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A PROJECT REPORT ON

“EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY”


AT

TATA REFRACTORIES LIMITED

SUBMITTED BY UNDER GUIDANCE OF


MS. SONIA SINGH MR. SHIVRAM SAHU

MBA [2008-10] GM [HR & ADMINISTRATION]

MS. SONIA MR. SHIVRAM SAHU


REGD. NO: -SINGH
0806247034 TATA REFRACTORIES LIMITED

MBA [2008-10] GM [HR & ADMINISTRATION]

REGD. NO: - 0806247034 TATA REFRACTORIES LIMITED

REGIONAL COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT


BHUBANESWAR
ARIEL VIEW OF TATA REFRACTORIES -MAIN WORKS
Corporate Guide
Certificate

This is to certify that this project report entitled “EMPLOYEE


ENGAGEMENT SURVEY”embodies the result of training work carried out by
MISS SONIA SINGH, student of M.B.A from REGIONAL COLLEGE OF
MANAGEMENT under Biju Pattanaik University of Technology. She has
undergone vocational training from 01/07/09 to 14/08/09 at TATA
REFRACTORIES LIMITED (TRL).

No part of this report has been submitted for any other degree or published
in any other form.

Mr. SHIVRAM SAHU


GENERAL MANAGER
HRM & ADMN.
Faculty Guide Certificate
It is certified that the project report entitled “EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT SURVEY” is a piece of summer internship programme
prepared by MISS SONIA SINGH, student of MBA, under my guidance &
supervision for partial fulfillment of MBA Curriculum of REGIONAL
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT under Biju Patnaik University of Technology.
Her research work was found to be very valuable to our organization.

We wish all the success in her future endeavors.

Mr. AMRESH CHANDRA NAYAK

SR. LECTURER (HR)

RCM
DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that this project report entitled “EMPLOYEE


ENGAGEMENT SURVEY” carried out at TATA REFRACTORIES LIMITED has been
prepared by me and is being submitted to Department of Business Administration
at REGIONAL COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT, Bhubaneswar under the esteemed
guidance of Mr. Shivram Sahu in the partial fulfillment of requirement of the
award of M.B.A.

All the particulars furnished in the project are true to the best of my
knowledge and belief. It has not been submitted by me in part or in full to any
other University/Institute.

SONIA SINGH

REG. NO.-0806247034

RCM, BBSR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is my proud privilege to express my deepest gratitude to a number of
helping hands for their indefatigable cooperation that enabled me to shape my
study. Indeed this page of acknowledgement shall never be able to touch the
horizon of generosity of those, who rendered help to me.
It’s my utmost pleasure to extend my sincere gratitude to TRL for offering
me an opportunity to undergo summer internship programme in this esteemed
organization.
I offer my sober and earnest regards to MR.D.BEHERA, GM (PR&HRD),
MR.SIBARAM SAHU, GM (HRM) & MR. K.V.R.RAO, my corporate guide for their
scholarly guidance& kind cooperation. Their keen interest and encouraging words
at every step were a source of inspiration that enabled me to broaden my sphere
of domain knowledge.
I am extremely grateful to MS. MOUSUMI PANDA & MR. AMRESH
CHANDRA NAYAK, Senior Faculty and Guide whose timely guidance and
illuminating suggestion inspired me in shaping the report in its existing form.
I acknowledge special thanks to all the employees and staff members of
different departments in TRL for their ready to help attitude and support
extended during the course of programme.
I am also grateful to my family and friends for their continuous
encouragement and appreciation which helped me in the successful completion
of this project.
This report is a reflection of the knowledge acquired by me during the
internship period.

SONIA SINGH
REG NO.0806247034
RCM, BHUBANESWAR
ABSTRACT

It will be appropriate to apprise to the reader that the cardinal objective of my


project is to carry out an extensive survey which will not only reinforce and
magnify the awareness level of “EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY” in TRL but
also help the Company to improve its overall efficacy of business. From the day on
which TRL witnessed my presence , till date I ceaselessly yet relentlessly kept on
imbibing and garnering the basics of employee engagement in different
departments of TRL like Basic, Dolomite , Finance, High Alumina, HRM , HRD etc.
Owing to the fact that before one sets out for the survey he/she should have a
thorough knowledge of the topic he/ she is assigned with , I as a survey person
spent my considerable time in knowing about the TRL’s Employee engagement
survey previously conducted by the company and company policies,vision,mission
etc. After being reasonably conversant with the employee name and departments
I slowly started the task of setting the ball of employee interaction rolling.
Employees’ interaction was in the shape of Questionnaire. I distributed the
questionnaire to each department and after three days I started collecting them.
Data analysis & interpretation was followed by Findings & Recommendations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

 OBJECTIVE
 SCOPE
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 SAMPLING PROCESS
 DATA COLLECTION
 METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 2 COMPANY PROFILE

CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 4 CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN TRL

CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7 FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATION

CHAPTER 8 INFERENCE

ANNEXURE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Human resource executives in India continue to struggle with talent management
issues, particularly retention. The quest to find the best way to retain employees has taken HR
pundits through concepts such as employee review, employee satisfaction and employee
delight. The latest idea is “Employee Engagement”, a concept that holds, that, it is the degree
to which an employee is emotionally bonded to his organization and passionate about his work
that really matters.
Engagement is about motivating employees to do their best. An engaged employee
gives his company his hundred percent. The quality of output and competitive advantage of a
company depends upon the quality of its people.
It has been proved that there is an intrinsic link between employee engagement,
customer loyalty and profitability.
When employees are effectively and positively engaged with their organization they
form an emotional connection with the company. This impacts their attitude towards the
company’s clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and service levels.
Most organizations realize today that a satisfied employee is not necessarily the best
employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an engaged employee who is
intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization, feels passionately about its goals
and is committed towards its values who can be termed thus. He goes the extra mile beyond
the basic job responsibility and is associated with the actions that drive the business. Moreover,
in times of diminishing loyalty, employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy. The fact
that it has a strong impact on the bottomline adds to its significance.
A successful employee engagement helps create a community at the workplace and not
just a workforce. As organizations globalise and become more dependent on technology in a
virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to
provide them with an organizational identity. Especially in Indian culture this becomes more
relevant given the community feeling which organization provide in our society.
There are a lot of HR things. They are called fads. Those are the bandwagons upon
which we hop. Perhaps its time to evaluate whether employee engagement is a fad or a new
knowledge domain for which HR executives can help make their companies a better place to
work.
OBJ
ECTIVES

To examine the strategies adopted and practices followed in TRL regarding employee
engagement system
To examine the importance given by employees to their work & the level of their
satisfaction.
To find out whether the changes in technology in TRL have been properly matched by
training & development of its manpower.
To study the effectiveness of free flow of information between the management and
the employees.
To examine the effects of work culture/environment and ethos in TRL on employees .
To find out whether the employees are being adequately compensated for their service
and labour.
To examine the quality of work-life of the employees in TRL.
To examine whether the welfare measures provided truly reflect the management’s
philosophy and policy.
To check whether the employee engagement survey outcome is being implemented or
not.
To suggest measures for improvement.

SCOPE
Embarking upon the scope of the project assigned to me I was first briefed by the (GM
HR) Mr. Shiv Ram Sahu on the day one and during that session a well planned agenda
was formulated.

It suggested that first I ought to observe every minute activity going in the TRL.
Following the above was the task to be aware about the structure, functioning and
products of the TRL.
After that I undertook the job of employee interaction- the most important part of
my project.
Employee interaction was in the form of questionnaire fill up.
Report generation was the ultimate ramification of the questionnaire administration
in the survey.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SOURCE
“Mr. Shivram Sahu” my respected external guide ,was the sole source of everything
which was important for my easier-said-than-done project to materialize .He guided my
footsteps whenever and wherever I stumbled on the way to my objective and not only this he
was also my torchbearer and gave me all the moral and material support.

Available with me was the employees’ database which was a reliable and authentic
source of employees address. And from those documents maintained by HR department I used
to distribute the questionnaire to the employees.

Primary data

It consisted of the first hand source of data collected through the questionnaires from the
respondents.

Secondary data

The theoretical foundation of the study is based on various secondary sources such as:

Annual Reports (2003-04 to 2007-08)


Magazines and Journals of TRL
Internet Books from the KNOWLEDGE CENTRE of TRL

METHODS
“SURVEY” as we know jolly well, is the keyword around which the whole magic of my
project revolves hence, this calls for the urgency of following the below mentioned steps
which can be considered as the methods I have followed in doing the survey.
The first and foremost thing that I did was the task of formulating a well framed
questionnaire which could aptly help me in eliciting the essential information from the
respondents.
The questionnaire was designed on a four point Likert scale where 1 represented low
extent and 4 represented very high extent.
Now I was equipped with the required weapon in the form of questionnaire and the
next step was to circulate the questionnaire to the employees which I did.
A sample size of 500 respondents were chosen out of 945 workmen.
The sampling type was a probability sampling based on systematic random sampling.
Altogether 500 questionnaires were distributed out of which 410 were usable.
The scores of individual items are summated to produce a total score for the
respondent. The higher the respondent’s score, the more favourable is the attitude.
After recollecting the questionnaire which was a very tough job to carry out I
interpreted it and jotted down the queries and complaints welling up in my mind.
customer

LIMITATIONS

As far as the LIMITATION of the project is concerned, I faced many a problem and
adversities in course of my project duration.

