Reviewing Your Progress in 2023

2023 has been a year of post-pandemic recalibration (and relief). We focused on restabilizing our businesses during unpredictable and often unprojectable economic conditions.

This year has been an inevitable journey trying to figure out where we are (and aren’t), what has changed (and hasn’t and what continues to change), what approaches and models work (and don’t, or not so well yet), and how to move forward effectively.

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Starting the year, your company had little post-crisis data to evaluate and direct everyone's efforts. Now, reviewing recent and pre-pandemic trends and sentiments, you can assess how well workers are adapting to highly digitalized business operations and what support they need to perform better in 2024.

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To make important decisions and prioritize activities for the year ahead, review data for your organization's workforce in key areas, such as evaluating:

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1. CULTURE & COMMUNITY – How strong is your company culture?

• How many of your team/unit can easily articulate your company’s values?
• What share of frontline employees feel a sense of belonging?
• What proportion of workers express trust in their boss?

External data: Trusting employees are 260% more motivated to work, have 41% lower absenteeism, are 50% less likely to look for another job. Only 24% of US employees trust their boss. [Source – MIT, 2023]

Internal data: For 2024, culture might a core emphasis, if percentages for 2023 are small.

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2. LEADERSHIP – How prepared are your leaders for modern management?

• How many middle managers have had training to lead their distributed teams?
• What proportion of supervisors are proficient in asynchronous work methods?
• What percentage of leaders have shifted to focus on outcomes versus inputs?
• How often did managers check in with each direct report every month?

External data: Organizations training leaders at all levels are 4.2 times more likely to outperform companies only training top management [DDI]. Only 58% of managers receive training necessary to be effective [Teamstage].

Internal data: For 2024, upskilling all leaders in modern work methods is important if the numbers are low for 2023.

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3. MULTIGENERATIONAL ENGAGEMENT – How well do generations work together?

• What percentage of Gen Z new hires quit within 12 months?
• How many teams disagree across generations about where they work?
• How many senior managers think Gen Z team members work too few hours?
• What share of younger employees are concerned about getting upskilled?

External data: 76% of Gen Z learners believe learning is key to a successful career [LinkedIn]. 77% of Gen Zs and 75% of Millennials in hybrid roles would consider quitting if asked to work on site full-time [Deloitte]. 74%?of managers say Gen Z is the most challenging generation to work with [Resume Builder].

Internal data: For 2024, empathy skills are vital to improve interactions and results, if 2023 numbers are high.

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These are three of the human-centric fundamentals of modern work, supporting the core principles—Learning, Intentionality, Flexibility, and Empathy. Other fundamentals cover co-creation and innovation, processes and policies, skills and careers, employee well-being, and the blended workforce.

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If you don’t have the data yet to answer these and many other fundamental questions about your employees, start to gather this critical information right away and survey people regularly. The more you understand your team and workforce, the better you can support them holistically and respond to whatever your business needs in 2024 and beyond.

If you are interested to find out more about the principles and fundamentals of MODERN WORK, human-centric ways of working, and more, please reach out to me, as well as check out my book “Empathy Works: The Key to Competitive Advantage in the New Era of Work ”. You can also take a look at my LinkedIn video courses including Engaging and Retaining Gen Z with a Skills-first Approach and my popular podcast “Transforming Work with Sophie Wade ” -- the next episode will be projecting what to expect in 2024.