It’s all about making things more employee centric, said Julian Tesche, head of market development at Peakon, a company that measures and improves employee engagement through data.
What do employees really want from their managers, why can being more agile within HR sometimes add stress for employees and what is the biggest difference between gen X and gen Z?
Key Takeaways from this Episode Include:
- Focus on engagement over happiness
- Communication is key between employees and management
- Shape the workplace to what works best for the team, don’t just follow the trends (ie: Agile, communal workplaces, etc.)
- The importance of having passion for a project rather than just speaking for the sake of speaking.
- Make everything more employee centric
What does it take to really listen to your employees? Now more than ever, it’s important to let your teams know that they’re being heard.
What do Employees Really Want? Listen to the Employee Voice!
What do managers and leaders need to know about being good listeners?
#1: It take people skills and emotional intelligence to be able to lead a team.
#2: Focus on engagement, rather than focusing on employee happiness which is often fluid and the meaning can change from person to person.
#3: Be Conscious of what employees want at work and whether or not employees are listening
#4: People don’t want anything over the top, they just want the basics, ie: better pay, communication, management, and every company is able to provide this, if they are willing to put in the effort.
#5: It’s important for companies to look inward and ask employees how they feel and what they want so that they can boost employee happiness and engagement. Data-inspired action is necessary to make these changes.
#6: Fostering open conversations about things like pay are essential. Employees are asking what they’re getting and if management doesn’t have a good answer for that, people leave.
#7: Managers need more people skills and emotional intelligence to lead today, it’s not enough anymore just be good at what they do
#8: Employees want to be more involved and have their voices heard. The best way for a company to do that is to have a good feedback channel.
#9: It’s not necessarily about how much an employee is getting paid, but rather why they’re being paid that much. Managers should be able to answer this.
As we all know, offices today are extremely multi-generational. People are working longer than before and that means a mix of boomers and generations, x, y, and z.
What do Employees Really Want? The Biggest Differences Between the Generations & what should we be Mindful of?
#1: Climate Change: Young people are changing their behaviour around waste due to climate change. If you’re running an office or throwing a party or an event, think about whether you’re being environmentally sustainable.
#2: Differing values: Generations have different values. Whereas the baby boomers and some generations that came after them placed a lot of importance on career, millennials, while they believe it’s important, focus on creating experiences and investing in them. When leading a team it’s important to consider what motivates and engages each group and how you can cater to each party.
#3: Questioning the Traditional Work-Week: Young people are questioning the effectiveness of the traditional 9-5, Monday to Friday grind. With the onset of technology, which the older generations didn’t use as readily as it didn’t exist in the same way, more people are moving to remote work (especially today with the coronavirus).
#4: Company culture: The vibe at work is extremely important, especially to younger people who place a lot of emphasis on company culture. Be conscious of how the vibe is impacting the office.
What do Employees Really Want: What makes an effective manager?
#1: Knowing how business objectives and the needs of the team intersect
#2: Asking if work aligns with company objectives
#3: Focusing on what’s best for the team, not the best for the trends
#4: The ability to look inwards and to communicate with the team on what they want
#5: Knowing that agile isn’t always the best option for the team
