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Kincentric's Global Trends in Employee Engagement report for 2022 describes the unpredictability of the workforce. Kincentric noted that many companies are using this period to experiment and innovate their processes, as well as tips for maximising engagement.
The report notes that the pandemic has created a rift in common workplace practice. Some organisations have stuck to their traditional methods to achieve employee engagement in the hopes that things will go back to normal, while others are innovating. The report shows that plenty of companies are using the recent uncertainty to test and refine new practices to push for employee engagement that they may not have been able to if not for COVID-19.
Due to this divide, employee engagement is all over the place. At the end of 2019, it stood at 67 per cent. By 2020, it reached a high of 73 per cent, but currently sits at 62 per cent just two years later.
Kincentric says things will never be the same, with employee expectations higher than ever: “Organisations have been presented with a unique opportunity to change what previously may have been seen as unchangeable. This is an era of opportunity that provides businesses with an inflection point unmatched in history.”
Employee turnover is a challenge that the report says will persist. Recognition and support are Kincentric’s two key tips for getting through these turbulent times; acknowledging the work that employees are putting in and rewarding them accordingly, as well as providing the support they need to do their job properly. With the report identifying that half of employees globally feel their workplace does not have the staff they need, retention should be a key focus of all organisations.
This pressure is felt by managers as much as it is the rest of the workforce. According to the research, managers work-life balance has decreased 10 points since 2019. Kincentric says that looking after management will help a business to succeed: “Leaders need to ease the burden; making sure expectations of managers are kept reasonable, clear priorities are set, support is provided, and they are being developed to adjust to changes in roles and responsibilities.”
When the leadership receives the support it needs, the rest of the business will reap the benefits. According to the data, employees recorded eight times higher engagement when leaders communicated vision and strategy for the future. Keeping workers in the loop and active in the current state of the business as well as creating a healthy work culture will generate greater purpose and engagement.
Read the full Kincentric report here.
RELATED TERMS
Employee engagement is the level of commitment people have to the company, how enthusiastic they are about their work, and how much free time they devote to it.
Turnover in human resources refers to the process of replacing an employee with a new hire. Termination, retirement, death, interagency transfers, and resignations are just a few examples of how organisations and workers may part ways.
Jack Campbell
Jack is the editor at HR Leader.
