Employees: Essential for Gaining Strategic Advantage in Competitive World - Essay Sample

Introduction

Employees form an essential part of the organization, and they dictate the direction and success of the organization by influencing the critical strategic decisions made. Organizations operate in a competitive world in which strategic position is essential to giving the companies a competitive advantage. Leveraging the vital assets of the company is crucial in gaining a competitive advantage over others within the industry. Employees are assets to the company, and they are essential in giving the organizations a competitive edge over others. This depends on the manner the organizations handle the employees, motivate them, and the availability of growth prospects. The paper, therefore, focuses on how organizations can leverage their employee by engaging them as a way of gaining competitive advantage within the respective industry.

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Employees need to be motivated, and this is essential in increasing their working rate and stability hence increasing the mental satisfaction among them. Through motivations, employees carry out their mandate diligently without being followed up regularly. Organizations motivate employees in various ways, and this translates into their performance that is crucial for the performance of the organization. Engagement of employees in decision making regarding issues affecting them and the attainment of the business objectives is crucial in motivating them as they feel involved in key matters affecting the company. The company also undertakes to ensure employees further their educations, and this benefit to employees translates into their performance through the enhancement of their professional skills and mental stability. Encouraging the employees to advance their education indicates how the company cares for the welfare and development of its employees (Bin, 2015). The intrinsic motivation and the engagement of the employees give the company strength to overcome obstacles as a team and contribute towards idea generations aimed at enhancing the company’s performance. When employees are motivated, they take the significant initiative to promote the brand outside hence acting as marketers for their company as they feel proud knowing the level of engagement within the company.

The organization also ensure the working environment is conducive for the employees to thrive. The aim is to give the best to the employees to enhance their performance level, and this can be achieved by having the latest technology changes incorporated into the daily operation of the company. Through ensuring the computers operated by employees are faster and latest, their productivity level increases as they enjoy their work (Singh, Burgess, Heap & Al Mehrzi, 2016). Additionally, having breakfast such as coffee at the workplace with a comfortable chair creates a conducive and productive environment; hence employee output increases tremendously, leading to increased company's output. Organizations that do not value the operating environment much inhibits the motivational level and the ability of employees to perform to their best. The conducive environment, therefore, gives an organization a competitive edge over others in the industry.

Ensuring the management and leadership of the organization is top-notch and qualified to handle and engage the employees is crucial I positioning the company better in the industry. Management centered on employees' welfare act as role models to the employees as they involve and listen to the diverse views emanating from the employees. Leading by example is key in ensuring structures are well developed within the company for the employees to operate within. Clear structures and hierarchy define duties clearly hence allowing the employees to concentrate on their tasks. This allows the company to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and come up with adequate plans to improve their individual performance. Also, decision making becomes clearer as the management engages the employees through evaluation of their individual roles (Singh, Burgess, Heap & Al Mehrzi, 2016). Communication should, therefore, be from bottom to top to ensure the employees remain engaged throughout, and their grievances are addressed to keep them motivated and work harder towards realizing the set objectives. When employees are engaged, loyalty and trust are inspired; hence they can work harder and be more productive to the organizations.

There is a need to greatly engage the employees during the selection, recruitment, and training process. At these stages, thorough engagement of the employee enables the management to understand the in-depth strengths possessed by an individual and the duties that they can perform better. The employee capabilities and experience are assessed to determine their suitability for the various essential positions within the organization. Their experience and achievements are reviewed to ensure they qualify before being placed. It is ideal to also create files and ensure all the documents are provided by the new staff to support their claim. The aim is to ensure the organizations acquire employees who fit into their desired program and are capable of carrying the duties diligently ad enhance the vision of the organization (Bin, 2015). Additionally, group coordination should also be enhanced to ensure the new employees get to learn from the older employees and share their experience with the aim of forming a strong team that represents the values and ideals of the organization. Carefully selected employees are key in aiding the organization to achieve its set objectives and have a competitive advantage over its competitors in the market.

Training the new employees as well as constantly training the existing ones is crucial in ensuring the organization stays up to date with the current skilled qualities that ensure the employees perform optimally. There might be on-job training and outside training workshops. On the job training involves ensuring the employees are equipped and are able to perform their work, and it is done within the organization's premises in the real environment. The aim is to make them understand how the company functions and also learn in case new procedures or other changes are being introduced in the organization (Albrecht & Marty, 2020). Training can also be done in various organized seminars with the aim of equipping the employees with the new trends in the industry, and to keep up with the changing regulatory requirements. Through this, the company remains updated I regard to the slightest changes within the industry and from the government hence remaining with a competitive advantage.

Adequate pay negotiation between the employees and the company during the interview process ensures the employees are contented with what they get as the satisfaction of both parties is enhanced. The organization at this stage ensures that the best employees are recruited at the lesser cost compared to the competitors in the industry. With the employees satisfied and made to understand the vast opportunity for growth within the company, the cost of the company goes down hence reducing the overall expenses (Kerdpitak & Jermsittiparsert, 2020). Consequently, the profit for the organization increases. Increased profit with reduced expenses gives the organization advantage over the others in the market since acquiring better employees with slightly lower wages is relatively difficult.

Conclusion

In conclusion, organizations strive to have a competitive advantage over others in the industry. There is a greater need to tap into the essential assets within the organizations as a means of gaining a competitive advantage over others in the industry. The employees’ engagement plays a crucial role in ensuring the company attains its set out objectives and surpasses the set targets hence becoming competitively advantageous over its key competitors in the market.

References

Albrecht, S. L., & Marty, A. (2020). Personality, self-efficacy, and job resources and their associations with employee engagement, affective commitment, and turnover intentions. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(5), 657-681. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585192.2017.1362660

Bin, A. S. (2015). The relationship between job satisfaction, job performance, and employee engagement: An explorative study. Issues in Business Management and Economics, 4(1), 1-8. http://www.academia.edu/download/55984843/Abdulwahab.pdf

Kerdpitak, C., & Jermsittiparsert, K. (2020). The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Competitive Advantage: Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in Thailand. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(1), 443-452. http://www.sysrevpharm.org/fulltext/196-1580882376.pdf

Singh, S. K., Burgess, T. F., Heap, J., & Al Mehrzi, N. (2016). Competing through employee engagement: a proposed framework. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJPPM-02-2016-0037/full/html