The impact of employee engagement on organizational productivity: case study of UVS.

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.