Each week I’m going to provide a round up of what I consider to be important and interesting articles on the future of work (not authored by me). These will include a variety of sources and topics ranging from workplace practices to robots and automation to leadership and everything in between. There’s a lot of information out there so I’m hoping that these weekly round ups will help make life a bit easier for you by giving you just the good stuff. Let’s get into it!
The 4 Things Employees want that Employers Aren’t Giving Them
In a survey of more than 18,000 people, four areas were found to be important to employees. If companies hope to stay aware of their employees’ needs they should check into these:
1. Consumer level digital capabilities at the workplace. It is often found that the desire to quickly add new technologies leads to less than idea functionality.
2. The use of Virtual Reality
3. Flexibility – ‘companies can’t offer a flexible schedule fast enough’. Freelancers are bigger than ever.
4. All age groups prefer in-person training over online programs. Companies must re-evaluate their training courses with specific employee demographics in mind.
3 Ways to Engage Offsite Employees in Your Culture
Creating the culture desired in the world of ‘flexible workspaces’ requires a blend of high-tech communication and personal interaction.
The use of technology is one way to encourage employees to collaborate across distances. These can include email, video, conference calls and instant messaging. Tools such as these can make it easier to form trusting relationships with coworkers and stay connected.
There is also value in ensuring there are some in-person interactions as well. Providing opportunities for face-to- face meetings can build credibility and engagement. People want to have a relationship with their leaders but can only do so if there is a personal connection.
Social media can also work to create a positive culture. Sharing thoughts in writing allows the entire team to understand leader’s vision. Examples of what to include: posts on company culture, employee spotlights, personal aspects of life and industry insights
A Lesson from the Uber Scandals: A Toxic Workplace is Now a Greater Liability for Companies
The culture of an organization is an important factor due to shifting expectations of consumers and employees. With this change, the valuations of the company are being impacted and having a material effect on the company.
Social media is a big driver. Sites like Glassdoor allow employees – both past and present – to give unvarnished reviews of a company. The Uber engineer who made allegations about a negative culture in a blog post led to other stories of similar experiences.
Investors are also focused on culture and assessing the risks involved with some companies struggling with negative issues – such as Uber.
My new book, The Employee Experience Advantage (Wiley, March 2017) analyzes over 250 global organizations to understand how to create a place where people genuinely want to show up to work. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
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