We all know we are at an all time high of employees being laid off which means employees who are on the hunt for a new position in 2023 have higher expectations in their new opportunity. These applicants will not only be focused on the position it self, title and salary requirements, however the one area employers have to remember which are important to applicants is company culture. This doesn’t mean what is written on the company website or shown on social media. Applicants are reaching out to people whom already work there to see if actions are happening around culture or is it all for show to bring in quality new employees. The old saying, actions speak louder than words really is holding true when it comes to company culture.
With less than 2 weeks until the end of the year, is your company really truly invested in a detailed company culture plan? Have you spend the time and energy to analyze what you did this year? What worked, what didn’t work? What did employees like, what do they want more of? Have you not only listed but have you taken the ideas and implemented them for 2023? Culture to employees is one of the top important aspects. Don’t go into 2023 missing the mark as by the end of 2023 you will not only miss the mark for employees but you will have employees leaving and looking for a new opportunity.
Most recently O.C. Tanner published a white paper focusing on the 5 Culture Trends for 2023.
Culture Trend #1: Employees want more from their work. As I mentioned above, salary requirements and standard benefits are not enough anymore. Fulfillment doesn’t just come from doing the tasks that one is asked to do on a daily basis. Feeling like one has a purpose in their overall position along with the feeling of belonging for a bigger purpose is high priority. When someone doesn’t feel like their is greater purposes, they become rundown and feel like they are on a hamster wheel each day.
What can a company implement in their 2023 plan? As leaders, regardless of how much are on your plate, support and encourage balance, create boundaries for your employees. Hold people to PTO so when they return they are refreshed. Give them flexibility, connect with each-other and even those outside of the company, within their community. Employees want to feel they are being invested in, their leader is a mentor and offer training to better themselves as a person, not just in their specific role.
Culture Trend #2: Workplace community is increasingly important. In a world were employees may be spread out, workplace community is even more important than ever before. This goes beyond just a zoom wine down hour. Investing to bring your team together locally or nationally is one of the best investments a company can make. The benefits include increased morale, higher productivity and a sense of belonging. The stats within the O.C. Tanner white-paper is astounding, “ Conversely, according to McKinsey, the top reasons people quit their jobs are they don’t feel valued (54%) and they don’t feel a sense of belonging at work (51%).” “In fact, 72% of employees say it’s important for them to feel part of a community at work. Yet employees are having trouble connecting with their organizations.”
What can a company implement in their 2023 plan? It is not up to the employees to build the connection, companies should have a tactile detailed plan to engage and connect their employees and create a sense of community. Companies should create space, time and planned opportunities for in office and remote employees to feel connection. A detailed culture plan is just as important as a sales budget or a marketing budget.
Culture Trend #3: Leaders are burning out. As a leader myself, or as I call myself a mentor. This couldn’t be more true. Leadership has more on their plate handling multiple jobs not just handling strategy but day to day, in the weeds tasks. Why are we allowing all of this to be on one leader in a department? It is directly leading to burn out,
Administrative tasks—planning and budgeting, timecard approvals, etc.
Operational work—project management, attending meetings, hitting deadlines, etc.
Manage teams—performance reviews, one-to-one meetings, hiring, etc.
Be a leader—coaching and mentoring, developing, connecting, building culture, wellbeing, retention, etc.
Strategic planning—innovating, planning, etc.
It is only driving leaders to be poached or to look elsewhere to seek out balance in their lives. “Only 1 in 3 managers are emotionally engaged at work, and managers experienced the highest drop in engagement over the past year.” As a human can only bear so much not only in the work force but balancing their responsibilities outside the position.
What can a company implement in their 2023 plan? Companies should be focused on their leaders. Hiring an additional employee would be the best investment not only for the company but for their leader to be successful. In turn keeping leaders for a longer term, reducing turn over and training new employees to be a leader. Offering support, resources (that means additional employees) and tools to meet the demand they are given.
Culture Trend #4: The rise of generalists. Having a generalist on your team is and can be a great thing, but generalist can and do feel overlooked, as a matter of fact, 52% feel overlooked according to O.C. Tanner published white paper. Since they do so much in so many areas, these employees don’t feel supported or appreciated.
What can a company implement in their 2023 plan? First take a look at each team and assess who within the company may fall in the generalist and make a specific plan for these employees. Although these employees are awesome at handling a variety of tasks, as a leader, find the skills they flourish and excel in and strengthen those. Look at connecting a mentor/leader to these employees so they don’t feel stretched thin and have someone to go to for guidance. These type of people need to feel valued and noticed. Do so by highlighting their accomplishments not only directly to them but to the entire organization.
Culture Trend #5: Symbolic awards build belonging. Amplifying appreciation leads into physical awards. When employees work from home and sometimes may be isolated, seeing a physical symbol of an employees contribution can go a long way. This also allows the employee to showcase how much the company values you them and even for the employee to share on social media
What can a company implement in their 2023 plan? Include symbolic awards for each team, include how long they have been with the company, for contributing to the company values. Hold to these and share these accomplishments not just with the employee but throughout the year on a company wide stage.
Walking out of 2022 and into 2023, each company must remember employee connection, company culture is just as important if not more important to the companies sales plan or marketing plan or any others. Without company culture the employee turn will continue and the companies brand will continue to be weakened. One added piece to remember: this is not something that can be done alone, by one department, seek out platforms to assist like Workvivo. The value a culture driven platform can bring is immeasurable and investing in a platform that can complement your teams will bring an enormous amount of return. Let’s walk into the new year with our heads held high and a solid plan for employees to thrive, flourish and feel appreciated.