Employee engagement after organizational change. Case: Company X
Rajala, Milla (2016)
Rajala, Milla
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016060111307
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016060111307
Tiivistelmä
The main focus of this study is on employee engagement in an environment that has gone through organizational change. The aim of this study is to investigate how employee engagement is related to organizational change, and the way it was managed, and which factors facilitate employee engagement according to the employees of the case company.
Two theories were adopted to support the empirical research and together they provided the foundation for the theoretical framework. Employee engagement is one of these theories and, in the literature review, different models, antecedents, and organizational outcomes of employee engagement, as well as generic methods used in measuring it, are introduced. Because the focus of the study is on employee engagement in an aftermath of organizational change, change management was selected as the other theory. In much of the research concerning change management strategies, employee engagement is listed as a primary function to the success of properly implementing a change management initiative, so exploring the relationship between these two concepts became the cornerstone of this study.
The empirical study targeted the personnel of the case company, which had recently been a target of an acquisition. The research design comprised of quantitative primary data collected via web-based questionnaire, as well as secondary data derived from the company’s previous Work Community Research (WCR). Some of the same questions, with the same answering scale, that were used in the WCR, were incorporated in the questionnaire designed for this study in order to enable comparison between the results.
The results of the research revealed that a strong relationship between employee engagement and the management of change exists, suggesting that the employees, who think the change was not manged successfully, have lower engagement levels. The general level of employee engagement in the case company was determined to be at most moderate and the results also suggest that the suitable change management methodology have not been applied very successfully in the post-acquisition integration. When compared to the previous WCR, the results revealed that most of the questions received lower scores this time around.
The main development suggestions for the case company based on the results of the questionnaire include enhancing the workplace climate and corporate culture, providing the employees with more opportunities for development, paying special attention to expressing the appreciation for employees’ good work performances, and giving the employees an opportunity to influence and participate in the changes happening in the organization. A detailed action plan for the case company on how to implement the development suggestions was also created.
Two theories were adopted to support the empirical research and together they provided the foundation for the theoretical framework. Employee engagement is one of these theories and, in the literature review, different models, antecedents, and organizational outcomes of employee engagement, as well as generic methods used in measuring it, are introduced. Because the focus of the study is on employee engagement in an aftermath of organizational change, change management was selected as the other theory. In much of the research concerning change management strategies, employee engagement is listed as a primary function to the success of properly implementing a change management initiative, so exploring the relationship between these two concepts became the cornerstone of this study.
The empirical study targeted the personnel of the case company, which had recently been a target of an acquisition. The research design comprised of quantitative primary data collected via web-based questionnaire, as well as secondary data derived from the company’s previous Work Community Research (WCR). Some of the same questions, with the same answering scale, that were used in the WCR, were incorporated in the questionnaire designed for this study in order to enable comparison between the results.
The results of the research revealed that a strong relationship between employee engagement and the management of change exists, suggesting that the employees, who think the change was not manged successfully, have lower engagement levels. The general level of employee engagement in the case company was determined to be at most moderate and the results also suggest that the suitable change management methodology have not been applied very successfully in the post-acquisition integration. When compared to the previous WCR, the results revealed that most of the questions received lower scores this time around.
The main development suggestions for the case company based on the results of the questionnaire include enhancing the workplace climate and corporate culture, providing the employees with more opportunities for development, paying special attention to expressing the appreciation for employees’ good work performances, and giving the employees an opportunity to influence and participate in the changes happening in the organization. A detailed action plan for the case company on how to implement the development suggestions was also created.