Theoretical and Practical Implications

From the previous studies, “work engagement in business may play a crucial role in the development of the organization’s human capital” (Shimazu & Schaufeli, 2009). Bakker & Leiter (2010) supposed that modern organizations need energetic and dedicated employees: people who are engaged with their work. They also showed that

“work engagement increases profitability through higher productivity, sales, customer satisfaction, and employee retention”. Work engagement is the harnessing of organization member’s selves to their work roles: in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, emotionally and mentally during role performances (Kahn, 1990, pp.694). In general, work engagement strategies will be

successful when employee turnover is minimized and retention enhanced. However, the impact of employee turnover is not just financial, “it is a problem because it imposes extensive costs on both individuals and organizations” (Mitchell, Holtom & Lee, 2001).

Therefore, an employer or HR managers would be wise to invest time, energy and resources to identify and strengthen non-financial intangibles. Work engagement involves vigor, dedication and absorption while working. Once employees engage employment, they have an enthusiastic working attitude, care about what they do, a sense of purpose in their work, and feel valued.

This research is expected to provide both theoretical and practical implications especially useful to human resource professionals who are managing HR departments in the Vietnamese stock companies. Unfortunately though, from the literature perspective, there is scant research about current human resource challenges in Vietnamese stock markets. Therefore, this study was amongst the first to examine the non-financial factors that influence work engagement in Vietnamese stock brokers. This study also provides human resource researchers and practitioners with a deeper understanding of how to retain employees or stock brokers once they’ve been hired. Such an understanding is practical and useful for both managers and stock brokers. Managers in Vietnamese stock companies can formulate strategies to attract and retain skilled labor that address specific factors identified in this study.

Based on these overviews, literature review and above research results, the positive significance of learned resourcefulness including control and self-leadership in the intention or decision to stay or leave and a negative significance of job burnout on work engagement, the disposition of Vietnamese stock brokers warrants serious attention.

Therefore, what are the necessary skills are to prevent Vietnamese stock brokers from experiencing debilitating job stress that can influence the quality of job performance of brokers, and even more seriously, lead to brokers’ intention in leaving out their current work? And furthermore, this can cause the turnover/loss within Vietnamese securities companies.

To enhance work engagement for Vietnamese stock brokers who are working in the Vietnam stock market, training programs relevant to learned resourcefulness such as

“self-leadership” can addressed for Vietnamese stock brokers. This study indicates that a valid HRM strategy to retain them when Vietnamese securities companies have hired them to work would focus upon the principles of self-leadership as herein described.

For instance, paralleling an organization’s standard attention to “professional knowledge” training programs, HR managers should organize “self-leadership” training programs designed in particular for each company by hired professional services or mentors in order to help brokers improve their “confidence, sense of stability, and ability to manage stress” (Rosenbaum, 1990).

What are some of the most important characteristics that a firm looks for in its employees? Leadership potential, the ability to work independently as well as in team work, “emotional intelligence (EQ)”, “interpersonal communication skills”, “problem solving”, “social skill”; these are among the most commonly listed personal characteristics of an ideal worker. These training programs would forms a well-equipped worker with the necessary soft skills for everyday in-house work tasks as well as simultaneously improve their confidence in contacting, attracting new customers and retaining potential customers who use services of securities companies.

Besides, non–financial rewards, another strategy is proposed. There are many people supposing that the best way to increase employee motivation is to incentivefy employees by financial means, meaning offer more money or have an increase salary and compensation policy. Unfortunately, mostly employees are always looking for realistic ways or seeking other energizing sources to motivate themselves. Work motivation will help employees fell happy and enthusiasm while working. In contrast, if employees feel unhappiness in their work, this can lead to low productivity/performance or poor behavior or even pessimism and a distractive attitude in their work. Therefore, some non-financial rewards including a certification, abroad travelling trips, shopping cards, health care cards, sport club card, movie tickets, etc…can provide incentives to employees, raise up their work moral, and increase their value.

In summary, if work engagement strategies are successful then employee turnover will be minimized and retention enhanced. Therefore, an employer would be wise to invest time, energy and resources to indentify and strengthen non-financial intangibles. The importance of employee recruitment is clear. Perhaps even more importantly, once a worker has chosen to work with a stock brokerage, the human

resource challenge has then shifted to work engagement. The human resource challenge from that point onward is to be as well-informed as possible in order to make the best decisions feasible for the right action that will retain a worker who is joyful, productive, and satisfied. Thus, a better understanding of the nature of the workers’ disposition to their organizations will help professionals successfully cope and ultimately conquer the human resources challenges in Vietnamese securities companies.