IMPROVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the association between employee rewards and length of service for RQ1; and satisfaction with management policies/practices and quality of employee output for RQ2. It uses secondary data from the 2018 Federal Employees Viewpoint Survey and SPSS for analysis. The findings from the chi-square test of association show that a statistically significant association exists between rewards for innovation/creativity and length of service in the federal government. Employees who agree that creativity and innovation are effectively rewarded are likely to serve more years in the federal government. For the second research question, the Spearman Rho test study finds a moderately strong, positive correlation between employees satisfaction with management policies/practices and the overall quality of output from their work units. The findings of this study provide crucial insights for management and leadership teams within federal agencies on how to improve employee retention and increase the quality of output

Strategies for Enhancing Government Employees Engagement, Retention, and Performance

Research has shown that effective employee engagement and a positive work environment significantly contribute to improved customer outcomes and high performance (Deloitte Inc., 2021). A study by the Corporate Leadership Council (as cited in Deloitte Inc., 2021) found that less engaged employees were 22 percent less productive than their highly engaged peers, and that a unit increase in employee engagement in an organization increased the customer satisfaction index by 12 percent (Deloitte Inc., 2021).

Studies have also found a strong positive association between employee engagement and retention. According to Deloitte Inc. (2021), high levels of engagement increased an employees likelihood of staying with an organization by 40 percent. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) holds that retention management remains a crucial factor for organizations even in a tight job market (SHRM, 2008). First, employee turnover costs an organization money, time, and other resources. Available estimates indicate that on average, turnover-related costs impose a burden of between 50 and 60 percent of an employees annual salary in replacement expenses and accrued paid time off (SHRM, 2008). At the same time, turnover affects employee morale, reducing sales growth and a firms bottom line (SHRM, 2008). Thus, it remains crucial that organizations attract and retain top talent through high levels of employee engagement.

Unfortunately, compared to the private sector, the federal government underperforms in ensuring high levels of employee engagement or offering a positive employee experience. The 2020 report on the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government showed that the private sector significantly outperformed the federal government in training opportunities, recognition of high performance, and effective use of talents (Deloitte Inc., 2021). 78 percent of private sector employees felt that their talents were used well, as compared to 58 percent of employees in the federal government (Deloitte Inc., 2021). Further, only 51 percent of employees in the federal government felt satisfied with the training and development opportunities offered at the workplace, as compared to 64 percent of their counterparts in the private sector (Deloitte Inc., 2021). In the area of employee recognition, only 48 percent of federal government employees mentioned that their agencies recognized high performance, as compared to 67 percent in the private sector (Deloitte Inc., 2021).

With the Baby Boomers retiring from the workforce, it is prudent that the federal agencies take steps to attract and retain younger employees to remain effective in their missions. It is worth noting that the government continues to struggle in this respect for instance, in 2017, young people under 30 made up less than 6 percent of the total government workforce, as compared to 21 percent in the private sector (Deloitte Inc., 2017). Unfortunately, employees under 30 still account for the highest attrition rates in the federal government figures from 2021 indicate an attrition rate of 8.5 percent among this group, relative to the government-wide attrition rate of 6.1 percent reported that year (Partnership for Public Service, 2021). Fortunately, data also shows that compared to older age groups, employees under 30 pay more attention to policies that foster employee engagement at the workplace (Partnership for Public Service, 2021). For this reason, improved employee engagement provides an invaluable opportunity for the federal government to attract and retain younger employees.

This study seeks to identify ways by which the government could increase employee engagement. It focuses on two aspects of employee management: rewards for creativity and innovation, and policies and practices of senior leaders. The findings will go a long way towards informing government policies and human resource practices. The research questions are stated below:

RQ1: Is there a significant relationship between the rewarding of creativity and innovation by employees and the employees length of service in the federal government?

RQ2: Is there a significant relationship between the level of satisfaction with the policies and practices of senior leaders and the overall quality of work done by the employees work unit?

