Adjusting the sail

Talking to the president of a vast chemical company, I was not surprised when he lamented that there had been young people in his company that quit recently. The company president was perplexed and could not understand the logic behind the situation. They pay well, and the perks are great, yet a few of his young people quit.

One of the essential factors that were handled casually at best or totally ignored at worst is their relationships with their employees. The recent wave of people leaving the workplace on the other side of the globe and is happening locally is forcing many business organizations and leaders to take a hard and careful look. Many organizations are still banking on failed transactional strategies. And now it seems that the scale and the speed of good talents quitting are approaching an alarming scale. While most business organizations and decision-makers pay a lot of attention to CX – Customer Experience, UX – User Experience, DX – Digital Experience, they have come to the inflection point of seriously studying EX – their Employee’s Experience.

There needs to be a serious conversation on topics like:

1. How and what can the company do to improve employee experience and retain our top talent?

2. How can our leaders and people managers lead with empathy and sensitivity to their people’s needs?

3. How can our organization come up with a mechanism that embraces bottom-up ideas?

4. How can the company leaders empower staff to set their own unique goals and supply the tools and materials to attain them?

Four factors influence the employee experience:

People (the who) – What are your employees’ relationships with internal and external stakeholders?

Place (the where) – How suitable are your employees’ workspaces and your approach to work-life balance?

Product (the what) – What’s the connection between an employee’s skill level and day-to-day tasks?

Process (the how) – What are the rules for how work gets done, and how is good work rewarded?

LinkedIn features multiple views from industry experts covering different fields: 1

A. Flexibility

Nickle LaMoreaux – chief human resources officer, IBM says: The old way of working is history as flex culture takes hold. Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have had to think about work design, what tasks get done and where they get done, and when and how you deconstruct work so that it’s done optimally.

B. Trade

Jen Fisher, the chief well-being officer at Deloitte Exchange, says: Trade burning the midnight oil for morning yoga. In the workplace, we shouldn’t value and celebrate the people who stay up all night and burn the midnight oil because that doesn’t really produce great results for the person or the organization. It’s not a sustainable model.

C. Culture

Teuila Hanson, chief people officer at LinkedIn, says: Employees are saying, ‘We can do better.’ Companies can too. Company culture is swiftly evolving, and to keep up, organizations must innovate and think progressively. We have this singular opportunity to create the culture and circumstances that will allow each employee to do their best work and to lead their best life.

Let me add one more crucial factor:

D. Leadership

Good people rarely leave organizations when they work with inspiring, encouraging, empowering bosses who would bring out the best in them. Good people usually leave for the same reasons pre-COVID and now even in the post-COVID era:

1. They cannot get along with their bosses.

2. The feeling that they are unappreciated.

This is precisely why leadership training and development are no longer a luxury but a necessity.

While the Big Quit in Western countries continues to happen, it has begun scouting local talents who can fill their gaps with higher pay and greater flexibility. Even if such arrangements would not offer long-term stability, security, and growth for the workers, it does affect our business as attrition continues to rise.

Book author Jacob Morgan says: “In a world where money is no longer the primary motivating factor for employees, focusing on the employee experience is the most promising competitive advantage organizations can create.”

Yes, the wind of change is happening, and Jimmy Dean says: “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails always to reach my destination.” It’s time for some severe sail adjustments, wouldn’t you agree?

(Francis Kong runs his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership 2.0 Master Class Online this July 5-7. For inquiries and reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or and for more information, visit www.levelupleadership.ph)