Factors that Shape the Way Employees Experience - Essay Example

MANAGEMENT Introduction Emotions are essentially feelings experienced by people.They are given differentinterpretations and likewise expressed differently and are affected by our social interaction,cultural,social and interpersonal situations amongst others.Depending on the situation they face,people may alter their feelings through supressing and showing a suitable perceived emotion.This regulation of a person’s feelings in order to be appropriately accepted by social norms is known as ‘emotion work’ (Hochschild, 1990:118).Consequently,according to Hochschild (1983), those jobs requiring emotional labour demand workers to alter facial or voice when dealing with the public and thus elicit an emotional reaction from customers in addition to giving the employers power to exert control through the emotional activities of workers (Hochschild, 1983:7). There are certain ‘rules’ designed by the organization to ensure that emotional labour essentially flow in a predetermined order meant to favour the organization’s customer service objectives. It ignores the actual emotion of labourers, and instead requires them to react publicly withina preconditioned emotionalset that ordinarily would elicit different reaction. However, emotional labour is only one part of service work, but itplays an important part in influencing service performance to the customer. It is divided into surface acting and deep acting; where surface acting refers to the modification of expression simply by workers hiding their real emotion, whereas deep acting involves the process of labourers transforming their own emotion to conform to the organization’s rules to meet the laid down objectives. Notably, research reveals that surface acting is more emotionally consuming, and therefore, is more likely to generate emotional dissonance, thereby resulting in worse job satisfaction because of negative attitudes (Deery and Vandana, 2012). While significant evidence points to factors that influence the experience and quality of services offered to the consumers, Gamble (2007:7-25) asserts the need for the consideration of employee behavior, in relation to the need for the provision of quality services. According to the author, organizations that strive to instill a customer-oriented behaviours among their employees report improvement in quality of the services provided to their clients, when compared to those who do not adopt such efforts. According to Shannon and Parker (2012), ‘customer-oriented behaviours’ refer to the ability of the employees providing the services to assist the clients. This leads to an increase in customer satisfaction and positive relationship, with an employee performance geared towards enhanced emotional commitment of the consumers to the organization. Similarly, Robbins (2001) asserts that developing customer-oriented behaviors among the employees result in retaining of organizational consumers, more so, in cases of services that have high interaction. An analysis performed by Oher (1999) revealed that the customer-oriented behaviour has a positive influence on the organizational sales performance, development of buyer-seller relationships, and quality perception of the customers. Thus, is an essential factor for the success of organizations that specialize in the service sector. However, Korczynski (2008) argued that customer orientation will violate the bureaucratic control over the organization. In the business point of view, managing the high quantity of services is likely to be more preferable than quality, high efficiency is normally one of the key goals rather than individual labour having soft skills of service. The dilemma of customer oriented bureaucracy is worse in the case of a customer coming into contact with a dissatisfying experience that registers negatively about the organization. For instance, most supermarket service workersconsequently view a good number of their customers as source of dissatisfaction of stress. HR practices: Organizational factors (management enhances) to better/secure employee’s experience In any organization,the field of employee engagement holds a critical importance in the overall achievement of its objectives.When an employee holds a positive attitude towards those crucial values that form the core of the organization,work performance improves as their engagement within the business context is greatly expressed physically,cognitively and emotionally. Consequently, many organizations , carry out an assessment of their value systems in relation to employee engagement in order to boost their role performances within the organization. This builds a perceived environment of support that encourages employees. 1. meeting hierarchy needs especially safety needs: An analysis performed by Kinnie, Hutchinson, and Purcell (2000),revealed that models such as the ‘Maslow hierarchy of needs’ plays a critical role in explaining the factors that influence the ability of employees to deliver the required quality services,by postulating that, providing the employees with the opportunities that foster the realization of their basic needs, boosts their ability to provide quality services to the organizational customers. For instance, evidence provided by Evans and Lindsay (2002) revealed that factors such as employee satisfaction influence the experience and the ability of the employees to deliver the required services. Employee satisfaction is realized through the provision of opportunities that ensure safety, self-actualization, and esteem of the employees. Satisfied employees are highly motivated in their involvement with the organization and show dedication to deliver high quality services. Furthermore, significant evidence reveals that the kind of ‘working environment’ provided to the employees in an organization, has the ability to influences employee experience and the quality of services they offer to the organizational client (Dunleavy and Carrera, 2013). According to the Maslow hierarchy of needs, providing the employees with an environment that recognizes their safety needs is a fundamental requirement that underpins the quality services provided to the clients (Blancero and Johnson, 1997). Similarly, the workload provided to the employees and equity within the workplace contributes to the need for the provision of safe working environment to the employees for them to provide the desired quality services intended to the customers. Berry and Parasuraman (2005), show that organizations that provide their employees with services that ensure their safety such as counseling, enjoy continued provision of quality services to the consumers, secondary to the minimization of health problems that reduce their productivity. Therefore, this implies that ‘safety of the working environment determines the employee experience and their ability to provide quality services to their customers’,(Yagil, 2006). 