EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT OF FACULTIES IN MANAGEMENT INSTITUTES IN PUNE DURING COVID – 19 PANDEMIC

In the present situation of COVID - 19 the employees and the workplaces across the globe have been facing challenges of continuing their work during this pandemic. The educational institutions also had to explore various avenues for enabling the faculty members to perform their duties even during the lockdown situation. Employee engagement, therefore, has assumed great importance for ensuring that academic activities are conducted smoothly. Since the employees have to work from home, use of technology for conducting lectures, examinations, and m eetings have become inevitable. This has posed some challenges to the educational institutions as well as faculty members. This exploratory study has examined the innovative ways of engaging the faculty members in management institutes in Pune and the challenges faced by them during the COVID - 19 situation from April 2020 to January 2021. It was found that more than 85% of the time, the faculty members were busy not only in their regular activities like conducting lectures and examinations, but they were also engaged in various other activities involving research, administration, and skill development.