In a climate marked by internal stakeholder scepticism and widespread socio-economic uncertainty, how can companies cultivate robust employee engagement? Meredith Carson, Founder & CEO at Growth Ensemble, discusses how the power dynamics between employers and employees have changed and what can be done to engage employees in the ever-changing world of work.
In the aftermath of the pandemic and Great Resignation, power dynamics between employers and employees have shifted, placing employees and employers alike on unsure footing. These changes have, in many ways, given birth to mutual distrust, creating a pressing question for executives: how can a company cultivate robust employee engagement in a climate marked by internal stakeholder scepticism and widespread socio-economic uncertainty?
Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer unveiled a global collapse in economic trust, with 89% of respondents fearing job loss and 74% fearing inflation. The 2024 barometer, released in Q1, is likely to report a sharpening of mistrust, following the widespread job losses of 2023 particularly within the tech, retail and healthcare sectors. The tech sector is notable as being an industry which has often been looked up to, as setting the standard with regards to employee benefits and possessing ‘kumbaya’ workplace environments with motivated and highly engaged employees; the sector’s brands and leaders themselves are often heralded as business icons.
However, resistance, revolts, open letters, strikes and walk-outs – particularly in the tech sector have – become more commonplace globally, as the balance of power see-saws. Employees have called upon leaders of companies to use their power to influence socio-political issues, some have acquiesced, others have resisted and neither approach has tended to work out favourably. The WFH x RTO tug of war continues, with a range of leaders from various industries, such as JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, X’s Elon Musk and Disney’s Bob Iger insisting staff return to the office, which has been met with public outrage by employees.
Meanwhile, the executive suite is flaming out, if not already burnt out. A recent survey by Deloitte highlighted that seven out of 10 managers lack organisational support they need to enhance employee wellbeing, facing obstacles such as rigid company policies, heavy workloads and an unsupportive workplace culture that prevent them from doing more to support their team members. The year before, a similar study highlighted that nearly seven in 10 leaders told Deloitte they’d thought about quitting.
In an environment where nearly everyone is fed up, suspicious and generally at their wit’s end with one another… what do we do about employee engagement? In the face of this trust crisis, the rules of employee engagement remain steadfast. That being said, it’s time to strip away the fluff and get back to basics. Employees will not have the wool pulled over their eyes and employers need to focus on what matters most.
The starting point: authentic corporate values
Transparency begets trust. When people know what kind of corporate beast they’re dealing with, they are empowered to decide whether it’s the right place for them. It would be interesting to see what the sentiment is like at X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) presently; as brutal as Musk’s actions were in setting expectations, he was clear in articulating what they are. It’s unlikely there’s a culture of people ‘ringing it in’ or working under duress at X these days. Like it or not, the new values of the organisation are apparent. Same applies at Shopify. CEO, Tobi Lütke, was the poster-boy for ‘Cancelled CEOs’, copping media flack and resignations for saying “we are not a family, we’re a team” and that Shopify couldn’t solve the world’s societal problems. However, he made the company’s standpoint clear and has since stabilised the company’s environment. While these may be considered fairly extreme examples, to sugar-coat corporate realities with insincerity is simply indicative of corporates gaslighting employees.
Executives need to search within, and seek support
Executives need to genuinely immerse themselves in the employee engagement process. A study by Harvard Business Review emphasised that 70% of employee engagement variance is influenced by the actions of the organisation’s leadership. If, for example, companies want to champion a growth mindset within its workforce, executives cannot lead from a fixed mindset that mutes the development of high agency within their teams. At a minimum, executives need to apply the same standards and ask the same questions of themselves, as they do their teams.
If executives and leadership teams are displaying signs of burnout, it’s incumbent on them, their peers as well as their boards, to ensure the C-suite is better supported. Mental wellness is a subject that in many cultures can be stigmatised; it can be even more pronounced in the C-suite, where the stoic culture of ‘this pressure is what I signed up for’ is toxic. Overlay this with the isolation that comes with the job, and trouble awaits. It can be very difficult for a C-suite to remain committed at a personal level to employee engagement activities when they themselves are unable to engage. Check in with one another and have open discussion on the subject where appropriate. Champion mental wellbeing within the executive team and ensure that the C-suite have access to confidential mental health resources. This will have a healthier knock-on effect for the company at large and can be quite transformational for the overall organisational approach to employee wellbeing in general.
Modernise the employer-employee dynamic
Traditional leadership models are evolving into collaborative networks, where team members’ insights and expertise are valued at all levels. This shift provides an opportunity for leaders to review their role as a ‘director’ and consider adapting to become a ‘coach’. Coaching as a leadership style offers a more collaborative and supportive means of unlocking their team’s capabilities, aligning their goals and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Leadership, as a result, shifts towards enabling and empowering others, bridging the gap between strategy and execution.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast
By setting an employee engagement strategy on the foundations of authenticity, executive self-awareness and a modernised, collaborative leadership approach, companies will be better positioned to introduce other, softer employee engagement tactics in a way that will be valued rather than second-guessed. Actions inform perception. Tactics including employee recognition and rewards, team-building activities, social connection, work/life balance programmes, even employee wellness initiatives can be seen through both a positive and negative lens within the workplace and the success of these initiatives are contingent on a company’s leadership culture, people experience strategy and execution.
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