Organizations of all sizes face significant challenges when it comes to retaining top talent and managing the shift in the way we work – even more so in case of large enterprises and multinationals in the new-way-of-work. McKinsey’s latest State of Organisations 2023 report states that 39% of respondents say they plan to leave their jobs in the next 3 - 6 months. 

Engagement levels amongst most of our clients have been steadily improving over the past 5 years. The best way to maintain this trend over time will be to make sure that engagement is addressed holistically, from all relevant stakeholder perspectives, i.e. individual employees, managers/leaders, business units/teams, and ultimately the overall organizational work environment – with the focus on getting leaders to change their behavior and to take action (as Bersin describes it in Employee Engagement 3.0 – From Feedback to Action).

Despite the recent limelight, diversity, equity, inclusion and other similar initiatives have been around for decades.  Success with these programs, however, is far from guaranteed.  Throwing training workshops and programs at a population who is not cognitively ready could, and often does, backfire.  It risks marginalizing the exact message you are trying to convey, the change you are trying to affect.

The Pattern: For years and years, reviewing the results of a survey within your organization has probably followed a predictable pattern.

1.     Trying to understand high level, organizational trends that are occurring across your business
2.     Isolating patterns of results that suggest certain sections of the business or groups of employees may need targeted  help.
3.     Using the collected responses and patterns to make business decisions.

This is a great approach, and a framework we have designed both our entire platform and survey systems around.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.  Although it has long been recognized as an issue, the events of this year have catapulted it to the top of the list for many organizations. The 2020 PwC Global Diversity & Inclusion Survey had an all-time high of 76% of respondents indicate that DEI “…is a priority or value” of their organization.  Let's discuss moving from priority to a data-driven strategy. 

Engagement and Performance are both key areas that a manager must manage. An organization filled with folks who hate their job or who are unable to perform is headed for disaster. It really is quite unfortunate then that "Performance" and "Engagement", despite their importance, are incredibly squishy concepts that depend on unique efforts and experiences of every member of a team. This presents a daunting challenge to managers, that few appear to be meeting well. 

However, this may be because the tools that we use to approach problems within the workplace lead us to the wrong conclusions about how to achieve important, but squishy goals.