1. Because of the size of the organization, the population of employee was large.
Therefore it was very tough on my part to conduct the survey by going to them
personally.
2. The distance and the departments are more in number which took much of the time
and energy to visit each department which was the bottleneck of my project.
3. It was also very disappointing for me at times when the feedback given by the
employees were below expectation.
4. The lack of cooperation by the departmental heads to which the responsibility of
handling the questionnaire was given was one of the most important factor which
leaded to de motivation and exhortation.
5. Remaining away from the college was an agonizing limitation of my project work
because the requisite help, motivation and guidance were always absent.
CHAPTER 2- COMPANY PROFILE
COMPANY PROFILE
ORGANISATION DESCRIPTION:
The development of the Refractories industries in India and other parts of the globe is
inextricably linked with the growth of steel industries and Tata Refractories Limited (TRL)
played a vital role in it. To achieve the twin objectives of self reliance and development of
backward areas, TRL was setup in 1958 by Tata Steel and Didier-Werke AG at Belpahar in
Orissa.

With an annual capacity of 245,600 MT the company has also equity participation from
SAIL, the largest public sector steel producer of India. Its main Works is strategically located at
Belpahar, Jharsuguda dist. Orissa, which is nearer to major steel plants and some raw material
sources. TRL has also plants and operations in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and Karuppur (Salem,
Tamilnadu)and captive mines in Chhuinpali and Talbasta in Orissa. A new green field plant has
been setup in China to manufacture Magnesite based bricks. Also a new operation has come up
in Gujarat to manufacture High Alumina Castables and bauxite.

Refractories are used in all high temperature processes to protect the reactors and
personnel from the influence of heat and hot materials when processed. Thus Refractories are
critical consumables in metallurgical, other industries and industries where pyro processes are
involved.

TRL has today grown into the leading Refractories manufacturer in India meeting the
demands of sophisticated Refractories for the steel, glass, non- ferrous and petro- chemical
Industries both in India and abroad. TRL today, is the largest Refractories maker in India. It has
pioneered Refractories making in the country and is the number one Refractories company in
India with around 22% of the market share. TBEM has been adopted as the key change driver
since last 12 years, one of the first Tata Steel group company to go for it

TRL strives rapidly towards becoming a Global Refractories company. With a clear
strategic direction of achieving Rs.2000 crore turn over by 2012-13 under 'Mission 2000'
programme, TRL is working out all the possibilities on strategic front for achieving this goal. It
becomes more imperative for going ahead in this journey as the global competition is very
challenging. TRL is working with all options for securing itself on raw materials which is about
45% of its cost. Today TRL has overcome the critical situation faced in late nineties, gathered
itself up, transformed itself and poised to grasp every opportunity that can catapult it as a
globally competitive and dominant player. It must be appreciated that this is an ever present
requirement and therefore we cannot truly say that this programme is now completed.
It remains to be an ongoing work. The future shows an aggressive growth path, taking
forward the Tata Group's aspirations to think bold, think big and to innovate being a climate
friendly organization.

ORGANISATION CULTURE
Consistent with Tata Group's philosophy, TRL has developed a unique culture, which is
articulated in its vision, mission and values.
VISION
A Global Refractories Company

MISSION
Tata Refractories shall be high performance and technology driven organization
committed to create value for all its stakeholders

VALUES
Customer delight
Leadership by example
Integrity and transparency
Fairness
Furthering excellence

TRL firmly believes that the purpose of an industrial enterprise is to improve the quality
of life of the people and community it serves. Towards this, it creates economic, social and
environmental values. The vision, strategic goals, objectives and the behavior it demonstrates
are guided by this philosophy. TRL is an equal opportunity employer and promotes high ethical
values, improvement orientation, innovation, agility with respect to manpower, technology and
products, learning and sharing and equal opportunity to all.

HISTORY
1958 - Promoted jointly by Tata Steel and Didier-Werke
AG of Germany- Belpahar Refractories Ltd
1959 - Production of Basic, High Alumina and Silica
Refractories
1971 - R & D facility established
1986 - Re-christened as “Tata Refractories Limited”
1993 - Established leading market position
1994 - Commissioned 30,000MTPA Dolomite plant
1999 - ISO9002 certification for the whole plant
2006 - Integrated Management System certification
(QMS, OEMS, OSHA)

MANUFACTURING PLANTS
Belpahar(Orissa):Main Works
Installed capacity-246,000MT/annum
Products - Basic, dolomite, silica, high alumina, flow control products, monolithic, Refractories
binder.

Jamshedpur Operation (Jharkhand)


Installed capacity-30,000MT/annum
Products - High alumina, silica, monolithic

Karuppur Operation (Tamilnadu)


Installed capacity-15,000MT/annum
Products - Basic, monolithic

INORGANIC GROWTH
Domestic
TRL Gujarat operation
Products - Bauxite, based high alumina bricks, monolithic-36,000MTA
Operation started from Jan 2006
Abroad
TRL China operation
Magnesia-carbon& direct bonded, Mg-chrome refractories-60,000MTA
Operation started from Jan 2007

HIGHLIGHTS 2007-08
Installed capacity - 380,000MTPA
Production - 230,300MTPA
Sales - 270,000MTPA
Revenue - INR764cr/US $152 million
PRODUCT RANGE
(Shaped and unshaped Refractories)
One stop shop for all Refractories
Basic Refractories
Dolomite Refractories
High alumina Refractories
Flow control products
Monolithics
Silica Refractories
TRS & TRM

SERVICE PROFILE
In order to free the customers from the challenges of refractory technological issues, TRL has
taken up the responsibility of “Total Refractories Management”(TRM) &“Total Refractories
Solution”(TRS)

Scope of TRM
Design and material selection
Refractory inventory management and installation
Regular maintenance
Co-development

Benefits to customer
Stable specific refractory cost
Free from the hassle of day to day refractory problems
Free to concentrate only on core business processes

Scope of TRS
Lining design and development
Furnace design and construction
Heat flow and Thermo-mechanical stress studies of refractory linings
Turnkey jobs
Consultancy and Expert Supervision services
Lining installation and maintenance
IT FACILITIES
State of Art facilities exist with:
LAN of 100 MBPS (optical fibre networking) with unlimited 512KBPS Internet VPN connectivity

Outside locations (KOL, JSR, SALEM) are connected through VPN communication
ERP BaaN) In all areas including China and Gujarat. Internet connection to Home PCs
Knowledge Management through Internet.

COLLABORATORS
Krosaki, Japan
MgC Bricks
Basic monolithic
Slide plates

Dolomit Werke ,Germany


Dolomite refractories

Stopinc, Switzerland
L.S system for slidegate

Monocon, U.K
Basic spraying mass

Lichtenberg, Germany
Coke oven repair materials

A.P Green, U.S.A


Castables

PRODUCTION FACILITIES
Longest Silica tunnel kiln in Asia-180mt long
High temperature kiln(+1850deg)
Fully automated and state-of-art Monolithic plant
7 nos of high capacity microprocessor controlled SACMI presses
High capacity inclined mixer machines
2 n0s of 100 TPD rotary kiln
FIFO system aided by latest logistics for smooth and speedy dispatch
R & D FACILITIES
X Ray Diffractometer
X RF
Creep testing machines
High temperature furnaces upto (1850degC)
Hot MOR
Hot stage microscope
Thermal conductivity(DIN)
Climate chamber

CAPTIVE MINES
CHHUIINPALLI MINES TALBASTA MINES
Mineral quartzite fire clay
Lease area 102hects 171hects
Lease period 20 yrs from now 20yrs from
1995
Reserve 716 million MT 0.8 millionMT

AWARDS
Every year no.of national and state level Quality Circle awards
Productivity award from IMRA
CAPEXIL award for exporter consecutive last 12yrs
State safety award for occupational health care from govt of Orissa in 95-96,96-97,99-00
1996 – ISO9001 certification for total product range
2002 – PCRA award for fuel conservation
2002 - Golden Peacock award for best EMS(Environment
Management System)
2005 - award for active promotion of Tata Business
Excellence Model(TBEM)
2006 – Green Tech Silver award for environment
Management
2006 – IMS certification covering QMS,EMS & OSHA
2007 – Golden Peacock innovation award for products
IN 2008-09
Installed capacity – 3,80,000 MT/yr
Production ‘000MT – 230.000
Sales ‘000MT – 270.000
Revenue – Rs.764 crores
Export – Rs.102.00 crores
Profit (PBT) – Rs.54 crores

EMPLOYEE PROFILE
TRL has achieved significant improvements by building a competent work force. TRL's
employees are in two broad categories of officers and workmen. The workmen have formed
Tata Refractories Shramik Sangh - the only bargaining unit. TRL injects fresh talents from
campus interviews from reputed engineering colleges, Institutes and lateral recruitments.
Contract workers are employed in areas having a fluctuating and non-permanent nature of
work (such as cleaning, sorting & packing) or in such areas where the specialized agencies can
provide better services (e.g. security, gardening packaging etc.). Marketing personnel are
located across the country and abroad near the clusters of customers to provide prompt
service. TRL's employees are from diverse back ground represented by female employees and
employees from other states.TRL has the highest percentage of professional and well-trained
staff for any Refractories company in India and compares favorably even with the global
Refractories companies.

