The only constant is change.  

COVID-19 has not only transformed the way businesses work (as well as how people within those businesses work) but has also completely uprooted the models and core principles businesses were founded on. It has also changed consumer preferences and normalized practices that were previously considered to be on the fringe (i.e. digital nomads, virtual everything from dance lessons to dinners to wine tastings, and even craft cocktail kits delivered to your door).

The pandemic isn’t the only factor causing change within organizations right now Organizations undergo transitions all the time for many different reasons. As consumer preferences change, so must a business’s model if they want to remain relevant. One good example is Levi’s recent acquisition of Beyond Yoga to capitalize on this growing retail sector amidst the rise of athleisure trends.

With any transition, there are implications on both the work that needs to be done and the people doing the work. This includes conflicting ideas about how work should be performed as well as temporary declines in performance and even burnout from the pace and impact of change. Read more about how behavioral analytics is used in M&A.

Our mission is to foster a healthy workplace culture where employees feel valued and have the opportunity to thrive. However, there are factors outside of our control that can interfere with an organization’s performance as a result of extended periods of change. Some of these factors include a feeling of languishing caused by the pandemic, fear of job loss due to declining sales, and the Yolo Economy. There are, however, many areas that you CAN affect:

  • High turn-over caused by a lack of engagement
  • Systemic burnout
  • Conflicting expectations around the work that needs to be done
  • Declining customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Decrease in the quality of the output

Our research shows that while 70% of employees with bad managers are considering leaving their team or company, only 39% of employees with good managers feel the same.

What defines good or bad?

In general, employees don’t do a great job truly verbalizing what it is that they want. For example, multiple conversations with employers over the last few weeks were around employees asking for ping pong tables. I’m guessing that employees didn’t suddenly develop an affinity for ping pong. Rather, they long for what those ping pong tables represent – freedom, trust, stress relief. We can’t MAKE our employees happy, but we can ensure they are connected to their job, manager, coworkers, and the organization.

The #1 skill employees value from their managers is confidence.

The #1 skill employees feel their managers lack is communication

2021 People Management Report

A great way to collect meaningful employee feedback is to employ survey tools. These can range from pulse surveys to annual engagement surveys. In order to survive “The Great Resignation”, it is critical that we listen to the challenges and feedback of the front-line staff actually doing the work. They have a lot of useful information to share, but the real question is: “Will you take the time to hear and take action on it?”