It was recently highlighted that senior leaders within the NHS found it easier to tell patients they were critically ill than to have a conversation with a colleague about their performance or career progression.

A pretty alarming fact on its own, but it highlights an endemic problem within the HR sector, the fact that senior staff- junior employee communications and workforce transparency are far from assured within companies no matter what their size. Lee Grant, VP Youforce International commented: “Transparency and ownership in organisations cascade from the top down. Pushing line managers and senior staff to train, develop and interact more with their staff engenders respect for these senior figures amongst the workforce, but also ensures employee churn is minimised as employees can achieve their professional goals in a timely fashion, thus remaining happy, motivated and wanting to stay put.

“Communication issues are the greatest barriers to creating a more connected and transparent workforce, and increased visibility of the C-Level is paramount to breaking these hurdles down. The fact remains however that if the game changes, so too must the tools you use to play it.” Highlighting a gap in what companies can offer and what employees want is one thing, but you need the technology to be able to realise this. C-Level executives need to engage and empower their workforce more, yes. But the employee on the ground needs to be able to monitor their own progress and take control of their own career too.”

“Youforce believes companies need to embrace the corporate landscape they inhabit and evolve when it comes to HR, corporate hierarchy and static business structures. If companies engage more effectively with their employees through self-service and mobile technology, it will empower them along the way to play a greater role in their own professional development ultimately benefiting both employee and company alike in the long run,” Grant finished.