ORGANISATIONAL CHALLENGES

COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
The global Refractories industry has a size of around Rs 70,000 Crores and about 20
Million Tonnes in volume. The domestic industry has a size of approx. Rs 3600 Crore and
approx. 1.25 Million tonne in volume. With Tata Steel's acquisition of Corus, it has opened us a
new market of about Rs 1000 Crore . This has prompted TRL to have a foothold in Corus.
Domestic Refractories industry is a fragmented one having a total of about 150 companies out
of which 22 companies are in large/medium scale and rest are in small scale. TRL has highest
market share (22% )in India.
Global challenges: Large refractory manufacturers such as RHI have now targeted Indian
Refractories market.
Business challenge: Existence of large number of small Refractories in the unorganized
sectors operating at 40-50% capacity utilization.
Customers: customers of Refractories product generally belongs to large industrial
organization therefore have strong negotiating position.
Suppliers: In highly competitive environment & ever increasing customer expectations. Key
challenge is to meet the need of continuous cost reduction demand through efficient supply
chain management.

COMPETITORS OF TRL
As other fields have competitors, the Refractories market also has a competition. Here we are
discussing about the main competitors of TRL.

ODISHA CEMENT- It has the turnover of 200 crores & export worth Rs.25 crore.
Presently they are trying to establish the production & quality of ladle tundish shrouds.
OCL is capturing order of the mini steel plant for well blocks in LCC 90 quality &
feedback report from mini steel is very good.
BHARAT REFRACTORIES- BRL as around 125 M.T of specialty product per month as INDO
FLOGATES is presently taking from OAL, the slide plates. They are approaching MSP &
TISCO for supply specialty product.
ACC CEMENT- It has turnover for the year was 179 crores. Along with other competitors,
acc is also making his presence in domestic market.
IFGL REFACTORIES
VISHUVYAS REFRACTORIES.

TRL's approach is to optimize the price performance balance and offer value for money.

PRINCIPAL FACTORS OF SUCCESS


 Brand image
 Product consistency and performance
 Timely delivery
 Large volume and multiproduct capabilities
 Design and application solution.
 Opportunities for innovation

In 2002~03, a strategic initiative named Fortune 500 was initiated which crafted the
growth story of TRL. Fortune 500 program meant Rs. 500 Crore revenue with Rs. 50 Crore profit
within 5 years, i.e. by 2007~08.However the land mark of crossing Rs 500 Crore turnover has
been achieved in 2006~07, one year before the schedule. Under this program, apart from major
expansions and modernization program at Belpahar, TRL has established a green field project in
China in 2007 to take advantage of best quality magnesite (a critical raw material) in JV and
enhancing our core competencies. Another joint venture (MAPL) plant has been established in
Gujarat for bauxite based products for taking advantage of proximity to raw material source
and also to address the cement sector. Fortune 500 has made TRL a “Young TRL”. After the
success of Fortune 500, TRL has initiated another program called Mission 2000 which will take
the company to a revenue of Rs 2000 Crore within in next 5 years time.
CHAPTER 3- LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
An organization’s productivity is measured not in terms of employee satisfaction but in
terms of employee engagement. Employees are said to be engaged when they show a positive
attitude towards the organization and express a commitment to remain with the organization.
It is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards the organization and
its values. An engaged employee is aware of the business context and works with colleagues to
improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization.

Engagement at work was conceptualized by Kahn (1990)as the harnessing of


organizational members’ selves to their work roles. In engagement people employ and express
themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances.

The second related construct to engagement in organizational behavior is the notion of


flow advanced by Csikszentmihalyi (1975).He defines ‘Flow’ as the holistic sensation that people
feel when they act with total involvement .Flow is the state in which there is little distinction
between the self and environment. When individuals are in flow state little conscious control is
necessary for their actions. Employee engagement is thus the level of commitment and
involvement an employee has towards their organization and its value. The organization must
work to develop and nuture engagement which requires a two way relationship between
employer and employee. Thus employee engagement a barometer that determines the
association of a person with the organization.

Engagement is most closely associated with the existing construction of ‘Job


Involvement’, Brown(1996).Job Involvement is defined as the degree to which the job situation
is central to the person and his/her identity. Kanungo(1982)maintained that job involvement is
thought to depend on need saliency and the potential of a job to satisfy these needs. Thus job
involvement results from a cognitive judgement about the need satisfying abilities of the job.
Jobs in this view are tied to one’s self image. Furthermore engagement entails the active use of
emotions. Finally engagement may be thought of as an antecedent to job involvement in that
individuals who experience deep engagement in their roles should come to identify with their
jobs. When Khan talked about employee engagement he gave importance to all three aspects,
physical, cognitive and emotional. Whereas in job satisfaction importance has been more given
to cognitive side.

According to the study of WatsonWyatt, the profit chain establishes relationship


between profitability, customer loyalty and employee satisfaction, loyalty and productivity.

The links in the chain (which should be regarded as propositions) are as follows; profit
and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty. Loyalty is a direct result of customer’s
satisfaction. Satisfaction is largely influenced by the services provided to customers. Satisfied,
loyal and productive employee create value. Employee satisfaction in turn results primarily
from high quality support services and policies that enable employees to deliver results to
customers.

HR practioners believe that the engagement challenge has a lot to do with how
employee feels about the work experience and how he/she is treated in the organization. It has
a lot to do with emotions which are fundamentally related to drive bottom line success in a
company.

Employee engagement represents an alignment of maximum job satisfaction with


maximum job contribution. By plotting a given population against these two axes, five distinct
employee segments are identified-fully engaged, almost engaged, honeymooners & hamsters,
crash & burn and disengaged.

According to BW-HR global survey 34% of the employees in India are fully engaged and
13% disengaged. As many as 29% are almost engaged.

FOCUS ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


Engagement by industry - With the exception of government sector which has relatively low
engagement levels some high tech industries (pharma, biotech)score low whereas some service
focused industries(retail, consumer products)score high.

Engagement by level - Studies show that people higher up in the organization experience
higher engagement. However there is a drop in engagement past the vice-president level.
Engagement by gender - the survey reveals a larger disparity between men and women.
Men count 8%more fully engaged and 6%less disengaged than women.

Taking global figures into account, it can be said that Indian workers are among the most
focused and satisfied in the world.

BASIC ASPECTS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


There are three basic aspects of employee engagement:

The employees and their own unique psychological makeup and experience.
The employers and their ability to create the conditions that promote employee
engagement.
Interactions between employees at all levels.

Thus employee engagement is a partnership between a company and its employee where
everyone works together to achieve the business objectives of the company and fulfill their
personal aspirations. It is therefore largely the organization’s responsibility to create an
environment and culture conducive to this partnership and a win-win equation.

CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES
There are three different types of employees. They are engaged, not engaged, actively
disengaged.

1. ENGAGED - Engaged employees are builders. They want to know the desired
expectations for their role so that they can meet and exceed them. They are naturally
curious about their company and their place in it. They perform at consistently high
levels. They want to use their talents and strengths at work everyday. They work with
passion and they drive innovation and move their organization forward.
2. NOT ENGAGED - Not engaged employees tend to concentrate in tasks rather than the
goals and outcomes they are expected to accomplish. They want to be told what to do
just so that they can do it and say they have finished. They focus on accomplishing tasks
vs achieving an outcome. Employees who are not engaged tend to feel their
contributions are being overlooked and their potential is not being tapped. They often
feel this way because they don’t have productive relationships with their managers or
with their co-workers.
3. ACTIVELY DISENGAGED - The actively disengaged employees are the cave dwellers.
They are consistently against ‘virtually everything’. They are not just unhappy at work
they are busy acting out their unhappiness. They sow seeds of negativity at every
opportunity. Everyday actively disengaged workers undermine what their engaged co-
workers accomplish. The problems and tensions that are fostered by actively disengaged
workers can cause great damage to an organization’s functioning.

