Impact of turnaround strategy on employee engagement: The case of Foskor.

Abstract

In a turbulent business world, increasing engagement should be a strategic priority. The impact of turnaround strategies on employees’ engagement is very important to the success of any distressed organisation such as Foskor in Richards Bay, South Africa. The study was motivated by a turnaround strategy which was implemented by Foskor in 2016, to the best of my knowledge based on literature reviewed no study has been conducted to date to explore the impact of turnaround strategies on employee engagement. The objective of this qualitative study was to assess the impact of turnaround strategy on the engagement of middle managers at Foskor in Richards Bay in South Africa. This study’s objectives were achieved through a qualitative research methodology process. Non-probability, purposive sampling was adopted to select a sample of seven (7) middle-level managers to participate in the research. Data for the current study was gathered through semi-structured interviews, which were guided by an interview guide to get multiple perspectives from middle managers on how the turnaround strategy impacted employee engagement. A voice recorder was used to capture interview proceedings, enabling thematic data analysis. Emerging themes were coded and discussed in relation to research questions. Results from the study revealed that the impact of turnaround strategy on employee engagement was evident in loss of employee enthusiasm and desire to go an extra mile; declining employee commitment due to poor turnaround process; perpetuating the mindset of a minimalist performer; dwindling sense of belonging and unhealthy subordinate-boss relationship. The engagement of middle managers in implementing the turnaround strategy at Foskor was not effective in terms of the process which lacked meaningful engagement to give employees a voice and sense that they were part of the turnaround process. Lack of engagement of middle managers, was also evident especially during the formulation of turnaround strategy. While the turnaround strategy was effective in the initial communication of organisation-wide goals, it failed to ensure clarity and relevance of turnaround goals at departmental levels. The study concludes that any failure to build a culture of employee engagement is a huge impediment to successful turnaround strategy, which benefits from organisation citizenship behaviour of all employees. Recommendations for employee engagement when implementing turnaround strategy are proposed. Areas for future research are also highlighted.