Commentary: Why companies don’t seem to get what employees really want
SINGAPORE: Past January adjacent twelvemonth, workplace regulations should ease and people should exist able to return to physical offices.
But what has happened over the last ane and a one-half years will mean that when companies examine and recalibrate a new work model, they may detect things volition never get back to business organization equally usual.
Our research at EngageRocket plant that workforce resilience levels - the employees' confidence in their company'southward future - have dipped between 2022 and 2022 by 17 per cent. Research by Microsoft shows that over iv in 10 employees worldwide will consider quitting in 2022.
The reasons backside this trend are circuitous and cannot exist addressed by raising wages or enhancing benefits alone. While compensation remains a determining factor for joining a company, the reasons for staying are much more profound and rooted in man psychology and the fulfilment of fundamental human being needs.
On the surface, one would expect that employees would agree onto their current roles during a period of economic turmoil.
Withal, global labour sentiment indices signal a different trend – the feel of the average employee in the workplace changed overnight due to COVID-19, leading to higher risks of burnout, dissimilar work-life balance requirements, and a cognizance of the demand for more than purposeful work.
All contributing to the "Bang-up Resignation Wave" that affects organisations globally.
To adapt to shifting employee expectations, many organisations responded by dangling the "loftier-salary carrot" to attract and retain the best talents. Simply studies have proven the law of diminishing marginal utility of income at play; indicating at that place is a ceiling to how much satisfaction people derive from salary hikes.
WHY MONEY Solitary IS NOT Plenty
Even in the best of circumstances, high performers in many companies are likely to experience a sense of stagnation (unless there is proactive intervention from the employer), and this is but exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic.
For almost 2 years, employees are forced to adapt to the changing work context. Dissimilar aspects of an employee's experience are now more important than others. For example, office proximity used to be a big consideration for many workers, just now investment in engineering science and streamlined processes are more important.
The situational change caused by the pandemic has opened up new possibilities of work that most of us didn't think possible before.
Heed to Leong Chee Tung explain what'due south behind worker unhappiness despite greater attending on workplace well-being and what managers should do on CNA'southward Eye of the Affair podcast:
This rapid modify in the working context has as well led to a major shift in employee expectations - and not all organisations are aware of how to reply or what to offer to make them stay.
In the past, if an employee wanted to quit or motility, leaders would rely on improving perks, benefits, and compensation equally the chief instrument for retaining employees. Except that those things are not the only things that employees want anymore.
If this type of organisational response continues, it's unlikely The Bully Resignation Moving ridge will allay anytime soon. What then are the underlying reasons for this employer-employee disconnect?
GAP IN EXPECTATIONS AND THE Science OF LISTENING
In a large, complex, and now increasingly remote organisational setup, it is almost incommunicable to go into the granular details of an individual employee's needs, wants, and aspirations.
This is because most setups use conventional feedback tools similar annual surveys or an informal "DIY" approach to troubleshoot the issues.
The problem with this is accurate feedback can fall through the cracks. A skilful case is the typical exit interview most companies deport.
Companies which don't carry regular employee surveys tend to rely on get out interviews to understand the reason behind the employee resignation. Just exit interviews are rarely reliable due to two things.
First, employees tend to be biased as they likely have mixed feelings about their departure - they might not feel invested in the company'southward futurity anymore or they're not being honest so they don't "burn bridges".
2d, the data captured is only from a point in fourth dimension, and fails to reverberate the employee'due south full experience, especially the crucial months leading upwards to the exit decision.
That is why the concept of "continuous listening" must be embedded within the organisation - that is actively gathering employee feedback at multiple points in their journey. And for leaving employees, helps to collect sentiment data before they resign.
This design recognition over fourth dimension means companies can take meaningful action early on to preclude voluntary resignation from other employees in the future.
Only for this to happen, there must first be trust, without which no amount of talking will help - and this applies both means.
If employees fear there may be negative repercussions (such as impacting appraisals or promotions) if they vocalism their dissatisfaction or opinion (for case, request for a iv-twenty-four hour period work week), and conversely, if employees themselves are reluctant to be open, and so honest expression is not going to happen.
DEALING WITH Cognitive BIASES
We come across instances where cognitive biases tin can blind leaders to what exactly is going on, even if they try to listen to their staff.
In that location are iii primal types of biases, based on numerous behavioural economics studies:
Inside view bias – where the leader or director's judgement is overcast by their shut familiarity with the organisation and many years of tenure. Typically, this manifests as a feeling that "in my company, employees have always prioritised …"
Recency bias – when leaders use a recent event, a fresh memory to influence hereafter inferences. If ane employee has quit because they got a more than competitive offer, the company may tend to double down on the wage and benefits component only in their retention strategy.
Cardinal attribution mistake – this is when an observed truth may be mistaken for a universal fact. For example, a company may erroneously presume that all developers are open up to working on weekends for the right pay without causing compunction take chances.
All 3 biases share a mutual theme – there is a racket between how employees feel (and what they might fifty-fifty express), and what leaders cull to hear, understand, and human action on.
Fostering communications between leaders and employees must be the number one priority for employers as offices reopen and employees become through yet some other shift in their workplace experience.
While random informal feedback collection may work for minor teams, we have found that an organised Voice of the Employee (VoE) programme is a good tool to truly understand what people are thinking and feeling. To encourage open up and honest communication, feedback collection needs to be anonymised so employees are bodacious they won't face any repercussions for voicing their opinions.
THE Mode FORWARD
The forecasted Hour trends in 2022, is a skillful resource and information technology throws up several measures organisations can accept to get-go improving work culture and employee feel in their workplaces.
At the height of their list if they want to avoid talent walking out is to adopt a proper listening strategy that is non a pencil-pushing practise and to take meaningful follow-up deportment as a result.
The reality is, monitoring and improving employee experience has gone from a "expert-to-have" to a "must-have" for companies hoping to win the war for talent. Not merely does it provide detailed information on employee needs, but information technology also creates a safe environment where employees experience heard.
The data collected tin can then be processed so organisations can prioritise at-hazard employee segments and accept necessary actions. For example, co-ordinate to EngageRocket'south 2022 Land of Employee Feel in Singapore found that caregivers are at college risk of exhaustion compared to other cohorts, so managers prioritise this group.
Bated from implementing a listening strategy, companies would likewise do good from more than frequent manager check-ins than the Hr mandated annual reviews. Research shows that monthly or quarterly performance reviews focused on professional growth are up to ane.5 times more than effective at retaining employees than the annual approach.
By encouraging employees to oft check in with their managers, organisations can detect early signs of disengagement and take corrective measures chop-chop. Information technology also ensures that the action is relevant to the employee's immediate context and not several weeks or months besides late.
Finally, organisations need to make a conscious effort to shift the organisational civilization away from "transactional exchanges". To do that, they must stride up and conform by having a articulate focus on empathy, advice skills, and trust-building, all in the backdrop of a fast-evolving digital and hybrid work surroundings.
Every bit offices reopen, the economic system is revitalised, and new opportunities emerge, top talents across industries are at risk of compunction. Companies need to piece of work doubly difficult and kickoff prioritising the employee experience.
Wages, benefits, future progression are important but ultimately, it comes down to how well companies tin heed to their employees and how they can execute meaningful follow-up actions.
Leong Chee Tung is CEO and Co-founder of EngageRocket, APAC'south fastest-growing people analytics provider.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/resignation-singapore-workers-managers-listening-feedback-295291
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