Vivowire: Employee Engagement Marty McFly & Wage Compression

Welcome to edition #53 of Vivowire, the Workvivo newsletter!

You may or may not be glad to hear that this week's issue was written entirely by humans –?not a ChatGPT in sight!

(It's nothing personal, but you?did?make us introduce last week's experimental AI newsletter with 'off we trot'. So we're instigating a conscious uncoupling.)

This week, we're talking about the cost of neglecting employee engagement, how to stave off wage compression, and life at Adobe.?

Let's go!??? (Not 'off we trot'. Never 'off we trot' again.)

This Week’s Top 3 Thumbstoppers

1. Don't Give Employee Engagement the 'Big Lebowski' Treatment

TL;DR:?If you procrastinate about employee engagement as much as The Dude plays bowling, your business model may need a rethink.

In The Big Lebowski, The Dude is a prime example of procrastination. He wants to avoid work so much, for example, that he indulges in any distraction he can justify even the tiniest bit – like hunting down compensation for his soiled rug after a case of mistaken identity leads to an invasion of his home.??

To be fair, it was a pretty nice rug. It really?did?tie the room together.?

Procrastination is human nature, of course. (Anyone who’s been playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as much as I have recently will agree.)?

But if you’re dragging your feet around the things that make a difference to your employees’ lives – and, in turn, to how they engage with their work and the wider company – then you’re also shooting yourself in those feet.?

In 2021, employee disengagement?cost the world economy $7.8 trillion. Companies shirking their engagement duties don’t just lose out financially, however; they hinder their employees’ productivity and performance and accelerate turnover. It’s simply not possible to neglect employee engagement and expect to have a company culture that makes people want to stay.?

Instead, be as proactive as The Dude when his favorite rug gets ruined. Determine clear objectives, assess the current situation, establish action items, and always remember to reflect and finetune as you go.??

The cost of employee disengagement? In the trillions. Compensation for cleaning or replacing a rug because of wrongful mistaken identity? We never really found out, but The Dude had to give up lots of bowling time as a result. Employees who actually enjoy coming to work? Priceless.?

A White Russian to help you wind down after a hard day’s work crafting the perfect employee engagement plan? Optional.

Don’t agree? That’s just, like, your opinion, man. You might change your mind after?reading this.?

2. How To Outrun?the Sandmen?Wage Compression

TL;DR:?Sandmen may not be after long-term employees, but it sounds like wage compression certainly is. Here are tips that could help you stave it off.

In Logan’s Run (1976), strict population control in the year 2274 means that once you hit age 30, you’re ready for a ritual called Carousel – an ominous process that claims to be a renewal but which actually signals your eponymous ‘Last Day’.

In the working world, once you’ve been employed at a particular company for a certain amount of time, you’re ready for something called wage compression.

(Granted, it sounds a lot less spooky – but still pretty concerning.)

What’s wage compression? It refers to a narrow wage gap between different employees in one organization – particularly when long-term employees are kept on a stagnant salary and newer hires are either recruited at or quickly brought up to the same level, regardless of experience.?

A?recent article in CNBC?explains, “Wage compression can occur when the wages of long-term employees fail to keep pace with the market, while newer employees are paid at the market rate.”

So, what can you do to stop it? If you’re in a position of power, be like Logan 5 and consider that there might be other ways to live than in fear of Sandmen and unfair pay practices.

If you’re on the receiving end of a salary and you’re worried you might be vulnerable to wage compression, here’s what CNBC advises:

1. Benchmark your salary externally
2. Prove your value to the company
3. Initiate a friendly negotiation with your employer

Whatever the case, we recommend being aware of and willing to question your environment – whether you’re a citizen of the City of Domes in 2274 or an employee just trying to get by in 2023.

For more info, read the CNBC article?here.??

TL;DR:?If you have teams as passionate as Marty and Doc Brown, your employee experience will see a serious boost. Just ask Adobe.

When Marty McFly has the opportunity to shape his own destiny by traveling back in time with the help of Doc Brown, there are some lessons he needs to learn.?

It’s a big responsibility – and one that he has to take ownership of.?

So, what do Marty McFly and Adobe have in common? A couple of values, for one thing – a commitment to creating the future and to owning the outcome.?

Adobe’s website says, “Creativity is in our DNA. We constantly look around the corner to see what is possible. But we don’t wait for the future, we create it.

“We are open-minded and celebrate new ideas. We have the courage to disrupt the market and ourselves through bold bets and ideas we turn into reality.”

Where they differ – apart from, you know, one being an 80s sci-fi film from Robert Zemeckis and the other a global software company – is that Marty shaped the future through accidentally traveling back through time in a scientist’s DeLorean, while Adobe intentionally recruits people that are passionate “builders, makers, and inventors, driven by a deep empathy for customers and users” to help achieve its goal.?

But does working for a company committed to ‘creating the future’ impact an employee’s experience??

Adobe has a?Glassdoor rating?of 4.4 stars, with 89% of reviewers saying they’d recommend working at the company to a friend and 96% approving of its CEO, Shantanu Narayen. Its culture has an A+ grade?on Comparably?(4.9 out of 5 stars!), with top marks across the board in categories like perks and benefits, executive team, happiness score, leadership, outlook, retention, gender, diversity, and more.?

• And its employee reviews tell a similar story:
• The organization “wants to do good in the world and they make good on that promise to continuously try”
• “Everyone here wants to put their best foot forward. The organization wants to put its best foot forward”?
• “Sense of community and connection/engagement”

The bottom line??Be like Adobe (and Marty McFly); carve out your values and stick by them, particularly when helping those around you.

And surround yourself with passionate people who share them – whether that’s an eccentric scientist who keeps shouting ‘Great scott!’ or a team of talented individuals who want to work on a collective mission.

Quote of the Week

"Why don't you make like a tree and get outta here?"?– Biff Tannen, Back to the Future, Part II (and us to companies that choose to neglect employee engagement)

What’s up at Workvivo?

9 Proven Ways To Improve Company Culture:?Most organizations can benefit from an occasional cultural refresh. Here are nine proven tactics for injecting new life into your culture with greater employee buy-in.?Learn more here!

From NASA to Chick-fil-A: Key Lessons for Every Leader:?The second season of our Employee Experience Podcast was full of crucial leadership lessons.?Read a recap here!

How To Design an Effective Employee Survey + Template To Use:?In this guide, learn how employee surveys can benefit your organization, what questions you should ask, and what to do with the information you collect.?Get the guide here!

Final Thought?

Where we’re going, we might not need roads – but we will need more companies that champion employee engagement, live their values, and encourage their people to do the same.?

(Though let’s face it, roads will be probably be pretty necessary too.)

Until next time, Vivowire out!????

If you have any feedback or just want to say ‘howdy’, simply reply to this email,?reach out on LinkedIn?or chat on?Twitter.