The impact of employee engagement on organizational productivity: case study of UVS.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
There is no evidence that links employee engagement to high productivity in the sugar
industry. Low levels of engagement have been observed in the South African manufacturing
industry. The objective of this study was to establish the factors that influence employee
engagement at Umhlathuze Valley Sugar (UVS) and to ascertain the impact of the
relationship between employee engagement and productivity, to highlight areas of focus to
UVS for a sustainable future. A quantitative study was done with a random sampling design
used to explore the impact of employee engagement on productivity. The sample group (N=
73) was made up of female and male UVS staff. The employee engagement questionnaire
that was used looked at different facets of employee engagement, these were; employee
commitment towards their work, internal communication and how leadership style affects
their engagement levels, employee well-being and how person job-fit influenced employee
engagement. The organizational productivity questionnaire used also looked at various
facets, which included; employee punctuality, commitment of employees to produce high
quality work and meet deadlines, employee absenteeism and minimisation of waste to
improve productivity. The study used descriptive statistics to analyse the data. The findings
from the study indicate that UVS has a sufficiently engaged workforce, but there is a
significant room for improvement. The participants also revealed an awareness of the impact
of their engagement levels towards company productivity. However, in terms of job
satisfaction and employee well-being, UVS employees are dissatisfied with their
compensation packages and the lack of support in as far as work conditions are concerned.
Employee motivation directed towards improving employee contribution towards
productivity, HR policies aimed at creating an inclusive workplace as well as strategies of
improving workplace conditions, are some of the recommendations from this study. Finally,
the study recommends that similar research be conducted to include the entire sugar
industry in South Africa.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.