As we journey through ongoing workforce evolution and try to make sense of it all, are employee demands really changing so much, or is it that we’re just talking about it a lot more? That the world of work is shifting is nothing new, it’s just that COVID turned a meander into a sprint, as what we thought were short-term fixes and adaptions turned into a work/life hinterland only previously imagined.
That shared, lived experience during the pandemic seemed to increase the level of trust and employees enjoyed greater autonomy and less micro-management, which was one of the bugbears, back in the old conventions of working nine-to-five. There will have been detractors for sure, but the emerging big picture revealed a compelling tableau, in which knowledge workers demonstrated that they could work from anywhere and deliver, with many organisations reporting increases in productivity. In our personal lives, we had a lot more time on our hands to stop, to think and reassess our lives and careers and many of us made some changes big and small to our opinions, mindset and priorities. All well and good, but all this reflection and life recalibration are contributing to the people management challenges we are now seeing and assessing today. That we made some quick changes and they worked, has created a mindset to not blithely accept the status quo and to challenge convention and the tried-and tested. As we turned a corner and began to make our way out of the pandemic, the jobs market was buoyant, talent was in short supply and candidates were in the driving seat. The power was in their hands, they had proven that they deserved to be trusted and they had reassessed what they valued and now their options were wide open. We saw employees in search of a greater sense of purpose begin to demand more from their employers. A 2022 Deloitte survey found nearly two-in-five Zoomers and Millennials had turned down a job because it did not align with their values. It was indeed a buyers’ market!
Fast forward to today and we’re in another state of flux, this time an economic downturn and possible recession. Internal budgets are being hedged – meaning teams are being asked to do more with less – and the cost-of living crisis is biting. We’re seeing this playing out in two prevalent ways; employees with financial commitments are in search of security, less willing to move companies for fear of being the ‘last one in’. Then on the flip side, there are reports of younger generations being less motivated by money, as they either opted out or have been unable to gain a foot on the property ladder and are instead living at home with family and benefitting from lower financial pressures. In addition to all of that, employees are looking for more beyond the traditional role of their employer. A recent Edelman report revealed trust in information from employers is now greater than that from the Government and that puts a huge amount of responsibility on businesses to support their people and prove action on their social and environmental conscience, when expectations are already high. So, what has changed in the relationship, both physical and psychological, between employer and employee? Evolution is pulling organisations into precarious territory, where for many, the value deal between employee and employer is out of balance. We have individuals in roles who are dispassionate about their work, feeling uninspired, but at the same time, seeking the security of an established role. They either have nowhere to go, or no incentive to move and there is a groundswell of people who are turning down jobs, based on social values and company behaviours. Although organisations are fiercely focused on retention, there is a dichotomy creeping in, as we see teams working desperately hard to keep the ‘good ones’, but struggling to find ways to manage – and where necessary – exit the poor performers.
So, what do businesses need to face in this workplace evolution? If businesses are to succeed, they need to attract and retain the best people and engage them in their business goals and ambitions, co-creating where appropriate to design a future where all parties benefit. Around 60 percent of colleagues who resign from a role cite the reason for leaving as “it’s not what I expected” and this clearly tells us that there is a mismatch between expectation and reality. That is hardly a surprise, when in the race to ‘evolve’, companies are constantly knee-jerk reacting in a bid to secure and attract talent. Consequently, many organisations are making huge promises that they can’t yet deliver on, policies are being created which, in the immediate term, can only pay lip-service, because cultural shift – and that’s what we’re talking about here – takes time. So let us look at some key pointers for the journey ahead.
A key component of engagement is a sense of progress and success. We all want to feel it, so be clear on what success looks like for your people, reward them when they achieve it and support them when they don’t. Then, if that support doesn’t work, it’s time to have a conversation. Underperformance in a role is bad news for both the employee and the employer, so help that person to find an environment where they can succeed and that might be in another role or it could be at another organisation. So long as it’s managed correctly, that is fine. Be explicit about the value transaction – this is what we offer our people and in return, this is what we expect – share goals and ensure colleagues have objectives that ladder up to those deliverables. Then measure progress because, as we all know, ‘what gets measured gets done’. Talk regularly about performance, both at organisational and functional level, as well as team and individual level. Also, create stretching but realistic goals for the environmental, social and governance ambitions, as these are the big three in the Zoomer and Millennial wish list. Co-create action plans that will deliver in the timeframe promised – use a shadow board if you can – and share plans, break down the deliverables and empower colleagues to contribute to the overall success. In short, make people part of it.
When defining and establishing the employee value proposition, be sure that it shows up right across the colleague experience journey, from social media posts to attraction campaigns – all through onboarding, performance and development conversations – and even onto offboarding and nurturing your alumni network. Placing trust in and offering flexibility to your workforce, pays. Research with 6000 plus employees in one organisation, found that those who say hybrid working suits them best, are more likely to report higher productivity levels than those who solely work in the office or solely work from home. So put policies in place that benefit both sides. Placing trust in – and offering flexibility to – the workforce, pays off. Businesses need to run their values up the mast at every opportunity and broadcasting to the world where they are heading and the type of organisation they want to be, though this has to come with some honest about where they are now. They must be transparent, sharing ambitions alongside progress and setbacks and, above all else, they must manage expectations. By sharing intentions and being honest about the current situation, they can build – and re-build – trust and buy the time and goodwill required to deliver true change and to keep evolving.
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