Introduction
In today’s work environment, employee engagement has become an important focus. A few initiatives that may come to mind include after work socials, pet friendly offices, onsite health screenings, and even annual retreats. These activities can boost communication, foster interpersonal relationships, and show that a company is truly appreciative of their employees. According to DeSteno (2017), “Making people feel proud — not arrogant, but proud of the skills they have — makes them more willing to wait for future rewards and more willing to take on leadership roles in groups and work longer and harder to help a team solve a difficult problem.” Overall, if employees feel appreciated and proud of where they work, they tend to be more loyal, and dedicated to their job duties which can greatly benefit an organization.
Leaders must begin to implement new, innovative strategies to retain employees who are committed to the overall vision and success of the organization. “Success in this digital economy may take a new level of engagement, reconnecting at a very human level and paying attention to the real conversation behind every interaction” (Grove 2019). Appealing to human emotion is an important key to employee engagement, which is essential during this evolution of technology. Of course, many employees are constantly emailing, or using an array of tools to communicate with one another virtually; however, there is always the need for physical and face-to-face interactions. These circumstances should definitely be considered when discussion takes place within organizations regarding methods to improve retention rates.
Rationale
Organizations who do not take employee engagement seriously run the risk of suffering a myriad of consequences including poor communication, unmotivated employees, and low retention rates. According to Merhar (2016), “Frequent voluntary turnover has a negative impact on employee morale, productivity, and company revenue. Recruiting and training a new employee requires staff time and money.” Employees who do not feel connected to each other or the company’s vision, can contribute to inefficiency while they are still employed, and even after they decide to leave. The cost to hire a new, motivated worker could certainly result in time lost having to complete the rigorous onboarding process. Implementing employee engagement opportunities early on has the potential to save a company time and money.
Therefore, I will be conducting a content textual analysis of the digital Gratitude Board at MUSC’s Center for Telehealth to illustrate a new approach that the organization has taken to address employee engagement. “Content analysis is valuable in organizational research because it allows researchers to recover and examine the nuances of organizational behaviors, stakeholder perceptions, and societal trends” (University of Georgia, 2012). Analyzing the content within the Gratitude Board will allow me uncover the efforts of this organization, and get a better understanding of the aspects of employee engagement they suggest are important through these posts. I will be using the social learning theory to illuminate how this strategy could prove effective in regards to keeping employees engaged with their work, and each other.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK & METHODOLOGY
DeSteno, D. (2017). The only way to keep your resolutions [The New York Times Opinion]. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/opinion/sunday/the-only-way-to-keep-your-resolutions.html
Grove, T. (2019). Engagement in a new era of business: An invitation to communicate differently [Forbes CommunityVoice]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/02/01/engagement-in-a-new-era-of-business-an-invitation-to-communicate-differently/#70f4d10f62eb
Merhar, C. (2016).
University of Georgia Research & Methodology [Web page]. (2012). Retrieved January 28, 2019 from https://www.terry.uga.edu/management/contentanalysis/research/
Tierra Thomas 