HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE - Fichier PDF

Organizational commitment and engagement ❚ 279Developing ownershipA sense of belonging is enhanced if there is a feeling of ‘ownership’ amongemployees, not just in the literal sense of owning shares (although this can help) butin the sense of believing they are genuinely accepted by management as key stakeholdersin the organization. This concept of ‘ownership’ extends to participating indecisions on new developments and changes in working practices that affect the individualsconcerned. They should be involved in making those decisions, and feel thattheir ideas have been listened to and that they have contributed to the outcome.Communication programmesIt may seem to be strikingly obvious that commitment will only be gained if peopleunderstand what they are expected to commit to, but managements too often fail topay sufficient attention to delivering the message in terms that recognize that theframe of reference for those who receive it is likely to be quite different from theirown. Management’s expectations will not necessarily coincide with those ofemployees. Pluralism prevails. And in delivering the message, the use of differentand complementary channels of communication such as newsletters, briefing groups,videos and notice boards is often neglected.Leadership developmentCommitment is enhanced if managers can gain the confidence and respect of theirteams, and development programmes to improve the quality of leadership shouldform an important part of any strategy for increasing commitment. Managementtraining can also be focused on increasing the competence of managers in specificareas of their responsibility for gaining commitment, such as performance management.INFLUENCES ON COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEESATISFACTIONAn IRS survey (IRS, 2004) established that the following were the top five influenceson employee satisfaction and commitment and employee satisfaction:1. Relationship with manager – 63 per cent.2. Relationship with colleagues – 60 per cent.