HBO session 1

There is a very strong relationship between the performance of the company and emotional engagement. Emotional engagement as per Hewitt can be summed up by the concept of      "Say Stay Strive", which means that an emotionally engaged employee talks positively about the company, is willing to stay and is willing to put extra efforts for the company. There may a number of instances where it becomes difficult to create an emotional engagement eg: when teams works from home. The ultimate onus thus lies on the manager to establish an emotional engagement with the employees. A simple telephone call could do the job in this case. It was observed by the examples given in the class that a manager who empowers the employees is likely to create an emotional engagement rather than an authoritarian manager. 

       High growth rate in Asia has created a seller's labor market, thus forcing the companies to be engaged in a "War for Talent". So companies are trying to create a complete ecosystem for the employees. Emotional engagement and other benefits seem to be a ploy to keep employees engaged in this ecosystem. After all an emotionally engaged employee will have a higher productivity.

Emotional engagement is subjective with respect to each employee. What could be engaging to one might not appeal to another. So the key to effective management lies in choosing the right people at the first place who fit in the company culture. So that it becomes much more easier to align and engage them to the company. Ritz Carlton is a classic example of this practice. However at the end of the day the manager should judge what would engage an employee. If he is successful the employees move towards the concept of "Say Stay and Strive" and thus increase the overall productivity of the company.