employees put into performing their roles. The cognitive aspect of engagement concerns employees' beliefs about the organization, its leaders (supervisors) and working conditions. The emotional dimension concerns how employees think about each of these three factors and whether they have a positive or negative attitude towards the organization and its leaders [5, ñ.132].
Today, there are many definitions of employee engagement
. Let's consider the main approaches to defining the concept of employee engagement in an organization (Table 1).
Table 1 – Main approaches to defining the concept of involvement organization personnel
| Author | Definition of the concept |
| O. Vedernikova [2]. | Engagement is an increased emotional connection to the organization, which is expressed in the need to be part of the organization, employees putting extra effort into working on their own initiative, and positive feedback from employees. |
| V. M. Masilova [3]. | Involvement is a person’s motivation to work, which is the resulting system of internal motivating elements, such as needs, interests, value guidelines, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, external environmental factors reflected and recorded by a person’s consciousness. |
| G. Jordan, W. Maloney [4]. | Employee engagement is expressed through emotional and intellectual commitment to the organization. |
| W. Kahn [5]. | Engagement is directed and organized participation in which employees are involved in the work process with signs of self-expression physically, cognitively, emotionally and mentally. |
| E. Thomas, B. Robert, M. Daniel [6]. | Employee engagement is defined in terms of the employee's positive attitude towards the organization and the level of importance of the organization's perception of the employee. |
| D. Frank, P. Finnegan, R. Taylor [7]. | Employee engagement is defined from an economic perspective—the contribution and investment model—that is, the amount of effort employees put into doing their jobs. |
Having analyzed the main approaches to the concept of personnel engagement,
it should be noted that over time, the concept has been interpreted in different directions by different authors. Foreign authors focus more on the fact that this is an emotional commitment to the organization, and domestic authors focus on the motivating aspect. Involvement is inextricably linked with motivation, that is, the process of inducing activity aimed at forming motives for work behavior under the influence of a complex of external and internal factors [9].
Analysis of the definitions allowed us to formulate a personal subjective approach to the formulation: staff involvement ‑ understanding the significance of one’s contribution to the activities and development of the organization, accepting its goals and mission, striving to grow with the organization through initiative and innovation. Thus, it turns out that the personnel involved in the labor process:
Managing the involvement of the organization's personnel is the process of influencing the emotional connection between the employer and the employee, which is expressed in the employee's need to be part of the organization, and the application of additional efforts by him on his own initiative. The state of staff engagement is a complex formation mechanism in which four groups of different factors can be distinguished, the so‑called drivers
of engagement, through which one can form and influence the level and nature of engagement: emotions, meanings, actions, vision (Fig. 2) [10].
Figure 2 – Drivers of employee engagement (animation: 5 frames, 5 loops, 95.52 kilobytes)
(xi – input signals, yi – bites of state code, zi – output signals)
With the help of these drivers, and by monitoring the corresponding indicators of personnel involvement, it is possible to influence labor productivity and efficiency, the level of service delivery, staff turnover, as well as other organizational processes related to personnel activities. It is advisable to form the involvement of personnel in the process of joint activities of the organization at moments of significant change. Engagement is an important factor in successfully achieving collaborative results.
A culture of employee engagement is impossible without a modern organizational structure, where the most important principle is teamwork. The modern culture of employee engagement is based on the principle of self‑organization of employees who have internal motivation and self‑discipline. To increase staff involvement, the organization’s personnel policy is also important: its components such as the personnel selection system and the motivation system have the greatest impact. A reasonable prospect of income growth and a clear system for calculating bonuses and bonuses, combined with an excellent working atmosphere, can effectively motivate employees. Living conditions, work organization and other factors (work‑life balance, work safety) are considered basic.
Strategy, mission, vision and values give employees' work meaning and focus on achieving results in the process of employee engagement. The traditions of the organization, personal example of management, awareness of the affairs of the organization, prospects and achievements have a significant influence. Staff engagement is negatively affected by the lack of strategy and clear goals, the presence of double standards, and discrepancies between the words and deeds of management.
The stages of managing the involvement of an organization's personnel, including the research function, can be presented in Fig. 3 [11]
Figure 3 – Stages of employee engagement management (animation: 7 frames, 5 loops, 69 kilobytes)
(xi – input signals, yi – bites of state code, zi – output signals)
The implementation of this action plan to increase the influence of significant factors of employee engagement will increase the percentage of employees’ involvement in work activities. Employee engagement cannot be at the same level, since everyone perceives the goals and objectives of the organization differently and is characterized by their level of competence.
Involving staff in solving corporate problems begins with fully informing employees about these tasks and realizing that they are understandable. At the stage of support and acceptance of corporate tasks, it is necessary to ensure the support of employees by getting them interested and showing them various benefits. The first three levels of engagement discussed are aimed at working with all employees. Those employees who show higher engagement can already be considered as the organization’s talent pool. The fourth level of involvement involves not only knowledge, understanding and support of corporate objectives, but also their active promotion and attraction of supporters. The maximum level of involvement is characterized by participation in the development of corporate tasks [12]
Senior management in an organization with high levels of employee engagement exemplify commitment to their organization and their employees. Managers are interested in the well‑being of their staff, job prospects and career opportunities. Employee loyalty to the organization is increased through the creation and development of information channels about goals, plans and objectives for the near future and for the future.
Organizations that are the best employers for their employees focus on talent development as seriously as any other investment opportunity. High levels of employee engagement are characteristic of organizations that create conditions for employees to feel their personal contribution and personal responsibility for achieving success. The source of increased labor productivity is the personnel involved in the work. The involvement of each individual employee in the work process is individual and contributes to the development of effective tools in the organization’s personnel management policy.
Based on a generalization of a number of definitions from various authors, the following concept of personnel involvement was formulated. Personnel involvement is a long‑term emotional state that characterizes the degree to which an employee’s values coincide with the values of the organization and reflects the employee’s willingness to devote his personal time to activities in the interests of the organization, to voluntarily take initiative and make additional efforts to achieve the goals of a business entity.
During the study of the mechanism of formation of personnel involvement, four drivers were identified: emotions, meaning, action, vision. With their help, you can influence labor productivity and efficiency, the level of service delivery, staff turnover, as well as other organizational processes related to personnel activities.
The study of the staff engagement management process revealed seven stages: preparatory (defining goals, parameters and directions of staff engagement), organizing work, analyzing data and assessing the level of engagement, developing activities, implementing activities, assessing effectiveness, monitoring the state of staff engagement during the implementation of activities. The implementation of this action plan to increase the influence of significant factors of employee engagement will increase the percentage of employees’ involvement in work activities.
At the time of writing this abstract, the master's thesis has not yet been completed. Final completion: June 2024. The full text of the work and materials on the topic can be obtained from the author or his supervisor after the specified date.
Methodology for calculating the personnel engagement index[Electronic resource] / E. A. Skriptunova // Human Potential Management. – 2010. – No. 2. – P. 97–109. – URL: http://www.axima-consult.ru/stati-04-10-metod-raschet-indeksa-vovl-personala.html.