Engaging the 'New World' Workforce

(or "Why you may suffer sticking to the old models in a post Covid 19 world!"!)

Let’s start with some general truisms as a baseline.

·        Regardless of the business, it needs employees

·        An employee’s salary range, and employment status, is based on assessing the complexity and necessity of the role required

·        The largest group of employees will invariably be on the lowest salaried tiers

·        That group will have no involvement in 90+% of business decisions and plans (in the majority of medium to large businesses)

So, (rhetorical) first question- which group in a business is most critical to delivering on and driving resulting success from change?

We know the answer; we rely on that lowest paid tier, the one holding up the rest of the pyramid, to deliver success and change that they had little to no hand in defining. Perversely, we generally consider that population the most dispensable, easiest to replace en-masse, and whose skills, talents, or future development potential are secondary to filling a hole in planning. Ultimately-

·        They will be the least engaged in overall planning.

·        They will benefit least from the rewards.

·        They will generally find flaws immediately in the plan presented based on their day to day experience.

·        They will have one way only feedback channels.

·        They will not be bonused in most cases, and if they are it will not be based specifically on delivery of, nor return on, any change.

·        They will be ignorant of how their work, success, and developments fit into an overall strategic view or plan.

These issues become increasingly magnified the larger a business gets; where communication and engagement becomes an exercise in mass media cascade and intranet pages. Time becomes an ever more rationalised commodity and metrics take over, limiting conversation or proper Q&A. Yet it is at scale that these things are even more important, and, with a changing workforce dynamic, paramount to continued success. And yet, those things that drive a successful small business or start up onto greater things are precisely the things that become marginalised with success- creativity and change becomes increasingly leaden, unwelcome, and confined to a specified business pocket. Reaction and response times slow, and what had been easy up/down communication becomes hierarchical and driven mostly down. Increasing numbers of labels are applied, grandiose job titles make an appearance, and people become distant from those around them and the company

A certain synonymous search engine is currently a real illustration of that beginning to happen as a once open campus reportedly become more rigidly aligned and enforced…and in the midst of global catastrophe a particular air carrier’s first solution has been to cut their people adrift...

This is certainly not a “big business is bad” diatribe, ( nor a shout of “pay them more!”) but simply illustrating that the economies of scale, and rationalisation of effort, that occur as a business grows has (and will continue to have) negative consequences at an employee, and thus success, level.

This is even more important to address as we move deeper into a new era of what work and working is. In Europe for example there is an aging population of workers who have in the main worked all their lives without question, generally in the same place/industry. Moving towards retirement, businesses are forced to face the prospect of key skills drain in areas where ready-made replacement staff aren’t readily available. All the while not being able to incentivise quite as attractively as for example,pension costs increase and have to be met.

Most fundamentally however there is a sea change in the nature of the available workforce. The concept of career path, attainment, and social standing, are no longer the driving forces they once were. The emerging workforce are a product of growing up in an environment of visible nepotism and elitist protectionism, where business failure, wealth inequality, democratic scepticism, and shrinking opportunity have gone hand in hand. They are the generation of “have not’s”, growing up and through the age of forced austerity and facing a world where the aspirational markers of their parents’ generation are unattainable.

They face a future of rent rather than ownership, of little credit on tap, smaller and riskier pensions, increased utility costs, and decreased social mobility.

In the face of that future, they are embracing a lifestyle that places their needs above normal societal pressures, brand, and employer loyalty; pragmatists who will prioritise their health and wellbeing, and the importance of their downtime, over any loyalty to a single employer who does not reflect that in their treatment of them. This is the gig economy and switching generation; a more transient workforce willing to trade their time and effort to the most suitable employer who meets their current lifestyle needs. They have a solid idea of their own self-worth, and will hold stronger ethical and conscientious values that define their consideration of a role. They have a distrust of corporate structure, and if they feel disengaged or undervalued will more readily move to another job, seeing notice periods or agreements as inconsequential.

In consideration of this, employers and business’ face a stark choice of paths in ensuring business continuity and success, and delivering continued successful change.

But how?

One-keep the faith!

Maintain a hierarchical and didactic approach in pursuit of performance homogeneity- where roles are reduced to linear adherence to process, with stringent and uniform success outcomes based on turnaround and overall effort reduction. Deviation is minimal, and creativity/business development is refined down to specific units/roles, and key skills are paid for at a premium level.

Customer outcomes are consistent but impersonal with no wasted effort in comms or interactions. Engagement is low, but role replacement is straightforward due to minimal skillset requirements and low cost per unit. Training costs are pushed to a minimum through pre-commencement induction and training activity online, delivering quicker effectiveness in life. Customer self- help online is promoted first, with live contact discouraged

Costs are more easily controlled, outcomes maintain predictability, but customer and employee engagement with brand and culture is low, resulting in higher attrition levels of both, as well as higher incidences of absence.

Two-change it up!

Invest in a redefinition of existing business structure and culture. Introduce lean thinking on a wide scale, and engage all levels of the workforce to drive improvement. Offer teams or areas a collective challenge to identify and deliver on a small change item that can then be shared for continuous incremental business improvement over time. Offer managers increased autonomy and the trust to try and develop their business areas or teams themselves; continuously talking through whats worked and whats not and sharing best practice regularly.

Reward success through innovation, celebrating the idea not just the result. Make communication personal and relatable, and resolutely maintain time for engagement and interaction. Ensure every employee has regular and expected engagement with the population or manager 2 levels removed from them. Allow flexibility in working pattersn and promote healthy work life balance.

These things are not difficult concepts, but they do require just as much dedication, effort and focus as concentrating on managing numbers.

Ultimately, manage by numbers, you will lose the people physically or culturally. Value the people first, they’ll deliver your numbers and more.

The world continues to change rapidly, and will be further changed post Covid 19! To continue to change and grow, business models have to put visible and active employee culture at their heart.

Certainly, initial recovery periods through the economy will see working population look for some stability in the short to medium term. However longer term this changing workforce, and a changed world (that has seen capitalism somewhat ill prepared for such an event), will force business to honestly and critically re-evaluate what they offer their employees.