Employee engagement constructs: “CARE” model of engagement – need to look beyond the obvious

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to identify new variables that form the core building blocks of employee engagement model which can be leveraged by human resources' (HR) practitioners to develop HR strategies to drive employee engagement initiatives in their companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have undertaken extensive literature review to identify the variables that enhances engagement. These variables are yet to be leveraged fully in engagement models that have been developed but have the potential to impact the motivation levels of the employees. Exploratory survey to validate the relevance of these variables was conducted and subsequently these variables were grouped into a Context, Altruistic, Resonance and Enable (“CARE”) framework that can be leveraged by HR practitioners.

Findings

The changing nature of workforce, increasing diversity and tenure of jobs has resulted in changing aspirations of employees as well. The building blocks hitherto adopted by companies to craft their employee engagement strategies have to undergo a perceptible change as well. This paper offers an alternative perspective of relooking the engagement levers currently adopted by firms (work environment, autonomy, appreciation, organization support, etc.) and proposes 15 new building blocks (resonant connections, value congruence, socialization practices, micro-moments of connections, fit amongst others) which are logically grouped under CARE model over which employee engagement strategies can be built by companies.

Originality/value

This paper provides insights into this important concept of employee engagement using a set of newer constructs that can form the foundation of newer models that will drive future HR strategies to enhance engagement.

Citation

Mani, S. and Mishra, M. (2021), "Employee engagement constructs: “CARE” model of engagement – need to look beyond the obvious", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 453-466. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-08-2020-0358