THE ROLE THEORY


Employee engagement can be defined in terms of what people do at work, something
called the role theory. Role theory reviews different roles that people engage in at work, and it
explains reasons why people engage in certain roles and not in others.

The five work related roles that exist in any company are:

Job holder role - Employees come to work and do the job that is listed in their job
description
Team member role - Employees go “above and beyond” to help members of their team
work towards common goals.
Entrepreneur role - Employees come up with new ideas and processes and try to get
those ideas implemented.
Career role - Employees do things to enhance their career in the organization;
they learn, they adapt new skills, and more.
Organization member role - Employees do things that promote and help the company
even if its not part of their jobs or their team’s duties

In general we find that most employees have a sense of fairness and even if their
employer treats them poorly most will show up to work and do the job role. But having
employee show up at work simply doing their jobs gets an employer nowhere in terms of long
term competitiveness.

If all your employees show up and only do their jobs, then you are not building
organizational strength and long term competitiveness through people because anyone can
hire those same employees and duplicate what you are doing.
It is the synergy that comes from people working together and gathering creative ideas
that leads to long term organizational wealth creation. That synergy and above and beyond
behavior is evidence of employee engagement.

EINSTEIN’S THEORY ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT= MEANINGFUL
Einstein’s theory wasRELEVANT RECOGNITION
based on the formulae that is E=MR2
K-A-B MODEL
According to K-A-B MODEL for the success of employee engagement, the company must follow
three steps i.e.

Knowledge
Attitude
Behaviour

KNOWLEDGE:- Stakeholder must be aware of what is happening ,what the change or


engagement effort is, and what they will see happening across the organization, to and
by whom ,over what time period .this is the “launch” part of engagement programmes,
and is also where much of the effort is focused-often to the detriment of the
subsequent stages.

ATTITUDE:- Once the stakeholders have internalized the knowledge, they need to form
an attitude about what they know .generally this means that they must see tangible,
positive evidence that the organization is serious about and committed to the
programme .Evidence of behaviour change emerges in key leaders, managers and
employees as, for example, process begin to evolve and changes are made.

BEHAVIOUR:- Once stakeholders have internalized the information and formed an


attitude about the change and what it means to them, it is essential that they are given
the tools, guidance and support needed to change their behaviours and must be visibly
intolerant of behaviours that do not align with achieving the objectives behind the
overall engagement efforts.

THE TEN C’S OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


How can leaders engage employees’ heads, hearts, and hands? The literature offers several
avenues for action; we summarize these as the Ten C’s of employee engagement.

1. Connect: Leaders must show that they value employees. Employee-focused initiatives such
as profit sharing and implementing work–life balance initiatives are important.
However, if employees’ relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount
of perks will persuade employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct
reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss. Employees look at
whether organizations and their leader walk the talk when they proclaim that, “Our employees
are our most valuable asset.”

2. Career: Leaders should provide challenging and meaningful work with opportunities for
career advancement. Most people want to do new things in their job. For example, do
organizations provide job rotation for their top talent? Are people assigned stretch goals?

Do leaders hold people accountable for progress? Are jobs enriched in duties and
responsibilities? Good leaders challenge employees; but at the same time, they must instill the
confidence that the challenges can be met.

3. Clarity: Leaders must communicate a clear vision. People want to understand the vision that
senior leadership has for the organization, and the goals that leaders or departmental heads
have for the division, unit, or team. Success in life and organizations is, to a great extent,
determined by how clear individuals are about their goals and what they really want to achieve.

4. Convey: Leaders clarify their expectations about employees and provide feedback on their
functioning in the organization. Good leaders establish processes and procedures that help
people master important tasks and facilitate goal achievement. Good leaders work daily to
improve the skills of their people and create small wins that help the team, unit, or
Organization performs at its best.

5.Congratulate: Business leaders can learn a great deal from Woo den’s approach. Surveys
show that, over and over, employees feel that they receive immediate feedback when their
performance is poor, or below expectations. These same employees also report that praise and
recognition for strong performance is much less common. Exceptional leaders give recognition,
and they do so a lot; they coach and convey.

6. Contribute: People want to know that their input matters and that they are contributing to
the organization’s success in a meaningful way. First, an employee understands of the
connection between her work – as operational zed by specific job-relevant behaviors – and the
strategic objectives of the company had a positive impact on job performance. Second, an
employee’s attitude towards the job and the company had the greatest impact on loyalty and
customer service than all the other employee factors combined. Third, improvements in
employee attitude led to improvements in job-relevant behavior; this, in turn, increased
customer satisfaction and an improvement in revenue growth. In sum, good leaders help
people see and feel how they are contributing to the organization’s success and future.

7. Control: Employees value control over the flow and pace of their jobs and leaders can Create
opportunities for employees to exercise this control A feeling of “being in on things,” and of
being given opportunities to participate in decision making often reduces stress; it also creates
trust and a culture where people want to take ownership of problems and their Solutions.

8. Collaborate: Studies show that, when employees work in teams and have the trust and
cooperation of their team members, they outperform individuals and teams which lack good
relationships. Great leaders are team builders; they create an environment that fosters trust
and collaboration. Surveys indicate that being cared about by colleagues is a strong predictor of
employee engagement. Thus, a continuous challenge for leaders is to rally individuals to
collaborate on organizational, departmental, and group goals, while excluding individuals
pursuing their self-interest.

9. Credibility: Leaders should strive to maintain a company’s reputation and demonstrate high
ethical standards. People want to be proud of their jobs, their performance, and their

10. Confidence: Good leaders help create confidence in a company by being exemplars of high
ethical and performance standards. Practitioners and academics have argued that Competitive
advantage can be gained by creating an engaged workforce.

Leaders should actively try to identify the level of engagement in their organization, find
the reasons behind the lack of full engagement, strive to eliminate those reasons, and
implement behavioral strategies that will facilitate full engagement. These efforts should be
ongoing. Employee Engagement is hard to achieve and if not sustained by leaders it can wither
with relative ease.

THE LOYALTY FACTOR


The key to employee engagement is creating greater motivation for their work and
commitment to their organization. It is not possible to retain professionals only by paying high
salaries and offering attractive benefits. We need to create enthusiasm for their roles, their
work and the organization and ensure they are well integrated.
Employee engagement relates to the employee’s commitment to the organization’s success.
Engaged employees who are inspired and guided by the leadership equipped with the right
tools and managed by the right systems and process deliver superior performance. Employee
engagement today encompasses training, development, work environment, leadership,
performance management, work- life balance, communication, compensation, benefits,
commitment, fun and social activities.

The quality of output and competitive advantage of a company depends on the quality of
people. Employees want to work for an organization that is-successful, legal, provides
opportunities to grow, has managers who help employees and is socially responsible.

FACTORS LEADING TO EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


The critical factors which lead to employee engagement are;

1. Career development

Opportunities for personal development - Organizations with high levels of engagement provide
employees with opportunities to develop their abilities, learn new skills, acquire new
knowledge and realize their potential. When companies plan for the career paths of their
employees and invest in them, then they prove to be the assets of the organization.

Effective management of talent - Career development influences engagement for employee and
retaining the most talented employees and providing opportunity for personal development.

2. Leadership

Clarity of company values - Employees need to feel that the core values for which their
company stands are unambiguous and clear.

Respectful treatment of employees - Successful organizations show respect for each employees’
qualities and contribution regardless of their job level.

3. Empowerment - Employees want to be involved in decisions that affect their work. The
leaders of high engagement work places create a trustful and challenging environment
in which employees are encouraged to dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy and to
input and innovate to move the organization forward.
4. Image - How much the employees are prepared to endorse the products and services
which their company provides its customers depends largely on their perception of the
quality of those goods and services. High levels of employee engagement and are
inextricably linked with high levels of customer engagement.
5. Equal opportunity and fair treatment - The employee engagement levels would be high
if their superiors provide equal opportunities for growth and advancement to all the
employees.
6. Re- inforcement of people focused policies - Continuous re-inforcement exists when
senior management provides staff with budgets and resources to accomplish their work
and empowers them.
7. Communication - The company should follow the open door policy. There should be
both upward and downward communication with the use of appropriate
communication channels in the organization. If the employee is given a say in the
decision making and has the right to be heard by his boss then the engagement levels
are likely to be high
8. Quality of working relationships with peers,superiors & subordinates - If employees’
relationship with their managers is fractured, then no amount of perks will persuade the
employees to perform at top levels. Employee engagement is a direct reflection of how
employees feel about their relationship with the boss.
9. Perception of the ethos and values of the organization -‘inspiration and values’ are the
most important factors that influence engagement. Inspirational leadership is the
ultimate perk. In its absence it is unlikely to engage employees.
10. Performance appraisal - Fair evaluation of an employees performance is an important
criterion for determining the level of employee engagement. The company which
follows an appropriate performance appraisal technique (which is transparent and not
biased)will have high levels of employee engagement.
11. Pay and benefits - The company should have a proper pay system so that the
employees are motivated to work in the organization. In order to boost his engagement
levels the employee should also be provided with certain benefits and compensation.
12. Health and safety - Research indicates that the engagement levels are low if the
employees do not feel secure while working. Therefore every organization should adopt
appropriate methods and systems for the health and safety of their employees.
13. Job satisfaction - Only a satisfied employee can become an engaged employee.
Therefore it is very essential for an organization to see to it that the job given to the

