Investigating the Cause and Effect of Employee Engagement Through the Lens of HR Analytics

Introduction

Human resource management originated in recent times as the concept is being accepted by all organizations across the globe. This concept of humanization of work (Bhattacharyya, 2015) was developed to develop competitive advantages, strategic relevance, and sustainability. The normative perspective of HRM defines this function of management as a “process of shaping employment relationships to achieve individual, organizational and societal goals” (Boselie, Paauwe, & Jansen, 2000; p. 20). Schermerhorn (2001) defines the concept as “a process of attracting, developing, and maintaining a talented and energetic workforce to support organizational mission, objectives, and strategies” (p. 2400). The normative approach of HRM incorporates a bunch of crucial HR functions such as human resource planning, recruitment and selection, compensation management, training and development, motivation, organizational culture, change and team development, work-life-balancing, employee engagement, talent management, and turnover.

Over the years the concept of HRM has become significantly complex and comprehensive. The recent development of a data-driven society has led HRM to be defined in terms of “Descriptive” and “Conceptual” perspectives. The fact-based HRM practices give rise to the descriptive concept of HRM whereas conceptual perspective relates these facts to each other. These two perspectives develop the foundation for an emerging concept of HR Analytics (HRA) and predictive decision-making process. The authenticity and validity of data have provided ample reasons for organizations to shift their focus to evidence-based (based on data) management practices for their conscientious decision-making. The concept of evidence-based management was pioneered by Pfeffer and Sutton (2006) and Briner et al. (2009). HR Analytics provides more evidence-based results which help in making better decisions to develop the capabilities of employees of an organization. Such HR analytics-based decisions are more value-adding, futuristic, and sustainable (Bhattacharyya, 2017)

Business organizations in the recent decade are taking a new turn towards a highly competitive yet sustainable business environment. In a competitive environment where every venture comes with a great opportunity to grow possesses an even greater threat of extinction. To survive in such an environment, an organization needs a skilled, experienced, and most importantly engaged workforce. The engagement of employees has been a cause of concern for many organizations witnessing setbacks in their growth. This new yet complex organizational issue has been addressed and defined by many authors and researchers like Kahn (1990); Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001); Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2002) Hallberg and Schaufeli (2006); Schaufeli et al. (2002) and Rothbard (2001) have defined employee engagement in terms of psychological state. One of the pioneers in defining this construct was Kahn. Kahn (1990) defined employee engagement as “the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances” (p.694). Authors like Macey and Schneider (2008a) described this construct as a combination of the “psychological state”, “behavioral aspect” and “Traits” of employees. Maslach et al. (2001) referred to engagement as a “persistent, positive affective motivational state of fulfillment” (p. 417).