2. Personal development and Paying structure to motivate better performance and experience According to Alderfer’s ERG theory, organizations that provide the employees with opportunities to ‘recognize their growth, relatedness, and the existence needs’, enjoy enhanced employee experience alongside provision of high quality services to the customers (Holman, 2002). The theory postulates that providing the employees with numerous motivational opportunities creates a sense ‘of addiction to quality service delivery’, therefore, translating into the continued provision of quality services to the customers. Consequently, organizations that provide opportunities that compensate their employees with specific‘rewards’, ‘job increment’, and ‘other motivational benefits’ report a continued improvement in consumer services they provide (Hiriyappa, 2009). In addition, cognitive evaluation theory asserts that organizations that provide their employees with opportunities that meet their intrinsic and extrinsic needs, report an improvement in employee experience and provision of high quality services. Intrinsic motivators include providing them with opportunities that contribute to their self-achievement, competence, and responsibility while extrinsic entails opportunities such as better pay, working conditions, and feedback to the employees (Yagil, 2006). Therefore, organizations that practice behaviors such as recognition of the contribution of their employees through feedback, promotions, and better pay;show high incidences of their employees providing improved quality services to their customers, secondary to the improvement in the experiences of their employees (Hoffman and Bateson, 1997). According toFargus (2000), a direct association exists between employee level of activity, rewards, and the quality of services provided to the customers. The author believes that, two factors that include ‘the way the employee values the reward system’ used in the organization, and the ‘expectation of the employee to be rewarded’ after executing their activities; influence their experience and quality of services they provide. From this perspective, it is evident that if the employees within an organization are capable of executing specific tasks, and later significantly rewarded; their motivationcan exceed the expected standards. If this is true, Guerrier and Adib (2000),then assert the importance of the consideration of those internal and external factors, such as their self-esteem, cooperation, and organizational structure that might hinder their performance. 3. Organizational culture and leadership style lead to better employee experience Significant evidence shows that internal organizational factors such as ‘organizational culture’ are critical to the experience and the ability of the employees to provide quality services to their clients.Whiteley (2002), defines culture as a set of shared values, beliefs, behavior, and institutions that characterize the employees of an organization, and the way they execute their activities. Organizations with strong cultures report significant improvement in the quality of consumer services provided to their clients when compared to those with a weak culture. A strong organizational culture, define ways in which people should behave and execute their activities to accomplish organizational mission. For instance, organizations with the culture that follows the principles of ‘total quality improvement’, will report improved quality of services provided to the clients than those using traditional approaches of quality improvement (Yagil, 2006). Therefore, while organizations strive to align their cultures with the objectives of quality service provision, they should consider the fundamental factors that underpin their ability to develop the desired cultures for organizational success (Simons, Leroy, and Savage, 2013). In addition, significant evidence holds that the ‘leadership style’ adopted within an organization influence the experience and the quality of services provided by the employees to their customers. According to Newhouse and Mills (2002), leaders play a critical role in heading ‘the adoption of the desired organizational strategies’ that will facilitate its success. Similarly, the leadership style used within an organization influences the experience and the quality of services provided by the employees to the organizational consumers. A study performed by Gill, White, and Cameron (2011) found that organizations that embrace the use of democratic leadership styles report improvement in the quality of the services provided by their employees to their clients. Holman (2002) defines ‘democratic leadership’ as the kind of leadership that focuses not only the provision of quality services to the clients, but also the employee needs. Democratic leaders appreciate the need for the provision of opportunities that strengthen employee engagement and their empowerment. For example, such leaders recognize the need of the use of strategies such as delegation of some duties to the employees, coaching, and mentorship to ensure the realization of their personal and professional needs. In addition, democratic leaders recognize the need for the use of strategies such as the involvement of the employees in organizational activities that influence them. Therefore, it is through their active involvement that the employees will be committed to providing quality services to their customers (Lowenstein, 2011). 