employee matches his career goals which will make him enjoy his work and he would
ultimately be satisfied with his job.
14. Family friendliness - A person’s family life influences his work life. When an employee
realizes that the organization is considering his family’s benefits also, he will have an
emotional attachment with the organization which leads to engagement.
15. Co-operation- If the entire organization works together by helping each other i.e., all
the employees as well as superiors co-ordinate well then the employees will be
engaged.
DOES ENGAGEMENT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE?
Should executives be concerned about these findings? Perhaps a more interesting
question to executives is: “Is there a strong relationship between, say, high scores on employee
engagement indices and organizational performance?” It seems obvious that engaged
employees are more productive than their disengaged counterparts. For example, a recent
meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology concluded that, “… employee
Satisfaction and engagement are related to meaningful business outcomes at a magnitude that
is important to many organizations.” A compelling question is this: How much more productive
is an engaged workforce compared to a non-engaged workforce? Several case studies shine
some light on the practical significance of an engaged workforce. For example, New Century
Financial Corporation, a U.S. specialty mortgage banking company, found that account
executives in the wholesale division who were actively disengaged produced 28 percent less
revenue than their colleagues who were engaged. Furthermore, those not engaged generated
23 percent less revenue than their engaged counterparts. Engaged employees also
outperformed the not engaged and actively disengaged employees in other divisions. New
Century Financial Corporation statistics also showed that employee engagement does not
merely correlate with bottom line results – it drives results.

BENEFITS TO THE ORGANISATION


Employee engagement builds passion, commitment and alignment with the
organization’s strategies and goals.
Attracts more people like existing employee.
Increases employees’ trust in organization.
Creates a sense of loyalty in a competitive environment.
Lowers attrition rate.

Increases productivity and improves morale.


Provides a high energy working environment.
Improves overall organizational effectiveness.
Boosts business growth.
Makes the employee effective brand ambassadors for the company.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT


Keeping remote employees engaged is a critical challenge for managers. Employees
need to be engaged through various forums and interactions to build excitement and passion
through various communication channels and events.

For example, at Sun Microsystems, employees are treated with utmost importance. The
senior management team interacts with the employees through the intranet where the
employees are engaged in active dialogue on corporate goals and directions and also solicits
their feedback. Management members engages with the employees on technological directions
through personal blog.(holding six town halls with employees every year).The company also
reaches out the employees’ family by inviting and involving them in some events. The internal
website of the company is updated daily, thus keeping employees abreast of the happenings
and developments in their organization.

MEASURING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


Employee engagement can be measured from two dimensions;

How employees feel(their emotions towards the company, the leadership, the work
environment etc).

How they intend to act in the future(will they stay, give extra effort etc).

Employee engagement can be revealed in several ways, including ‘pulse’ to annual


surveys, tracking changes in the attrition rate, increase in the number of employee
referrals and growth in productivity and business.

In many organizations the age old employee satisfaction surveys were


considered the most popular method for measuring how happy an employee was in the
organization. This is slowly being replaced by surveys that can effectively measure
employee engagement. For example, employee opinion survey.

The analysed results help us gauge the level of employee engagement within the
company. It also helps to identify the weak areas. After each survey Action Planning
Group is formed within the organization that comprises a cross-section of people from
across the company; all departments and all levels are fairly represented. This group
then works on different projects leveraging the strengths identified by the survey.
Conducting a survey without planning how to handle the results can lead employees to
disengage. It is therefore to feel the pulse, the action plan is just as essential.
Employee engagement should be measured at regular intervals in order to track its
contribution to the success of the organization.

HOW TO MEASURE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


Step 1- Listen

The employer must listen to his employees’ and remember that this is a continuous
process. The information employees supply will provide direction. This is the only way to
identify their specific concerns. When leaders listen, employees respond by becoming more
engaged. This results in increased productivity and employee retention. Engaged employees are
much more likely to be satisfied in their positions, remain with the company, be promoted and
strive for higher levels of performance.

Step2- Measure current level of employee engagement

Employee engagement survey let us know what level of engagement the employees are
operating. Customizable employee survey will provide with a starting point towards the efforts
to optimize employee engagement. This kind of survey is a diagnostic tool of choice in the
battle for the hearts of employees.

Step3- Identify the problem areas

Identifying the problem areas helps to see which are the exact areas, which lead to
disengaged employees.

Step4- Taking action to improve employee engagement by acting upon the problem areas

Nothing is more discouraging to employees than to be asked for their feedback and see
no movement toward resolution of their issues. Even the smallest actions taken to address
concerns will let the staff know how their input is valued. Feeling valued will boost morale,
motivate and encourage future input. Taking action starts with listening to employees’
feedback and a definitive action plan will need to be put in place finally.

IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGEMENT
Engagement is important for managers to cultivate, given that disengagement or
alienation is central to the problem of worker’s lack of commitment and motivation.
Meaningless work is often associated with apathy and detachment from ones works(Thomas&
Velthouse ).In such conditions, individuals are thought to be estranged from their selves. An
organization’s capacity to manage employee engagement is closely related to its ability to
achieve high performance levels and superior business results.

In the workplace research on employee engagement(Harter,Schmidt&Hayes,2002)have


repeatedly asked employee whether they have the opportunity to do what they do best
everyday. While one in five employees strongly agree with this statement. These work units
scoring higher on this perception have substantially higher performance. Thus, employee
engagement is critical to any organization that seeks to retain valued employees.

As organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual


working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to
provide them with an organizational identity.

Engaged employees are more likely to stay and be an advocate of the company’s
product and services. They contribute to the overall success of the organization. A greater
number of loyal employees ensure low recruitment and training costs, in effect enhancing the
productivity of the organization. They are also more willing to put in extra effort when the
organization needs it. Their impact on the working environment is also significant as they are
more focused on organizational benefit than personal goals. This consequently reduces feelings
of acrimony and internal rivalries. They also project a positive image to new recruits and this
motivates the latter to perform better and assimilate themselves in the office culture. Research
also shows that engaged employees in customer-facing roles are more likely to treat customers
in ways that positively influences customer satisfaction.
ORGANISATIONAL INITIATIVES
Most organizations have a range of programmes to improve the engagement level of
their employee. It should start right at the selection stage.

Choosing the right fit and giving a realistic job preview.


Strong induction and orientation programme.
Rigorous training and development from technical to soft skills to leadership
development programme.
To keep up the morale of people and drive them towards excellent performance,
incentives can be given such as recognition letters, profit sharing schemes, long
performance awards, ESOPs, building assets like own home.
Regular feedback to all people.
Communication forums like the in-house magazine and regular surveys and
conferences.
To maintain the quality of work-life and a balance between personal/professional lives,
there are recreational activities like festivities, get-togethers, sports etc.
An open and transparent culture to empower its people and develop entrepreneurs.

INCREASING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT


Provide Variety - Tedious, repetitive tasks can cause burn out and boredom over time.
If the job requires repetitive tasks, look for the ways to introduce variety by rotating
duties, areas of responsibility, delivery of service etc.
Conduct periodic meetings with employees to communicate good news, challenges and
easy-to-understand company’s financial information. Managers and supervisors should
be comfortable communicating their staff and able to give and receive constructive
feedback.
Indulge in employee deployment if he feels he is not on the right job .Provides an open
environment.
Communicate openly and clearly about what’s expected of employee at every level-your
vision, priorities, success measures etc.
Get to know employee interests, goals, stressors etc. Show an interest in their well
being and do what it enables them to feel more fulfilled and better balanced in work
life.
Celebrate individual, team and organizational success. Catch employee doing something
right and say,” Thank-You”.

Be consistent in your support for engagement initiatives. If you start one and then drop
it, your efforts may backfire. There’s a strong connection between employees’
commitment to an initiative and management’s commitment to supporting it.

REAL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT RULES


We often think that super important corporate initiatives will transform our
organization into places where everyone will come to work and want to be more engaged.
Corporate initiatives can’t make the magic. Employee engagement happens only when you
remove barriers to work and these barriers are unique to every work group. The people who
deliver the corporate initiatives have to make engagement happen, i.e., the managers.

HOW TO MOVE OWNERSHIP TO MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES


In order to move the employee engagement process from ownership by corporate HR to
ownership by and employees, several things must happen-

1. Measurement of employee engagement must be done more than once in a year. We


need multiple ways to assess engagement , the engagement metrics must include
performance measures.
2. You can’t have engaged employees without super engaged managers.

