The impact of a lack of employee engagement on the global economy is $8.1 trillion. Therefore, creating an inspiring workplace culture, maximizing the potential and vitality, well-being and prosperity of every employee, adapting the hybrid model that blends remote and in-office working, supporting the global work experience, and creating flexible, innovative solutions that are suitable for ever-changing dynamics are now a responsibility beyond the need for organizations and leaders.
According to the 2020 Gallup research report1, employee engagement has fallen to 20 percent worldwide. This means that 80 percent of the workforce is disengaged or, in other words, actively disengaged. Today, the impact2 of lack of employee engagement on the global economy is exactly 8.1 trillion dollars. We are talking about 10 percent of the gross product lost to inefficiency.
New approach focusing on employee well-being
Some leaders may have the perspective that they are not responsible for their employees’ lives outside the workplace and that this is not their concern. However, major changes and developments in the global business environment make it clear that this will no longer be the case.
From now on, organizations and leaders need to take responsibility for employee engagement not only in the workplace, but also in the general well-being, fitness and well-being of their employees.
You may wonder what we mean by general well-being. Wellbeing can be defined as enjoying what you do every day, having meaningful relationships in your life, being able to manage your money, having enough physical energy to do your job and loving the community you live in. So well-being goes beyond just physical and mental well-being.
So the first step is to create an inspiring work environment that maximizes the potential and vitality, well-being and prosperity of every employee. In the future, the “success” of organizations will be measured not only by their profits, but also by their thriving and fit employees and their contribution to their overall well-being. In short, success equals employee engagement plus thriving, fit and well-being employees.
Managing the employee experience: An award-winning case study from the pandemic
In addition to all these, it is obvious that Covid-19 has brought a great impact on the business world and the way of working. The process of DNV GL, which received the “Best Employee Engagement” award3 at the 2020 B2B Marketing awards, is one of the best examples of this. DNV GL is an independent organization headquartered in Norway, operating in the field of risk and assurance management with thousands of employees in more than 100 countries. A significant portion of its clients are giant companies operating in the oil and gas sector.
With the negative impact of Covid-19 on oil prices, customers were forced to cut their budgets. DLD GL was forced to cut its own costs, including cuts in employee salaries. They were aware that these sharp decisions would have a negative impact on employee engagement, but this time they were prepared. They had incorporated Peakon Engage, an employee engagement platform where they closely monitored employee engagement through surveys and communication with employees. Their approach was as follows: Like the stages of grief, employees went through similar stages during the crisis: Denial (“My team is fine, there is no problem?”), anger (have the leaders thought through their decisions very well and deeply?), depression (the decisions have already been made, what are they trying to involve us in?) and experimentation (what can I do to help our business grow?).
As their employees went through denial, anger and depression, they helped them by establishing open communication with them through leaders. They supported their leaders with various leadership programs, especially during very challenging phases such as anger and depression. What happened as a result of this 5-month process? Over 600 questions were collected from employees, 11 “question time” interviews and meetings were held, 98.5 percent of the 100 managers internalized the vision for growth, there was no decline in employee engagement, sales figures remained the same as in 2019, and year-on-year profitability increased thanks to the extra sensitivity of employees to costs. This example alone shows that even in a time of crisis, when extreme measures are needed, employee engagement can be achieved and can work wonders in a shrinking business.
What a customer needs to be loyal to a brand or organization is the same as what an employee needs to be deeply committed to their organization. The traditional approach to customer engagement focuses on the transactional, one-size-fits-all, rules-based, relies on discounts and promotions, short-term partnerships, and offers a piecemeal user experience. However, when successful organizations realized that this approach did not build long-term customer loyalty, they switched to an approach that builds more emotional bonds with customers. An integrated and seamless customer experience that builds long-term relationships with small promises and commitments, creates and maintains a sense of meaning, offers experiences tailored to the individual and their needs, draws a data-driven framework and is open and transparent about it, and is based on personalized rewards. The same approach applies to employee engagement.
Conclusion
All research results, data and examples bring us together that the top priority for leaders and organizations in the coming period is to maximize the well-being, fitness and prosperity of their employees by improving their experience. Organizations and leaders that can create an inspiring work environment, adapt the hybrid model that blends remote and office work, support the global work experience, and produce flexible and innovative solutions that are suitable for ever-changing dynamics are taking fast and confident steps towards success.
Sources:
- Awards case study: find out who won for best employee engagement program [Internet]. Available from: https://www.b2bmarketing.net/en-gb/resources/b2b-case-studies/awards-case-study-find-out-who-won-best-employeeengagement-programme
- Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2021 Report [Internet]. Available from: https://commsweek.ragan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/state-of-the-global-workplace-2021-download.pdf
- Shenton C. The state of the workplace in 2021. Gallup’s stark findings for engagement and stress [Internet]. Available from: https://www.weekly10.com/how-is-employee-engagementin-2021/
Burçak Gökçeer Baltaş; Baltaş Group, Consultant
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