EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT
Learning Objectives
● Define the principles of employee involvement and
describe its relationship to performance
● Compare three employment involvement interventions
○ Parallel structures
○ Total quality management
○ High-involvement organization
01
WHAT IS
EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT?
Employee involvement is the current
label used to describe a set of
practices and philosophies that
started with the quality-of-work-life
movement in the late 1950s.
• diverse approaches to gain greater
participation in relevant workplace
decisions
• employee’s work experience. An
engaged employee is motivated,
committed, and interested in their work
Key Elements That Promote Worker Involvement
POWER REWARDS
P extent to which influence and
authority are pushed down into
the organization
extent to which opportunities for
internal and external rewards are
tied to effectiveness
R
P
INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
I extent to which relevant
information is shared with
members
extent to which members have relevant
skills and knowledge and opportunites
to gain them K
02
HOW EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT
AFFECTS
PRODUCTIVITY
IMPROVED
COMMUNICATIO
N AND
COORDINATION
EMPLOYEE IMPROVED
INVOLVEMENT IMPROVED QUALITY
INTERVENTION MOTIVATION
IMPROVED
CAPABILITIES
SECONDARY EFFECT OF EI ON PRODUCTIVITY
EMPLOYEE WELL- ATTRACTION
BEING AND PRODUCTIVIT
AND
SATISFACTION Y
RETENTION
EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT
INTERVENTION
PRODUCTIVIT
Y
IN SUM:
Employee involvement interventions are expected to
increase productivity by improving communication and
coordination, employee motivation and individual
capabilities.
They can also influence productivity by means of secondary
effects of increased well-being and satisfaction.
03
EMPLOYEE
INVOLVEMENT
INTERVENTIONS
Employee Involvement Interventions
Parallel Structures
Total Quality Management
High Involvement Organizations
Employee Involvement Interventions
Parallel Structures
• Involves employees in resolving poorly defined complex programs and build
adaptability into bureaucratic organizations
• AKA “collateral structures,” “dualistic structures,” or “shadow structures”
• Provides members with an alternative setting to address problem and propose
innovative solution
Parallel Structures
APPLICATION STAGES
1. Define the Purpose and Scope
2. Form a Steering Committee
3. Communicate with Organization Members
4. Create Forums for Employee Problem Solving
5. Address the Problems and Issues
6. Implement and Evaluate the Changes
Parallel Structures
RESULTS
• Increased work satisfaction and task effectiveness
• Stronger relationship between employee participation and
direct performance outcomes
• Systematically implemented programs often improve
productivity and almost always increase investment in
employee skills and knowledge
Employee Involvement Interventions
Parallel Structures
Total Quality Management
High Involvement Organizations
Employee Involvement Interventions
Total Quality Management
• A more comprehensive approach to employee involvement
• AKA “continuous process improvement,” “continuous quality,” “lean,” and “six-
sigma”
• Can be implemented without employee involvement
Total Quality Management
APPLICATION STAGES
1. Gain Long-Term Senior Management Commitment
2. Train Members in Quality Methods
3. Start Quality Improvement Projects
4. Measure Progress
5. Rewarding Accomplishment
Total Quality Management
RESULTS
• About 75% of fortune 500 companies are implementing TQM
• TQM was positively associated with performance outcomes,
such as productivity, customer service, product/service
quality, and profitability, as well as with human outcomes,
such as employee satisfaction and quality of work life
Employee Involvement Interventions
Parallel Structures
Total Quality Management
High Involvement Organizations
Employee Involvement Interventions
High Involvement Organizations
• Aimed at stimulating the participation of employees
• HIO intervention address almost all organization features
• Comprehensive nature of design practice that do not alter formal organization or
focus on particular processes
High Involvement Organizations
FEATURES
1. Flat, lean organization structures
2. Enriched job designs
3. Open information systems
4. Sophisticated selection systems
5. Sophisticated career systems
6. Extensive training programs
7. Advanced reward systems
8. Participatively designed personnel practices
9. Conducive physical layouts
High Involvement Organizations
APPLICATION FACTORS
• At present, there is no universally accepted approach to
implementing the high-involvement features described here
• The actual implementation process often is specific to the situation,
and little systematic research has been devoted to understanding the
change process itself
High Involvement Organizations
RESULTS
• Generally positive results – better performance on quality of
work life, customer service, and sales
• Positive human effects – enhanced well-being (measured by
job satisfaction, fatigue, and job stress)
High Involvement Organizations
LEVELS OF ADOPTION
1. Managers use top-down approach, and emphasize direction
of the workforce
2. Managers use top-down approach, but employees are asked
to provide input concerning business issues that are outside
their immediate assignments
High Involvement Organizations
LEVELS OF ADOPTION
3. Managers use participative approach
4. Managers delegates decision-making authority to work
teams
5. Management defines itself as partners with employees
Knowledge /
Application Power Information Reward
Skill
Parallel Structures LOW MODERATE LOW MODERATE
Total Quality Management HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGH
High Involvement
HIGH HIGH HIGH HIGH
Organizations
In Summary
● Different approaches to Employee Involvement can be
described by the extent to which power, information,
knowledge and skills, and rewards are shared with
employees
● Productivity can be increased through improved
employee communication, motivation, and skills and
abilities
In Summary
● It can also be affected through increased worker
satisfaction, which can turn results in productive
employees joining and remaining with the organization
● The results of the intervention approaches are generally
positive, and the quality of research supporting these
interventions is increasing
THANK YOU