Engagement improving efforts must start at top and work their way down. The
most senior executive must be assured that they are engaging their senior team and
that team has to work on creating a high engagement environment for its direct
reports & so on.

Engagement must be done by leadership through example. This process of top


down engagement is owned by each level of management. Each manager himself
benefits from the process, and then they share the benefits with their own
employees. In this learning process managers “own” employee engagement.
3. Engagement is about getting rid of things that block productivity.

We bring people to work, then put lots of obstacles in the way of their
being able to succeed. Creating an engaged workforce means getting barriers out of the
way for your employees to be effective. We cannot create a magic set of 20, 40, 80
survey questions that will assess the things that are getting in the way of productivity
and performance. These things can be lumped into categories but they differ from
company to company, department to department and employee to employee. These
productivity blockers and de motivators are not taught in a basic introduction to
management book. They are not going to disappear with the purchase of some new
technology or from hiring the latest management guru. Engagement will happen when
each individual manager learns what’s getting in the way of his/her employees’
performance and each manager chooses to take action.

4. The process of engagement is a process , you can’t get it right at the year end. You have
to create a continuous learning, continuous improvement, continuous measurement
and continuous action process to maximize productivity.

CONCLUSION
Employee engagement is the buzz word term for employee communication. It is a
positive attitude held by the employees towards the organization and its values. It is rapidly
gaining popularity, use and importance in the workplace and impacts organization in many
ways. Employee engagement emphasizes the importance of communication on the success
of business. An organization should thus recognize employees more than any other variable,
as powerful contributors to a company’s competitive position. Therefore employee
engagement should be a continuous process of learning, improvement, measurement and
action. Research studies have thus made a contribution in adding an additional ‘P’ to the
4Ps of marketing i.e., Product, Price, Place, Promotion and now People to the mix.
CHAPTER-4
CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
IN TATA REFRACTORIES LTD.

CONCEPT OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN TRL


The people are the most important assets and through their capabilities and use of their
knowledge, TRL has been able to maintain the leadership position in the market.
Tata Refractories limited belongs to Tata steel group of companies and it is leader in Indian
refractory industries. The human resource department of TRL experiments and conducts
surveys to develop new concepts relating to employee well being, satisfaction and
organizational Behaviors for the development of the employees in the organization.

Engagement of an employee is an important factor of consideration for every


organization for the prosperity and integrity of the organization. Satisfied knowledgeable
workforce is therefore instrumental in achieving organizational success. If an employee is not
satisfied in any of the factors which are basic ,prior and unavoidable like good and secured job,
working environment ,salary, proper and effective interpersonal communication among all the
level of the organization, scope of development ,recruitment policy, reward and appraisal
system ,organizations discipline, training facility, recreation facility, complete understanding of
the work, goals and values, decisions making policies then they will feel de motivated to work
and the organization will not get the desired output even from the best employee working
within it. In other words, job dissatisfaction leads to psychological withdrawal, dispensary visits,
poor mental health, poor performance, lower attractiveness of the job and absenteeism. they
will find opportunities elsewhere, where they can avail a better job that can satisfy all their
needs. This will in fact lead to the increase in the level of absenteeism.

Hence the human resource management conducts a survey on the employee


satisfaction, every year, to find out the various factors of sin whish employee feels satisfied.
This survey also helps them to find out in which an employee feels satisfied. survey also helps
them to find out new factors apart from the standardize factors that are usually being
prescribed as factors of satisfaction. Therefore these factors eventually help the department
and the management to take proper action in future for the well being, motivation, satisfaction
and development of the employees working within it from the human relations and
organizational behavior point of view.
Employee training & development, competency mapping through HRRA, career
progression, succession planning is given utmost attention by top management for developing a
world class workforce. HR programs are tailored to meet these objectives.

WORKFORCE FOCUS
In alignment with the company's vision, mission and values, TRL's workforce focus aims
at creating a flexible, knowledgeable & satisfied workforce. The company achieves high
performance by creating agile & flexible organization design, understanding workforce needs
through various listening and learning posts, promoting innovation and creativity through Cross
Functional Teams, motivating employees through performance management and professional
development and providing a safe and supportive environment.

WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT

Determination of workforce engagement and satisfaction

Determination of key factors for employee engagement and satisfaction starts with
classifying employees into appropriate groups based on hierarchical, functional levels etc. and
capturing workforce needs through different listening and learning posts. The identified factors
for workforce satisfaction and engagement are validated through reviews in the HR Council
meetings correlating the same with the organizational results.

High performance work culture


This objective is achieved through the following factors:

MOTIVATION
Senior leaders use many formal and informal means to motivate workforce through out
the company. Some of the steps taken by senior leaders in this regard are
Creating an environment of achievement by setting challenging targets for the
subordinates,
Giving adequate resources for enabling people to succeed,
Personal involvement and
Reward and recognition based on consideration on meritorious performance.

EMPOWERMENT
An environment of empowerment is built through:
(a) Enabling workforce through training and development to take decisions closest to the front
line.
(b) Delegations of authority with trust & support, to take actions and make decisions, to satisfy
the customers at first contact. General Managers and Chief Managers have been given both
financial powers to reward workforce under them.
(c) Providing easy access to the senior leadership (through “open house”, e-mail and freedom
to meet informally).
(d) De-layering for more freedom to act, job enrichment through task forces to work for special
projects.
REWARD AND RECOGNITION

Reward and recognition system is one of the most important elements of a high
performance work culture at TRL. Important R & R schemes are CPI, PPI, Bonus, Sabash awards,
Gunwant Karmachari award etc. In addition to this, senior leaders take active part in rewarding
people in annual JDC meetings, Safety week, productivity week and innovation week
celebration and quality nite etc. MD is personally present in the annual functions of rewarding
the winners. This encourages workforce to take part in improvement groups such as QCs, VE
and other innovation projects in most of the forums in India. Contract workmen are also
rewarded during the Safety week celebration by the Senior leaders.

CO-OPERATION
The change in the organization design from functional orientation to SBU-wise structure has
resulted in improved cooperation and communication amongst production, marketing,
technology and support services since these have become part of the individual
SBUs. This has resulted in improved productivity and business results. The company's vision and
strategic plan (Mission-2000) has been communicated across the organization; thus providing
a clear big picture to the entire workforce about company's objectives and growth plans.

INFORMATION FLOW AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATION


Communication across the work units, jobs and locations is achieved through

a) Documentation of all work procedures and instructions (in IMS) and their
communication to all employees through training
b) Availability of these on in the intranet and as hard copies, which can be accessed by all,
c) Through positional training where a highly skilled worker/officer trains a group assigned
to him on-the-job as per the needs of his colleagues
d) Knowledge Management system (KM site) where the knowledge champions and experts
gather and place knowledge pieces including all successful CIPs on the K.M. site,
e) Departmental meetings for knowledge sharing.
f) Logbooks maintained by departments,
g) Job rotation.

INDIVIDUAL GOAL SHARING & INNOVATION


The CBSC is cascaded to Divisional/Departmental Goal Sheets and to individual KRAs,
which help in aligning and integrating the performance targets; thus taking out any ambiguity
and providing clear and specific goals for individuals. The workmen are trained and developed
through Millwright, and other training programs to empower them for self-supervised working.
This enhances their agility and they work seamlessly on all machines of all units of the
department. Involvement of employees across all levels in various CIP teams, such as VE, WS
and WCs have not only created a culture of collaboration but also fosters an environment for
high performance. These interventions also help in skill and knowledge sharing & innovation.
The associated rewards and recognition practices with these interventions motivate and engage
the workforce across the organization. Innovation Is also encouraged through suggestion and
innovation schemes, with appropriate reward and recognition.

SAFETY AND SECURITY


TRL's work climate is governed by HR Policy, IMS(Integrated Management System)
consisting of ISO 9001:2000,ISO14001:2004,OHSAS 18001:2007,Tata code of Conduct, Sexual
Harassment (Prevention Policy) and Whistle Blower Policy and is improved by reviewing the
current practices and implementation of improvement initiatives.

Central Safety Committee is the apex committee which decides the strategy for safety
and its successful implementations. Safety initiatives in the company include hazard
identification & risk analysis (HIRA), preparation of job safety analysis, housekeeping and safety
surveys, mock drills, reporting and analysis of near miss incidents/accidents etc. Employee's
involvement in improving the safety standard is ensured through their participation in the
departmental safety committees, plant safety committee and other forums.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
TRL is the first Refractories company in India to establish a full-fledged environment
protection department. The system for air and water pollution monitoring, measurement,
corrective, preventive action & periodic review are in place.

