The nature of the relationship between a company and its employees defines the level of workers’ satisfaction and the performance of the organization. In this paper, this relationship, also called employee engagement, is discussed through an example of Holiday Snacks. Aiming at a varied audience and producing a wide range of products, including healthy snacks, this company is considered highly competitive in its business sphere with its thought-out distribution channels. For Holiday Snacks, which provides workplaces for about 600 workers, employee engagement is essential for increasing performance and enhancing its positions in the market.
Employee engagement is a fundamental business concept describing to what extent workers are committed to the organization. Its driving factors may vary depending on the business sphere, the company’s products, corporate culture, and other aspects. In order to understand what contributes to encouraging and motivating employees, it is necessary to introduce the analyzed company. Holiday Snacks is a food production organization operating in the Caribbean and Central America. Owned by the Bermudez Group, it also collaborates with the West India Biscuit Company, which purchases Holiday’s products and distributes them to different regions, for example, Barbados and Jamaica. The mission of Holiday Snacks is to attract customers by a wide range of manufactured products, which are exported to thirteen markets in the Caribbean. The company’s operation in several regions is likely to contribute to its cultural diversity. The inclusion of employees from different cultural backgrounds is believed to increase their motivation and performance. Therefore, the geographics of Holiday Snacks may positively influence employee engagement.
Factors contributing to employee motivation can also be connected to Holiday Snacks’ position in the food and beverage sector. According to Chathoth et al. (2020, p. 1), employee engagement can be “considered from the perspective of the creation of value for the customers and the firm.” Since the organization operates throughout the Caribbean and is aimed at a diverse audience, employees can expect the company’s products to be in high demand. Working on Holiday Snacks, they may feel the importance of their contribution leading to higher motivation. Therefore, the company’s competitive position may play a positive role in increasing its prestige, and consequently, enhancing employees’ performance.
Not all factors contributing to employee engagement are related to the peculiarities of a company’s business industry: some of them depend on the organizational culture within a company. According to Al Shehri et al. (2017), workers’ training, communication within an organization, rewards, and appreciation of employees are some of the most important factors defining engagement. In order to stimulate employees’ contribution and commitment to the company, Holiday Snacks should pay special attention to workers’ recognition. Besides feeling involved in the creation of value emphasized in the previous paragraph, employees need to understand that their work is appreciated. It can be expressed through financial bonuses, positive feedbacks from supervisors, effective communications within the team, and other factors. Therefore, the fair treatment of workers is not company-specific but a universal condition of their engagement.
It is possible to conclude that the stable position of Holiday Snacks in the market, as well as the specificity of its business sphere, contribute to an enhanced employee engagement. As a large producer of snacks, the organization can be a desired workplace. At the same time, recognition and reward are essential for maintaining workers’ motivation. Therefore, for Holiday Snacks, it is important to pay attention to its corporate culture in order to increase employee engagement.
Reference List
Chathoth, P. K. et al. (2020). ‘Situational and personal factors influencing hospitality employee engagement in value co-creation.’ International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91, pp. 1-10. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102687
Al Shehri, M. et al. (2017). ‘The impact of organizational culture on employee engagement in Saudi banks.’ Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2017, pp. 1-23. doi:10.5171/2017.761672