Literature Review

Theoretical Review

Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

Herzbergs two-factor motivation theory postulates that two sets of factors influence an employees level of job satisfaction. The first set are referred to as motivational factors or satisfiers (Alrawahi et al., 2020). These positively influence job satisfaction by addressing the need for self-actualization and self-growth. They include work advancement, responsibility, recognition, and achievements (Alrawahi et al., 2020). Advancement is the positive or upward change in ones status in the organization, such as opportunities for promotion and personal growth. Responsibility has to do with having the autonomy to make decisions in ones position (Alrawahi et al., 2020). An employee is likely to be satisfied if they have the power to make and execute decisions in their position. Recognition has to do with receiving rewards or praise for high performance (Alrawahi et al., 2020). Achievement is about realizing progress at work, finding adequate solutions to problems, and completing complex tasks (Alrawahi et al., 2020).

The second set of factors are referred to as hygiene factors, the lack of which lowers the level of job satisfaction (Alrawahi et al., 2020). Hygiene factors are extrinsic and include interpersonal relationships, quality of supervision, organizational policies, salaries, and working conditions (Alrawahi et al., 2020). Unfulfilled salary expectations, poor social interactions at the workplace, unclear and ineffective policies/guidelines, poor leadership, and poor physical working conditions could all cause job dissatisfaction (Alrawahi et al., 2020). According to the theory, the motivation and hygiene factors occur on a continuum, implying that one can be satisfied and dissatisfied concurrently. However, if the motivation factors outweigh the hygiene factors, employees feel satisfied with their jobs and are likely to stay longer (Alrawahi et al., 2020). Thus, employers must find a way to harmonize both sets of factors to bring about job satisfaction among employees (Alrawahi et al., 2020).

Empirical Review

i) The Relationship between Rewards, Job Satisfaction, and Retention

The relationship between rewards, job satisfaction, and retention has attracted immense interest from researchers. Mgedezi et al. (2014) sought to determine the effect of intrinsic motivation and job involvement on the loyalty of employees. Using a sample of 160 government employees drawn from different departments across the UK, the study administered a questionnaire measuring an individuals level of intrinsic motivation, their job involvement, and employee retention. The self-developed questionnaire was adopted from the Michigan Organizational-Assessment Questionnaire, which measures retention, and the Kanungos and Intrinsic Motivation Rating scales, which measure job involvement and intrinsic motivation respectively. The results of Pearson and multiple regression analyses showed a significant association between employee loyalty and both intrinsic motivation and job involvement. However, intrinsic motivation emerged as a stronger predictor of job retention than job involvement among government employees (Mgedezi et al., 2014).

The primary shortcoming of the Mgedezi et al. (2014) study is that it ignores the relationship between rewards and intrinsic motivation. Terera and Ngirande (2014) partly address this shortcoming in their study that involved 180 nurses drawn from different South African hospitals, and which measured the impact of rewards on job satisfaction and employee loyalty. A cross-tabulation of rewards and employee loyalty using the chi-square test of association found a positive association, implying that employees were more loyal if they were rewarded more. Chi-square tests also found a positive association between rewards and job satisfaction. Correlation tests found a strong, positive relationship between job satisfaction and employee retention. The study concluded that rewards positively influence job satisfaction, which, in turn, drives employee loyalty (Terera and Ngirande, 2014).

Other studies have adopted an expanded scope to assess the impact of different types of rewards on employee behaviour. A 2015 study by Lee et al., for instance, compared the effect of social and economic rewards on loyalty among 334 hotel staff recruited via an online survey. The study identified economic rewards as monetary rewards such as prizes and money advanced for good performance. Social rewards included personal recognition from management and access to certain special services (Lee et al., 2015). Correlation test results showed a strong association between loyalty and both types of rewards. However, social rewards yielded a stronger correlation coefficient than economic rewards. The study concluded that social rewards were more effective drivers of employee retention than economic rewards because they fostered intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation (Lee et al., 2015).

