Are we all heading in the same direction?

The importance of employees understanding where your organisation is going, provides a solid foundation for high-performing business. But if it’s not happening, how do you set a new course?

If you asked colleagues whether they understand where your organisation is going and how they can be part of that journey, how many would respond positively?

An employee who understands where their organisation is headed, and how they can contribute, is able to make informed, appropriate and effective decisions. The problem is they may be heading towards a destination you haven’t planned for.

The case for ‘line of sight’ – understanding why you do what you do, and how you fit in to the big picture – is well established. And it’s never been more important, with many people working from home and feeling more disconnected than ever.

For a start, ‘Clarity of Purpose’ is the first tenet of Sequel's own Four Pillars? of IC (sitting alongside ‘Effective Interfaces’, ‘Effective Information Sharing’ and ‘Consistent Leadership Behaviour’). In other words, our research has found that creating a clear line of sight for employees provides a solid foundation for high-performing organisations.

Other studies have found similar results. For instance, a Chief Executive Group study concluded that motivating employees to help achieve your strategic vision increases profitability by up to 27% over a six-to-12-month period.

So it should be of concern to everyone that so many people have a foggy line of sight. A report for Salesforce found that a staggering 86% of employees did not clearly understand their companies’ strategies.

This resulted in nearly half of employee time being spent on work that wasn’t helping the company achieve its goals.

In our own work, we often speak to people who think they understand their company’s strategy, but after further discussion we find that they actually have a fundamental misunderstanding of what their employer is trying to achieve.

And if large numbers of your people are effectively driving in the wrong direction, you’ve got next to no chance of achieving your goals. As executive consultant Ken Perlman has said: “Clarity = speed”.

Feed on frustration

But the good news is that many people do want to know more. A Zeno Group survey found that 57% of respondents said they would perform better at their jobs if they better understood the company’s direction. This reflects the frustration we hear from people in focus groups. Here are three recent examples:

·        “The exec team shares the strategy but doesn’t tell us what the actions are. I want to know how what I do feeds into other things. I want to get that sense of connection”

·        “Make us feel part of the big picture – we’re all working for a common goal so I want to understand how I can help”

·        “We heard about a new growth target, but it wasn’t clear how we’re going to get there, and what we need to do.”

And while generational groupings are always prone to sweeping generalisations, this desire for greater clarity does seem to be even more important for younger people, who view purpose as a crucial part of their day-to-day engagement. In fact, Deloitte figures show that 87% of Millennials believe success should be measured by more than just financial purpose.

A Forbes article put it this way: “Where organisations see distracted, disloyal and entitled employees, Millennials are looking for work which makes a difference in the world, and opportunities which utilise their inherent talents for community and engagement.”

So as the competition for top talent increases, how can you demonstrate to every employee that they have a crucial role to play in helping your organisation achieve profit – but with purpose?

Effective communication is vital. You can help connect and engage your teams by:

·        Supporting your line managers. A Watson Wyatt study found that only 40% of managers have a clear understanding of their organisation’s strategy. If managers don’t have clarity, they can’t translate it for their teams

·        Painting a picture. The best way to make sure employees emotionally connect to – and remember – your message is to make it visual. There’s a simple reason: our brains find it easier to comprehend than text. So translate your business narrative into a ‘big picture’ graphic that tells the story of your journey – and helps people to see the role they can play

·        Listening more than ever. Don’t wait two years to discover that most of your people don’t understand your strategy. Little and often is the key – use a mix of research methods to assess awareness, understanding and action. If you spot a downward trend, you can do something about it in good time.

 Footnote:

We’ve picked out the most relevant insights from our annual Sequel Trends insight reports, updating each topic to share what’s relevant, what’s needed and what’s useful to help businesses and comms professionals navigate the new workplace. Please share your own thoughts, experiences, questions or comments below.

If you'd like a copy of Sequel’s 2020 Trends report or to pre-order Trends 2021, please direct-message me on LinkedIn. You can find out more about Sequel’s work on https://sequelgroup.co.uk/