Compete for talent by creating a culture of connection
Today’s labor market is making decisions based on what they value most, which means you need to understand and meet both the foundational and aspirational needs of your workforce. In doing so, you’ll move beyond engagement and create a deeper connection that can help you bolster retention, spur creativity and innovation, decrease costs, and grow your business.
ADP and Leapgen, a global digital transformation company, recently conducted research on connection in the workplace and came up with the following recommendations to help you win the hearts of your employees:
Respect and understand the need for job security
Layoffs and furloughs can have a significant impact on the psyche of workers. Look at all cost-saving alternatives before making any changes with far-reaching business and human impact. For instance, some employees may be willing to take a reduction in salary for a short duration if it means they can retain their job and health benefits.
Reduce employee stress and burnout by lessening workloads
Make it a point to understand if employees feel overwhelmed so you can take corrective action. Potential remedies are to:
- Distribute workloads fairly and share responsibilities across team members
- Streamline and automate manual and repetitive tasks using technology
- Provide opportunities for employees to build skills that increase their capacity and contribution
Communicate and reinforce your organization’s values
Define your purpose and values and communicate them frequently to your workforce using the channels that make the most sense based on demographics. Also, make it easy for employees to find this information on your website, intranet and any other internal digital properties that are employee facing.
Listen and respond to your employees
You can play a big role in positively influencing your employees’ wellbeing by having honest and meaningful developmental conversations with them. Provide safe spaces for them to share concerns and ideas and then act on their feedback.
Develop personas and work journeys across multiple demographics
Viewing employee experiences through the lens of personas – fictional but realistic representations of different types of workers – will help you meet their unique career development needs and objectives. Fully map their journeys and identify where growth opportunities can be delivered, either digitally or in person.
Assess and reassess work model options with employee input
In order for HR to build and manage a wide variety of employee transitions, you need to consider myriad points of view. Use the personas and journey maps you created to understand and keep employee needs at the center of intentional workforce experience designs.