4. Organizational structure to determine the relationship between managers and employees, increasing engagement within the organization to better experience An analysis performed by Dunleavy and Carrera (2013) revealed that the ‘organizational structure’ has a critical role in influencing employee experience and their ability to provide quality services to their customers. Organizational structure entails the manner in which roles and the relationships within an organization are arranged (formal and informally) for effective running of organizational activities (Liu, Wang, and Orgun, 2011). Empirical evidence shows that organizations that have rigid organizational hierarchies face significant challenges when executing the desired organizational activities that aim at ensuring the provision of quality services to the consumers. The senior managers in an organization with a rigid organizational hierarchy take the whole responsibilities of decision-making, and the employees are required to abide by them. As such, Blancero and Johnson (1997) assert that such organizations face the challenges of resistance to the adoption of the required change agents from the employees due to their minimal involvement. Conversely, organizations with flexible organizational structure where the employees play an active role in activities influencing them and their organization report improved customer experiences and provision of services to the consumers that meet their needs. Such is possible because organizations with flexible structures allow significant involvement of their employees in organizational activities, thereby, their dedication to providing high quality services to their customers (Hoffman and Bateson, 1997). Moreover, a study conducted by Gill, White, and Cameron (2011) revealed that ‘communication styles used within an organization’ influenced employee experiences and their ability to provide the required services to their clients. From the study, it was apparent that organizations that employed the use of open communication strategies reported enhanced standards of the services provided to the clients. According to Dunleavy and Carrera (2013), organizations practicing open communication are characterized by the free flow of information from the senior management to the juniors and from the juniors to the senior management. As such, organizations using this communication strategy have enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the execution of organizational activities, alongside the proper management of organizational issues such as conflicts. In addition, Blancero and Johnson (1997) assert that organizations using ‘open communication’ have enhanced interpersonal communication, between and among different stakeholders. Organizations with enhanced interpersonal communication enjoy benefits such as improved efficiencies in the execution of group activities and elimination of minor errors that might affect the ability of the organizations to achieve their objectives. Cumulatively, enhancement in these perspectives results in the provision of quality services to the clients by the employees (Greeff and Ghoshal, 2004). Moreover, Jenkins, Delbridge, and Roberts (2010)assert that the ‘relationship existing between the employees and the management team’ play a critical role in influencing their experience and the quality of services they provide. The authors assert that, better relationship between the employees and the management is the primary factor that influences the satisfaction and the ‘loyalty of the employees’, thus, having a direct relationship to the standards of services offered to the clients. The finding from an analysis conducted by World Conference (2013) showed that the senior management of an organization should be concerned with ‘building trusting relationship’ with their juniors to foster better relationship, thereby, the provision of the required services to the customers. While there might not be a direct relationship between the quality of services provided to the clients and enhanced relationship with the management, factors such as ‘improved communication between the management team and the employees’ affects the effectiveness of the execution of organizational activities, thereby, the quality of services. According to Evans and Lindsay (2002), when senior personnel in the management team come to the aidof other employees, the employees feel engaged and provide them with the resources and support required for the provision of quality services to their clients. Consequently, further contributes to employee loyalty and continued provision of quality services. Besides, an analysis performed by Dunleavy and Carrera (2013),revealed that critical organizational behaviors such as ‘employee engagement’ influences the experience and the quality of services provided by the employees to their customers. Engaged employees, show significant commitment to their customers and employees and are willing to put extra efforts to ensure the realization of the desired organizational goals. Significant evidence reveals that the engagement affects other aspects of human resource objectives, such as job performance, recruitment, absenteeism, and retention of the employees. In another study, Gill, White, and Cameron (2011) found that engaging the employees who were working in the healthcare sector improved their job satisfaction and the quality of consumer services. The engagement was evident through their active participation in organizational activities such as decision-making, program assessment, implementation, and evaluation among other organizational activities. The study also showed a significant relationship between employee engagement, job satisfaction, and the quality of the services provided to those seeking health care services. Therefore, the authors concluded that, there exists significant evidence detailing the important relationship between employee engagement, the quality of services provided, and the overall value of employee satisfaction with their jobs. References Hochschild, A. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press. Deery, S and Vandana, N (2012) ‘Customer Service Work, Employee Well-being and Performance’ in Bach. S and Edwards (ed) Managing Human Resources: Human Resource Management in Transition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Gamble, J (2007) The rhetoric of the consumer and customer control in China, Work, Employment and Society, 21 (1) 7-25 Korczynski, M. (2002) Human Resource Management in Service Work.London: Palgrave. Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S. and Purcell, J. (2000) `Fun and Surveillance”: the paradox of high commitment management in call centres, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11, (5): 967-985. Read More