As economies and organisations transition to a post-COVID-19 pandemic mindset, the market for talent is changing significantly – particularly in terms of employee expectations. While traditional drivers of employee engagement centred on competitive compensation and benefits and career growth opportunities, employees are now emphasising on other emerging priorities:
- Shared purpose: Employees are increasingly interested in working for organisations whose vision, purpose and priorities are aligned with their own.
- Flexibility: The ability to choose between working from anywhere and working from offices is an increasingly important priority. Although this may depend on the nature of a business or occupation, employers should consider implementing the technological advances now available in the market to enable remote working where appropriate - and leaders should be coached to trust the commitment and work ethics of their people.
- Holistic development: Employees aren’t just seeking professional growth support but want opportunities for personal growth as well. This could involve providing (financial or other) aid or a platform to pursue activities such as individual coaching, learning a new language or joining a public speaking improvement programme.
- Continuous listening: Digital communication channels need to be made more user friendly for seamless and regular two-way communication. Interactions can be brief but must be consistent, with adequate and immediate responses provided to concerns raised by employees.
- Well-being: The emphasis on physical and emotional well-being has never been higher. Organisations are increasingly expected to offer well-being programmes which match employees’ needs, including all aspects of mental health.
Organisations wanting to embark on the journey to improve the employee experience should start by surveying current employee engagement to gauge ‘as is’ employee perception and use the results of that survey to become an employer of choice. For more information on reimagining the employee experience, contact [email protected]
.
