Over the last few years, there has been a focus on better employee experience leveraging a few key trends in workforce management. Organizations are putting increased focus on their employees by focusing on increasing their DE&I policies, reinventing the workplace and increasing overall employee engagement thus creating a more unified and valued workplace. In this article we begin to explore these trends and discuss how they apply to the world of HR Analytics.
Over the years there has been a shift away from demanding that all employees act and perform in the same way. We all have worked with fellow employees that focus, create and produce in many different ways. People’s life experiences, life circumstances and shaping factors means there is an entire spectrum of skills and abilities that goes beyond traditional characteristics and is now that AND other factors like allowing new telework policies, leveraging new technologies and focusing on overall employee mental health. Moving forward, understanding how people feel, manage their inconveniences, and ultimately produce will remain a top priority and will force management to view their workforce in a more “Humane” way.
As we assess the impact of COVID-19, one thing becomes clear: employees are essential to business success. However, there are a few key trends that can shed more light on this:
Employee Engagement
We all know that the best workers are typically those individuals who feel engaged or valued in the business. Employee engagement refers to the extent of an employee’s passion for the work they do or their commitment to the company, along with the amount of effort they put in. If employees know their role within a business and are driven and determined to do well, their performance will improve. Since 2020 the average workforce in the United States has seen a consistent decrease in the engagement of employees in their role and an increase overall job dissatisfaction.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
The demand for a work-life balance has been on the rise for many years, and the COVID-19 pandemic only increased that demand and highlighted the need to address this issue on a scale never before seen. Once the COVID-19 pandemic forced workplace closures many businesses transitioned to a work-from-home model, providing employees greater flexibility and control over their schedules while also keeping them safe. However, due to the loss of connection between business and employee there began a decline in productivity for many businesses. Thus, the connection between employee well-being, engagement, and business success proved to be a very powerful connection.
For example, one area that came under attack with remote or hybrid work environments was the ability of the employee to set boundaries between working and personal hours. Organizations and employees quickly discovered that it was easy to slip into an endless workday — answering emails, checking notifications and addressing urgent tasks at all hours.
EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING
Another major workforce trend has been the focus on overall employee well-being. Now more than ever, employees will expect employers to prioritize their well-being as businesses transition back to working in the office, adopt hybrid models or remain largely or entirely remote.
Even though many areas in the US have opened up their cities and removed mask mandates, many people are still focused on their health and their exposure to any virus, COVID-19 or otherwise, which has greatly impacted companies attempting to bring employees back to the office. This has made the issue still relevant and a key driver in whether employees stay with their current employer. In another health factor that has become a major concern for companies throughout the US since 2019 has become the focus on employee fitness and exercise and could stay an integral factor as corporations go back to running within offices. While worker health has become essential since 2019, it’s no longer a brand-new trend but a continuing trend. The call to prioritize worker fitness and well-being has been around for a few years. Over the years, administrative center well-being packages have grown in popularity, and for good reason. Implementing wellness programs has helped encourage employees to live healthier lifestyles, as well as created new opportunities and successes for their employers. These programs not only help improve the health of employees but can also contribute to greater productivity, decrease absenteeism saving organizations money in the long run.
MENTAL HEALTH
The physical health of employees is not the only part of well-being that businesses should care about. A new emerging focus has begun to rise in the fight for overall mental health. With many employees working from home the stress of daily deadlines compounded with the loneliness of isolation is hitting some employees and organizations hard.
Organizations have developed wellness programs that have made mental health resources more readily available, often called employee assistance programs. Organizations have also begun to leverage different work schedules, commonly referred to as alternative work weeks, often times including required mental health days to be taken above and beyond an employee’s paid time off. More and more organizations have distributed internal surveys to focus on how the employees feel about their environment so they may better adapt to their resources needs.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
The diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) function deals with the qualities, experiences and work styles that make individuals unique (e.g., age, race, religion, disabilities, ethnicity) as well as how organizations can leverage those qualities in support of business objectives. It also includes matters that focus on diversity-related careers, communications, legal and regulatory issues, technology, metrics, outsourcing, effective diversity practices, and global diversity issues. Studies have shown that teams or organizations that are made up of individuals with a diverse mix of qualities, experiences and work styles tend to have available a larger range of ideas, perspectives and approaches to a business issue.
DIVERSITY
Although usually specifically defined by the Organization, diversity refers to the similarities and differences among individuals accounting for all aspects of their personality and individual identity.
INCLUSION
Inclusion describes the extent to which each person in an organization feels welcomed, respected, supported and valued as a team member. Inclusion is a two-way accountability; each person must grant and accept inclusion from others. In such an environment, every employee tends to feel more engaged and is more likely to contribute to the organization’s business results. This type of environment requires people from diverse backgrounds to communicate and work together, and to understand one another’s needs and perspectives.
EQUITY
Inclusion describes the extent to which each person in an organization feels welcomed, respected, supported and valued as a team member. Inclusion is a two-way accountability; each person must grant and accept inclusion from others. In such an environment, every employee tends to feel more engaged and is more likely to contribute to the organization’s business results. This type of environment requires people from diverse backgrounds to communicate and work together, and to understand one another’s needs and perspectives.
BELONGING
More recently, some organizations added “Belonging” to their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. This is important since individuals, and groups of individuals, should not feel isolated, lack the understanding of how they add value to the organization and their teams, or feel excluded. Creating a sense of belonging by everyone creates a sense of being a part of the larger organization. Organizations that fail short of creating a strong sense of belonging will not ultimately be successful with their DE&I initiatives because excluded individuals won’t be as invested in their work and will be more likely to find a more inclusive work environment, meaning the organization will find itself spinning in circles.
How remote work has Influenced the role of HR?
Remote work has greatly impacted the role human resources plays in the workplace. Today, management of a team requires skills not contemplated in the workforce a mere 5 years ago. Balancing the need to be in the same office, the need to balance employee well being and still be as productive as possible requires better understanding of people, new organizational and technical skills.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
With the advent of remote work, employee engagement has been a challenge for HR professionals. It has been commonly agreed that higher levels of workplace engagement lead to higher performance—ultimately driving an aligned, thriving, and purpose-driven culture among employees of a company.
In the departure from office-centered work, many employees may feel isolated and disconnected from their jobs or company. Management and HR has had to provide virtual engagement tactics and support for remote employees. Including use of co-working platforms and collaboration tools, as well as special employee events and meetings. Unique engagement tactics and perks spearheaded by HR ensures workers feel involved and are on the same page with any company goals.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
In response to COVID-19, human resource departments have had to lead with compassion and focus on employees’ emotional and physical needs. This means working with management to ensure employees have all the necessary equipment and tools to work from home effectively.
HR managers might need to aid in creating a seamless digital employee experience that workers can access from anywhere. This new system must also take into account new employee onboarding, training, and general team management. This could mean purchasing new equipment for individual employees (like monitors or laptops). It could also look like investing in new software or management systems to improve remote workflows.
JOB PERFORMANCE
Management and HR departments must analyze new ways to deal with remote workplaces and need to create suitable benchmarks and goals to measure employee job performance virtually. With remote work, employees’ activities are less directly noticeable by the managers and HR. Hence, successes or failures from employees could be easily overlooked on a day-to-day basis.
Stay tuned for our next article…
Over the next few months, we will be diving into each of the major topics covered above in greater detail with a focus on these trends as it pertains to the world of HR Analytics.