HEALTH INITIATIVES
Considering the nature of operations, system has been established to prevent
occurrence of silicosis, a major health hazard by ensuring effective dust control systems, use of
dust masks, job rotation and conducting health awareness classes regularly. PMC are conducted
for all employees & contract labour as E&I. Replacing old producers by modern ones and
replacing coal with petcoke has minimized toxic gas pollution in Gas Producers area, and gas
monitoring is done regularly to check gas levels. TRL also proactively encourages its employees
to preventing problems related to health by exposing them to knowledge on different aspects
of health under the “Work Life Balance” and program which is conducted by doctors of JG

Hospital. Special programmes on 'meditation' are also conducted by Bramhakumaris from time
to time to improve physical, mental & spiritual health of employees.

THE ASSESSMENT OF WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT AND


SATISFACTION
This is done by an annual survey called EES (Employee Engagement Survey). The findings
are analyzed and actions are initiated in low score areas to improve them. The absenteeism
rate of 2.0% is a benchmark in Refractories industry. Method of measurement of employee
well-being and satisfaction/dissatisfaction are: absenteeism, b) grievances) loss due to strikes
(zero since last 20 years).

The assessment method takes care of segmentation of the workforce such as employees
at different levels, women employees, employees located at different locations. For workmen
there is a separate survey which is administered in Oriya language.

THE EES FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

These are presented in the BEC meeting to the senior leaders along with their
correlation to the business results e.g. CBSC and AOP targets. Recognition was an area of
concern in the last ESS. Hence a new set of recognition measures were designed for the
employees and executed e.g. best housekeeping competition, Shabash award for Gunwant
Karmchari. The improvements brought about based on the employee satisfaction survey and
their correlation with the key business results are given in needs are identified during annual
strategy planning process. Based on the 5 year business plan which gives projections of
different business, VP (HR) in consultation with SBU Heads / GM's of production, maintenance
and project departments make HR plan which take into account capability & capacity needs.
The HR strategy focuses on three HR elements (i) Attract (ii) Retain and (iii)Develop of Strategy
Planning Process. The recruitment process addresses (i) additional manpower requirement for
business growth (ii) to fill up vacancies arising out of attrition.
CHAPTER-5
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
DATA ANALYSIS
As stated earlier, this study is based on a survey conducted in different departments of Tata
Refractories Limited. An overall sample of 500 employees was taken from nine different
departments.

BASES ON WHICH DATA WAS ANALYZED:-

A. Grade-wise
B. Department-wise

A. Grade-wise analysis:-

There are four different grades of workmen in TRL. They are:-

 Unskilled - SW-1, 2(Attendant, Sr. Attendant)


 Semi-skilled - SW-3, 4(Jr. Technician)
 Skilled – SW-5, 6(Assistant Technician)
 Highly skilled - SW-7, 8(Technician, Sr. Technician)

B. Department-wise analysis:-

Respondents of about nine different departments have been taken into consideration. They
are;

 Basic
 Silica
 Dolomite
 Flow Control Product
 Finance
 Medical
 Order
 Security
 Technology.
ANALYSIS OF ATTRIBUTES GRADE WISE
CHART-1

% Avg. Unskilled
% AVG.

Company 71.09

Trust 60.93

Fairness & Equity 56.25

Benefits 46.87

Employee Care 60.15

Personality Development 60.93

Recognition 55.46

Leadership 57.81

Communication 70.31

Work Environment 64.84

Job 58.59

Goals 60.15

The Percentage Average in the grade of unskilled Workmen i.e. SW-1 & SW-2 indicates
that the Company attribute has been rated to 71% which is the highest & the benefit attribute
to a lowest of 46%. This shows that the employees are proud to be associated with TRL. But at
the same time are dissatisfied with the benefit plans of the Company that does not
commensurate with the output.
CHART-2

% Avg. Semiskilled
% AVG.

Company 80

Trust 65.83

Fairness & Equity 64.16

Benefits 56.66

Employee Care 64.16

Personality Development 64.16

Recognition 66.66

Leadership 64.16

Communication 65

Work Environment 62.05

Job 61.66

Goals 69.16

The above Chart depicts that the Semi-Skilled Grade of workmen have rated company
attribute to a highest of 80% whereas descended on the job attribute to a lowest of 61%. This
clearly indicates that the employees are not satisfied with the job assignment & delay in the
procurement of resources to perform their work on time.
CHART-3

% Avg. Skilled
% AVG.

82.14

67.85 65.81
62.75 64.79 62.24 60.71 60.71 62.24
58.67 56.63 56.63

s b t p n t re s ty t
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Jo en io
n
hi io en fit ui us ny
oa at r s i t Ca e q Tr pa
G nm ic e g n pm
e n E m
ro un ad co lo ye Be & Co
vi e e e o s
n m L R ev pl s
E m D m ne
or
k Co y E i r
al it Fa
W n
r so
Pe

From the above Chart it can be clearly inferred that the skilled grade of workmen have
relatively rated Company attribute to a highest of 82% but are dissatisfied with the Benefit
Plans & Recognition system of the Company & So rated it to the lowest of 56%.This suggests
that the credit for the work done well on time & their suggestions are not given due recognition
by the management satisfactorily.
CHART-4

% Avg. Highly Skilled


% AVG.
78.57 78.57 76.78 76.78 76.78
75
67.85 66.07 66.07 66.07
62.05

53.57
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It seems that the grade of Highly Skilled workmen are satisfied with the support they
receive from their Supervisors & the basic amenities they get at the workplace. So they’ve rated
the Job & Work Environment at about 78% but are again dissatisfied on the same attribute as
the other Grades i.e. benefit Plans of the Company & So rated it below 55%.
ANALYSIS OF ATTRIBUTES DEPARTMENTWISE
CHART-1

%Avg. Goals
%AVG
87.5 87.5

75
72.22
68
65 65
60.75 62.5

si
c ca ite P e al er ty y
li FC nc ic rd ur
i og
Ba Si om na ed O c no
l
ol Fi M Se ch
D
Te

The department-wise analysis of the chart shows that the employees of Finance &
Technology Department have rated goals attribute to the highest of 87% whereas Basic &
Dolomite Departments have rated Goals below 65%. This suggests that the employees are not
clear about the result expected from them & are not aware of the Departmental & Company
Goals.
CHART-2

% Avg.Job
Job

81.25 80 83.92
77.75
66.25 70
63.5
53.75 53.5

l
si
c ca ite P
nc
e
ca er ty y
li FC i rd ur
i og
Ba Si om na ed O c no
l
ol Fi M Se ch
D
Te

The above Chart clearly depicts that Medical & Basic Departments have rated the job
attribute below 55% whereas Technology has rated the job at above 83%. This indicated that
the employees of Basic & Medical are not satisfied with the job assignment & the resources
they get to help perform their work.
CHART-3

% Avg.Work Environment
Work Environment

87.5 86

76.78
72.5 73.33
68.75 70

55.25

46.25

si
c ca ite P e al er ty y
li FC nc ic rd ur
i og
Ba Si om na ed O c no
l
ol Fi M Se ch
D
Te

From the above Chart it can be clearly inferred that the Medical as well as Basic
Department have rated low on the Work- Environment attribute i.e. below 56% whereas
Finance has topped with 87%. This indicates that employees of Medical & Basic do not get the
required support to succeed from the superiors as well as the basic amenities in the work place.
CHART-4

% Avg.Communication
Communication
100

88.75

76.66 78.57

65 65
57.5
51.75 50

si
c ca ite P e al er ty y
li FC nc ic rd ur
i og
Ba Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

On communication ground, Departments like Medical & Silica have rated below 60%. It
seems that Finance Department id completely satisfied with the communication level of the
senior management & so rated it at 100%. This suggests that employees of Medical & Silica do
not receive appropriate work instruction & feedback from the Supervisors.
CHART-5

% Avg.Leadership
Leadership

87.5
82.14
75
70.25 68.33

57.5
52.5
45
42.75

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
li FC nc ic rd ur
i o
Ba Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

It seems that the Employees of Medical & Order Department are not interested with the
authority to make necessary decisions & so rated the Leadership attribute below 50% whereas
Finance & Technology Department have rated Leadership above 80%.
CHART-6

% Avg.Recognition
Recognition
68.75 69.64

61.75
60
57.5 58.25
54.5 55

39.25

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
a li FC nc ic rd ur
i o
B Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

It can be clearly interpreted from the chart that among all Departments, Medical has
rated Recognition attribute below 40% & Technology at 69%. This suggests that employees of
Medical do not get due recognition by management for their work & suggestion.
CHART-7

% Avg.Personality Development
Personality Development

81.25 80.35
75 73.33
66.5
61.25 60 60

46.25

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
li FC nc ic rd ur
i o
Ba Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

On personality Development attribute Medical has again rated low with 46% whereas
Finance Department has rated high at 81%. It indicates that the employees of Medical
Department are not completely satisfied with the Training & Development programme of the
company.
CHART-8

% Avg.Employee Care
Employee Care

77.75
72.5
68.75 69.64
63.33
58.5 60
56.25

42.75

si
c ca ite P e al er ty y
a li FC nc ic rd ur
i og
B Si om na ed O c no
l
ol Fi M Se ch
D
Te

