INTRODUCTION

Human resource executives in India continue to struggle with talent management issues, particularly retention. The quest to find the best way to retain employees has taken HR pundits through concepts such as employeer e v i e w , e m p l o ye e s a t i s f a c t i o n a n d e m p l o ye e d e l i g h t s . T h e l a t e s t i d e a i s E m p l o ye e E n g a g e m e n t , a c o n c e p t t h a t h o l d s t h a t , i t i s t h e d e g r e e t o which an employee is emotionally bonded to his organization and passionate about his work that really matters.E n g a g e m e n t i s a b o u t m o t i v a t i n g e m p l o y e e s t o d o t h e i r b e s t . A n engaged employee gives his company his hundred percent. The quality of output and competitive advantage of a company depends upon the quality of its people. It has been proved that there is an intrinsic link between employee engagement, customer loyalty and profitability.W h e n e m p l o ye e s a r e e f f e c t i v e l y a n d p o s i t i v e l y e n g a g e d w i t h t h e irorganization the y form an emotional connection with the com pany. This i mpacts their attitude towards the companys clients, and thereby improves customer satisfaction and service levels.M o s t o r g a n i z a t i o n s r e a l i z e t o d a y t h a t a s a t i s f i e d e m p l o y e e i s n o t necessarily the best employee in terms of loyalty and productivity. It is only an engaged employee who is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization, feels passionately about its goals and is committed towards its values who can be termed thus. He goes the extra mile beyond the basic jobr e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e a c t i o n s t h a t d r i v e t h e b u s i n e s s . M o r e o v e r , i n t i m e s o f d i m i n i s h i n g l o y a l t y; e m p l o ye e e n g a g e m e n t i s a p o w e r f u l r e t e n t i o n s t r a t e g y. T h e f a c t t h a t i t h a s a s t r o n g i m p a c t o n t h e bottom line adds to its significance. A successful employee engagement helps create a community at the workplace and not just a workforce. As organizations globalize and become more dependent on technology in a virtual working environment, there is a greater need to connect and engage with employees to provide them with an organizational identity. Especially in Indian culture this becomes morer e l e v a n t g i v e n t h e c o m m u n i t y f e e l i n g w h i c h o r g a n i z a t i o n p r o v i d e i n o u r society. T h e r e a r e a l o t o f H R t h i n g s . T h e y a r e c a l l e d f a d s . T h o s e a r e t h e bandwagons upon which we hop. Perhaps its time to evaluate whether e m p l o ye e e n g a g e m e n t i s a f a d o r a n e w k n o w l e d g e d o m a i n f o r w h i c h H R executives can help make their companies a better place to work.