These findings mirror those of another study Alhmoud and Rjoub (2019),...…more than the expected count (17211). Further, those who have served the shortest tenures in federal service have the highest counts of employees who strongly disagree that creativity and innovation are rewarded. This leads to the conclusion that employees who have served in the federal service longer mostly agree/strongly agree that creativity is rewarded as compared to those who have served less years.

Given that the association is significant as shown in table 1, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a statistically significant relationship between the rewarding of creativity and innovation and the employees length of service in the federal government.

Research Question 2 (RQ2)

Table 3.

Correlations

Q28

Q66

Q28

Correlation coefficient

1

.399**

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

N

594870

575349

Q66

Correlation coefficient

.399**

1

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

N

575349

576502

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The correlation coefficient (r =.399, p = .00) is equal to 0.399 and is significant at the 95 percent confidence level (p=.05). This points to a moderately strong linear association between the dependent and independent variables. The positive coefficient indicates the direction of the relationship that the line of best fit has a positive slope, such that a unit increase in the level of employee satisfaction increases the quality of output in the work unit by 0.399 units or 39.9 percent. Based on the correlation results, the study rejects the null hypothesis and concludes that there is a statistically significant relationship between the level of satisfaction with the policies and practices of senior leaders and the overall quality of work one by the employees work unit.

Discussion

This empirical study sought to determine the strength of the association between employee rewards and length of service for RQ1; and satisfaction with management policies/practices and quality of employee output for RQ2. The findings from the analytical tests carried out show that a statistically significant association exists between rewards for innovation/creativity and length of service in the federal government. Employees who agree that creativity and innovation are effectively rewarded are more likely to serve more years in the federal government. This finding is consistent with the findings by Alhmoud and Rjoub (2019), Kyndt et al. (2008) and Malik et al. (2014), all of whom found that rewards significantly improved employee retention. Alhmoud and Rjoub (2019) explain that rewards increase job satisfaction for employees, which, in turn, increases their loyalty to the organization or agency. Thus, human resource divisions within federal agencies could improve retention rates among employees across the lifespan by strengthening their systems of rewarding employees who demonstrate high levels of creativity and innovation. Studies have shown that while all forms of rewards improved employee rewards, social rewards have a stronger effect on both job satisfaction and employee retention than monetary rewards ((Alhmoud & Rjoub, 2019).

For RQ2, this study finds a moderately strong, positive correlation between employees satisfaction with management policies/practices and the overall quality of output from their work units. This finding is consistent with Chang et al., (2013), Asrar-ul-Haq and Kuchinke (2016) and Ascensio (2016), all of whom found that leadership was a significant predictor of employee performance. Employees feel more satisfied if they feel that the leadership or management offers the support and guidance needed to succeed at work (Chang et al., 2013). This, in turn, enhances their productivity and performance. Thus, human resource divisions within federal agencies could improve the quality of output by instituting leadership policies that offer relevant support and guidance for employees to succeed in their work.

The greatest limitation of this study is that it focuses on federal employees and the results may, thus, not be generalizable to employees in the private sector. Future research could replicate the study using data collected from employees working in both the public and private sectors to observe how the findings would change.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study found that rewarding employees for creativity and innovation is a significant predictor of their length of service in the federal government. Further, satisfaction with the policies and practices of senior management significantly predicts the quality of output or performance among federal employees. The findings of this study provide crucial insights for management and leadership teams within federal agencies on how to improve employee retention and increase the quality of output. The study is timely because recent statistics show that compared to the private sector, the federal government underperforms in ensuring high levels of employee engagement or offering a positive employee experience. With the Baby Boomers retiring from the workforce, it is prudent that the federal agencies take steps to attract and retain younger employees to remain effective in their missions. Fortunately, data also shows that compared to older age groups, employees under 30 pay more attention to…