The Chart above depicts that the Medical Department is unable cope up with the job
stress & is not satisfied with the welfare amenities provided by the Company, so has rated
Employee Care at 42%. Here Security Department is leading with 77% in Employee Care
attribute.
CHART-9

% Avg.Benefits
Benefits

63.33
61.25
58.5 57.14
52.75
50
45
41.25
39.25

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
li FC nc ic rd ri o
Ba Si om na ed O cu ol
ol Fi M Se
ch
n
D
Te

Benefit Plans is definitely an area of great concern because none of the Departments
have rated it above 64%. It indicates that the Benefit Plans of the company are not
commensurate with the output or the productivity of the labour.
CHART-10

% Avg.Fairness & Equity


Fairness & Equity

86.25

75
68.75
65 66.5 66.07
60

48.75
46.25

si
c ca ite P e al er ty y
li FC nc ic rd ur
i og
Ba Si om na ed O c no
l
ol Fi M Se ch
D
Te

The fair distribution of assignments & accountability of team members has not received
sufficient attention by the Supervisors in Medical & Dolomite Department and so rated below
50%. Here Silica Department is leading with 86%.
CHART-11

% Avg.Trust
Trust

81
77.75 78.57
75 75
72.5

64.5
60
55

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
li FC nc ic rd ur
i o
Ba Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

On Trust factor Dolomite Department has rated it lowest to 55% whereas Medical has
rated it highest at 81%. Here a reverse attitude is seen among the employees of Medical
Department which has rated almost all the attributes very low.
CHART-12

% Avg.Company
Company
100
94.25
87.5 89.25

80 78.33
76.5 75
68

si
c ca ite P e al er ty gy
li FC nc ic rd ur
i o
Ba Si om na ed O c ol
ol Fi M Se ch
n
D
Te

Company attribute has been rated at an all time high between 75-100%. By almost all
the Departments, It can be clearly inferred that the employees of TRL are very optimistic about
the future of the company & are proud to be associated with the company.
CHAPTER 6- OBSERVATION
OBSERVATION

This place under this heading is the most appropriate place for me to pour my heart and
acknowledge my observation with due integrity and earnestness. Here I have made up my mind
to discuss my survey work including Employee Engagement, Employee Suggestion, their opinion
and problems at length .I have segregated the different aspects of the survey into different sub-
heading. I commence with the discussion above.

OBSERVATION OF TRL
I first went through the structure and a function of the TRL whose over all ambience was
aesthetically maintained. In the process I came to know the rationale behind the tag line of TRL
“always satisfying”

After observing all the departments meticulously. I tried to elicit the information as to which
part or the aspect of the activity is taken care of by whom. I gradually got the information of the
roles and duties of each head of the departments.(Refer chart below)

OBSERVATION OF CUSTOMER FEEDBACK


Prominent observation is made in connection to the feedback which I received from the
employees. We know jolly well that no five fingers are same, similarly the opinions,
comprehension and thoughts process of the various employees are also diverse and many.
A succinct elaboration of the roles and the function of the various employees will be a welcome
step here.
OBSERVATION OF EMPLOYEES ATTITUDE
I had a remarkable and flabbergasting experience when I approached the employees and
personally asked them about their suggestion, comments, compliments or grudges, if any,
which they have for their job in TRL.I deem it appropriate and prudent to make a mention of a
fact that the attitude which the employee possessed were diverse, but I can categories those
attitude under three categories which I have learnt in my HR paper in IST trimester. According
to what we have learnt, employee attitudes, by and large, are of three kinds:-

Cognitive Approach – Suggests that attitudes are based on cognitions (thoughts). It


consist of beliefs,knowledge and information held by a person regarding an object or an
issue.The knowledge comprises of the knowledge about the existence of the
product,belief about its different characteristics.

Affective Approach – Suggests that attitudes are based on affect (emotions).A person’s
emotions or feelings towards an object comprise the affective component of an
attitude.Such feelings,which are called the Affective component of attitude,may
transform themselves into emotionally charged states such as
anger,happiness,shame,distress,guilt and so on .

Behavioral Approach-Behavioral component comprises of a persons future actions and


intentions. It is concerned with the likelihood or tendency that an individuals will
behave in a particular fashion with regards to an attitude object.

FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR


CHAPTER 6-
FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDINGS

I. The data analysis shows that greater dissatisfaction prevailed regarding the existing
financial rewards or benefit plans in terms of employee engagement as expressed by the
employees of the organization.
II. Significant differences were observed in terms of recognition among different grades of
employees.
III. Differences prevailed in the existing reward systems as perceived by the employees of
different departments.
IV. Findings also revealed the emphasis given by the employees to fairness and equity in
the job.
V. Department-wise analysis of data shows that medical department has rated almost all
the attributes to low extent which is an area of great concern.
VI. The mean scores obtained by the different grades of workers and workers of different
department relatively indicate that employees are quite optimistic regarding the future
of the company.
RECOMMENDATION

i. The ‘suggestion box’ programs can be sophisticatedly changed to ‘employee


involvement association’ (EIA) because it is the keystone of organizational development,
nurturing the engagement & empowerment of people.
ii. Employees have diverse needs so this diversity requires flexible and individually directed
support. The priority must be to offer a customizable program that can be tailored to
the specific needs of each individual.
iii. Benefit plans like cash balance plan which is a defined contribution plan specify the
amount of contribution made by the employer towards an employees retirement
account can be implemented.
iv. Health savings plan, HSAs paired with high deductible health plans, HDHPs help
employers cope with rising health care premiums can be implemented.
v. Incentive awards must be designed to reward employees’ ideas, suggestions and
solutions that results in cost savings and generate revenue.
vi. Cash awards or gift certificates can be awarded as per the policy and procedures
governing recognition/incentive programs.
Examples of behavior to recognize-customer service, team support/team
building, quality control, leadership, problem solving etc.
vii. On the spot citation awards may be granted for specific behaviours.
Examples include:-
a. Catching an error that potentially may have caused spoilage or a delay in
meeting customer deadlines.
b. voluntarily shouldering an extra or emergency assignment while maintaining
own workload.
c. using personal initiative and creativity to solve an unusual or a difficult problem.
d. Producing a work product of high quality under tight deadlines taking a
calculated risk in the face of obstacles, successfully or unsuccessfully.
viii. Awards may be in the form of a gift card with a monetary value.
ix. Rewards and recognition should be fair, transparent, inclusive, timely and varied.
x. The form of recognition should be appropriate to the contribution that was made.
xi. Recognition should be meaningful and reflect the preferences of the recipient.
xii. Recognition or rewarding activities should be respectful of workplace diversity.
xiii. Employees at all levels should be involved in the development, implementation and
review of recognition programs and practices.
xiv. When recognition is the result of a group or team effort, all contributing members of the
team should be recognized.
xv. Employees must be given stimulating and worthwhile jobs to feel part f a successful
organization and for their work to bottom-line.
xvi. Let the employees or the top performers know that they are identified as high potential
so that they will become invested in remaining in the organization.
xvii. Make available to the immediate supervisors small gifts of gratitude to be handed out
on the spot to reward and reinforce great efforts. For e g -free movie ticket, free meal
ticket etc.
xviii. Workforce management technique such as automated scheduling can help ensure that
employee resources are optimized. Even better is to implement employee self service
options so that shift bidding is handled fairly while accommodating employee
preferences.
xix. Conduct companywide contests for ideas on how to improve operational efficiency.
Winners can receive monetary rewards equal to a percentage of the savings/benefits
generated.
xx. Complete transparency is difficult, however keeping the lines of communication open
about what is happening in the market and what the organization is doing to respond is
critical to keeping employees engaged and productive because in the absence of
information, employees assume the worst case scenario.
CHAPTER 6- INFERENCE
INFERENCE

What I infer from the feedback of the employees is that the employees are
genuinely nursing their grudges against the bank for some reasons or the other .Others
again are genuinely complimenting the performance of the bank because they are quite
satisfied as they are getting the needful facilities and support. But some employees were
found to be passive and when they were interrogated they, very often than not,
equivocated. I found myself at a loss in making any logic head or tail out of the response
such employee gave. There were few employee who although faced no problems but
responded like a visionary; in other words their reply was prompted by their whims and
fancy and was replete with imaginations which practically looked decent and noticeable
in black and white.
In a nutshell I can say that the conclusion which I have drawn once
and again about the employee engagement are purely empirical and are not
influenced in the least by the vagaries of my perception.
ANNEXURE
BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.tataref.com

www.irmaindia.org

www.bharatrefractories.com

www.tatasteel.com

www.wikipedia.com

Annual Report (20003-04 to 2007-08)

Magazines (Published By TATA Group and TRL)

Business Statistic by: Digambar Patri

External Strategic
Development

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