97% of organizations are in the midst of transformation. 83% of leaders expect the role of AI and automation to increase significantly in the next two years. With constant and rapid change upon us, a key determinant of organizational success will be the ability to always be ready for what is coming next. We are forced to be in a continuous state of future readiness, and as HR professionals and leaders, our goal is to ensure employees and teams are able to respond positively to incoming change.
In the field of employee research, we have reached the point where we need to look beyond just the psychological needs of people in the workplace to help them feel a sense of engagement. We need to be more mindful of the whole person, and ensure an employee experience that increases overall well-being. The employee experience is the intersection of the employee’s expectations, their environment, and the events that shape their journey within an organization.
The employee experience should be an enabler of your organization’s strategy rather than a barrier. It’s an enabler when people are able to perform to their full potential and adapt to changes around them. To ensure this, organizations need to continually meet the needs of their employees from the standpoint of the following:
When employees are disconnected with any of the above elements, they may feel lost, unmotivated, uncertain, or confused. This tends to elicit a more rigid response to their environment. They may become less open to new ideas, less inclined to collaborate with others, more likely to have negative reactions, and less likely to go out of their way to delight their customers and/or teams.
Our data tells us that many organizations are still experiencing these challenges. 30% of employees report a lack of understanding about where their organization is headed and 37% are held up by bureaucracy when trying to get work done. The result has been stagnant or declining productivity. From 2007 – 2016, productivity has experienced a 60% decline when compared to data from 2001 to 2007 (1.1% global productivity for 2007-2016 vs. 2.7% from 2001 to 2007, according to data from The Conference Board).
It’s time to shift the way we understand and manage the expectations of our employees and the things our employees and come into contact with. Below are three keys to ensuring future readiness:
Organizations that can do these things well will be in a position to better manage the overall experience of their employees, and will be more future ready as a result.