As employers we all hope that our teams will give us 110% in terms of output, commitment and ideas. The push for employee engagement is well founded as talent shortages and greater working from home opportunities create a risk of attrition and a competitive situation for talent acquisition. What people are looking for from life is changing. Having a positive impact from your working life in your wider life is certainly a growing theme of most post pandemic workplaces.
Interestingly, research carried out by ACCA and IFAC called “Ground-breakers: Gen Z and the future of accountancy” has found that 51% of Generation Z workers which are the new graduates, cite personal wellbeing and mental health as a worry and 48% think a great work-life balance is a key attraction factor for employment.
A new era needs new skills
A recent World Economic Forum article suggested that ‘85m jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines’ and for those that stay in their roles 50% of people will need reskilling. A new core skill of ‘Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility’ is now appearing in the top 10 skills needed in 2025. Interestingly, seven of the 10 core skills are around creativity, resilience, complex problem solving and learning – with only two skills being around technology.
What we expect from people is changing and will need a proactive approach in the coming years to avoid a talent drought.
Is there something better than employee engagement?
It is not just the World Economic Forum that is tracking these people trends. The 2021 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report cites, ‘Employees who are given the freedom to apply their interests and passions to organisational needs will be more motivated and engaged.’
However, this is only part of the story, as people search for more meaning in the work that they do. The personal connection to work moves the relationship from a transactional arrangement to something more meaningful. After all, if you view the relationship as transactional, so will they.
According to research by Garton & Mankins, an engaged employee is 45% more productive than a merely satisfied worker. What is more interesting is that an inspired employee (one who has a profound personal connection to their work and/or their company) is 55% more productive than an engaged employee.
This is more than twice as productive as a satisfied worker. The better an organisation is at engaging and inspiring its employees, the better its performance. Garton and Mankins also talk about inspired employees having a personal connection to the workplace or their work in general. In the right work climate, this extra link can give rise to analytical thinking, innovation or creativity, originality and initiative all of which are listed by the World Economic Forum as top skills for 2025.
What can you do to rise in this new world?
A key aspect of success for businesses moving forward may well be to understand and quantify why you do what you do and the social value that it creates.
For employees looking for more meaningful work and those who wish to cultivate that inspiring connection, establishing a collective vision is a starting place. It’s not just what your organisation does but why it does it and your understanding of that impact that will attract talent and clients.
- Look at the specific customer benefits of working with your business and if you aren’t sure what they are – ask the people that work closely with you.
- Be clear about your policies and create a corporate wellbeing plan. This can incorporate and encourage team cohesion and inspire your teams to have a closer relationship, both with the organisation and with each other. It gives the message that you care about their wellbeing and therefore about them, and it offers an opportunity for the organisation and the individual to get to know each other better.
- How do you know if you are delivering for your team in the land of remote working? Chart the pathway a staff member could take if under stress or when unwell. Is it easy? Does everyone know the help you offer? Now carry out the same task for a diversity question, and a whistle blowing situation.
Do you offer a growth pathway for your team? The same ACCA research also found that 91% of new accountants expect to update their capabilities continually to remain employable in the future.
With the power of the internet it is easy to see if another employer can give you more support and with 57% of this youngest working age group expecting to move on within two years, it’s an area which deserves some attention for your business to thrive and maintain top talent.
Finally
In this increasingly digital world establishing what people mean to your organisation, their place in its success and the values you hold are already in the spotlight. Moving forwards, you have a choice as to how you position your business in the hearts and minds of your existing and future team members. To see how your wellbeing strategy compares to others, take our free quiz.
Check out our quiz here and see how your wellbeing strategy compares.
We are very excited to be working with organisations to improve their relationships with their employees and leaders. To schedule a discussion about how we may help you book in with our director Nicky here.
