“How’s work?” It’s a question you’ve posed – and answered – a thousand times.
Ask yourself how often you are met with throwaway comments like “don’t ask” or “to be honest, I’m living for the weekend.” The truth is, according to the data, these throwaway comments are the global norm. The Gallup State of the Global Workforce: 2022 Report found that just 21% of employees feel “engaged” at work and 33% say they are “thriving” in their overall wellbeing. The survey’s authors noted “the world’s employees are feeling even more stressed than they did in 2020 (the previous all-time high).” And in the midst of “the great resignation,” and the era of the “quiet quitter” (where millions of workers appear to doing the bare minimum within the bounds of their job description) – it’s a business imperative to pay attention. This is particularly urgent amongst the C-suite due to the sizeable disparity between their perception of employee engagement and the reality.
At the recent GDS CX Innovation Summit, we asked our attendees, which proportion of your workforce do you feel are actively engaged? to which just 9% reflected the global actuality by answering 0-25%. In fact, the highest proportion of the delegation (36%) said they expected 50-75% of their workforce to feel actively engaged.
“[This is] typical of what we’d see when we talk to leaders around the globe,” remarked Stephen Gee, Chief Customer Officer at Jugo. “There is definitely a gap between the understanding of us as leaders and the experience of our employees.” But he emphasized the opportunity presented by this stark reality check to do better.
So how do we do better? And how can we balance this approach against the backdrop of a tumultuous global economic climate?
Face the Music
To effectively improve employee engagement and wellbeing, C-suite executives first need to recognize the gaps and ask: Why are people leaving? Or how can we encourage them to stay?
Note, this approach must account for employees’ tendency to tell leaders what they think they want to hear. Unless your organization is an authentically ‘safe space’ for staff to be candid without fear of punishment or alienation, your strategy cannot be limited to a once-off “how are things?”
Conducting exit interviews is an essential component to gaining real insight. This not only shines a direct light upon the reasons why talent is leaving, but it creates an integral bank of data in order to understand the shifts in trends around employee expectations and priorities.
Futureproof Your Approach
A study by EY found that attrition rates vastly differ between demographics. Boomers (born 1946-1964) and those with over 10 years of tenure are most likely to remain in their current roles. Meanwhile, Millennials (1981-1996) are twice as likely as Boomers to quit and move on.
This paired with Gallup’s finding that younger workers have declined significantly – compared with their older counterparts – in terms of feeling cared about and having opportunities to develop. Leaders are urgently pressed to address this or run a risk of churn that is higher than ever.
What’s more, the difference in experience between generations shows the need to anticipate and strategize around fluctuating expectations as newer demographics enter the workforce.
Correct the Tech
We’ve all been there, when the technology at the workplace feels like an active hindrance to productivity.
Reassuringly, leaders recognize the importance in addressing this problem. New research from Freshworks saw 71% acknowledge that their staff will look for new jobs if they are not provided with the right tools and tech they need to do their job effectively.
But the problem is far from fixed as an astounding 91% of employees reported that they are frustrated with their work software.
In a hybrid era of work, IT and HR have become uniquely entwined, as tech feeds more into employee satisfaction and wellness than ever before.
You’re Listening? Prove It.
Finally, if an employee feels unheard, offering feedback will feel like a pointless endeavour. However, if actions and investments are communicated openly throughout the business, it will show the workforce how seriously their feedback is taken amongst leadership. This will overall strengthen the credibility of decision makers, while cementing buy-in amongst teams to proactively share their thoughts.
Rather than announcing the roll out of new employee initiatives without context, leaders are best placed to ensure that employees understand these new initiatives are a direct result of their feedback.
Amidst bleak findings around global employee engagement, there is an undeniable business case for addressing this head-on. Studies consistently point to the pattern between happy employees and happy customers – thus the direct link between employee experience and revenue growth. After repeated yearly studies analysing the leaders and the laggards on the Forrester CX Index, Harley Manning, Forrester’s Vice president and Research Director said it plainly in 2016: “Superior CX drives superior revenue growth.”
GDS Summits are tailored 3-day virtual event conferences that bring together business leaders and solution providers to accelerate sales cycles, industry conversations and outcomes. Regarding the CX Innovation Summit 86% of Delegates said the overall experience of Digital Summit they attended was either Above Average or Excellent and 71% of Delegates said the Digital Summit provided them with actionable outcomes to support their current initiatives.
For more, click here to hear from attendees on how GDS has helped them to achieve their business outcomes.
Continue the debate at GDS’ CX Innovation Summits where we bring together senior marketing executives who are actively seeking to share, learn, engage, and find the best solutions.
