Authors: Assistant Professor Ms. Tanveer Fatma, Harsh Sharma
Abstract: Employee engagement has turned into one of the most discussed ideas in human resource management over the last two decades, mainly because organisations have started realising that engaged employees are directly connected to better productivity, lower attrition and stronger financial outcomes. This paper is an attempt to study the relationship between employee engagement and organisational performance by taking Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., one of India's largest automobile and farm equipment manufacturers, as the unit of analysis. The study relies on secondary data collected from the company's integrated annual reports, HR trade publications, company communication and available academic literature, since conducting a large primary survey inside the organisation was not practically possible within the scope of this paper. It looks closely at Mahindra's engagement philosophy, popularly known as 'Rise', along with its learning and development initiatives, diversity practices, recognition programmes and CSR involvement, and tries to connect these practices to the company's recent business performance. A conceptual framework mapping Mahindra's HR practices against established engagement models (Gallup Q12 and Kahn's dimensions of engagement) is presented, along with a proposed survey instrument that future researchers could use to test the relationship empirically inside the organisation. The broad conclusion drawn is that Mahindra's engagement practices are fairly comprehensive and directionally consistent with the record financial and operational performance the company has posted in recent years, although a controlled primary study would be required before any causal claim can be made with confidence.
