Employee Engagement and Competitive Advantage during Covid 19 Pandemic in Small to Medium Enterprises, Catering Industry, Harare.
- May 5, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue IV, April 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Mubango Hazel and Muzariri Calvin
Women’s University in Africa, Zimbabwe
Abstract: The unexpected coming of Covid -19 to the whole world came with shocking effects on business. Zimbabwe as a country was not spared by this pandemic and in particular, Harare’s small to medium catering industry was seriously affected. This research paper focused on the level of engagement of employees in the Small to Medium Enterprises in the catering industry with the intention to find out how engagement can provide leverage for competitiveness. The concept of engagement has an adverse effect on employee performance and the financial position of the organization. The research was based on documentary analysis to gather information on the unfolding events in Harare. The research revealed that employees in the catering industry were disengaged from the effects of Covid -19 which frustrated the work systems and plans.
The research findings revealed that employees were disengaged due to the changes in work processes. Much of the disengagement came from job insecurity caused by continued lockdowns and poor income generation by the companies. It was recommended that management must support the engagement process as they are key in facilitating employee productivity and company success. Also, the government must encourage dialogue in managing the political, Socio-Cultural and economic issues to at least avert the problems of disengagement.
Keywords: Covid-19, Employee Engagement, Competitive advantage, Catering industry.
I.INTRODUCTION
The Covid -19 pandemic came unexpectedly frustrating the operations of the catering industry which is one of the key and productive sectors in Zimbabwe. The Small to Medium Catering industry was hard hit with a series of lockdowns at the edge where companies were thriving for survival by use of employee engagement strategies. Covid-19 led to a series of lockdowns and on other occasions, total lockdowns were experienced manned by state security forces thereby challenging the engagement process in the catering industry. The concept of engagement was examined by Chris Ross (2011) on how it has an effect on competitiveness. In view of Ross (2011), it was revealed that the concept of engagement feeds into improved profitability and employee performance. Need arise to examine the relation between employee engagement and competitiveness then zero in on the effect of Covid -19. This study focuses on how SMEs can use employee engagement for competitive advantage in the midst of the ravaging effects of Covid-19 affecting businesses. The Covid-Abstract: The unexpected coming of Covid -19 to the whole world came with shocking effects on business. Zimbabwe as a country was not spared by this pandemic and in particular, Harare’s small to medium catering industry was seriously affected. This research paper focused on the level of engagement of employees in the Small to Medium Enterprises in the catering industry with the intention to find out how engagement can provide leverage for competitiveness. The concept of engagement has an adverse effect on employee performance and the financial position of the organization. The research was based on documentary analysis to gather information on the unfolding events in Harare. The research revealed that employees in the catering industry were disengaged from the effects of Covid -19 which frustrated the work systems and plans.
The research findings revealed that employees were disengaged due to the changes in work processes. Much of the disengagement came from job insecurity caused by continued lockdowns and poor income generation by the companies. It was recommended that management must support the engagement process as they are key in facilitating employee productivity and company success. Also, the government must encourage dialogue in managing the political, Socio-Cultural and economic issues to at least avert the problems of disengagement.
Keywords: Covid-19, Employee Engagement, Competitive advantage, Catering industry.
I.INTRODUCTION
The Covid -19 pandemic came unexpectedly frustrating the operations of the catering industry which is one of the key and productive sectors in Zimbabwe. The Small to Medium Catering industry was hard hit with a series of lockdowns at the edge where companies were thriving for survival by use of employee engagement strategies. Covid-19 led to a series of lockdowns and on other occasions, total lockdowns were experienced manned by state security forces thereby challenging the engagement process in the catering industry. The concept of engagement was examined by Chris Ross (2011) on how it has an effect on competitiveness. In view of Ross (2011), it was revealed that the concept of engagement feeds into improved profitability and employee performance. Need arise to examine the relation between employee engagement and competitiveness then zero in on the effect of Covid -19. This study focuses on how SMEs can use employee engagement for competitive advantage in the midst of the ravaging effects of Covid-19 affecting businesses. The Covid-
