Despite continuing growth in the commercial sector, conventional management practices are broken.
To prove this, we only need to look at the evidence:
- Why is it that employee engagement (in general) is continuing to fall even though organisations are spending more on their staff than ever before?
- Why is that employees are expressing greater dissatisfaction with their employer, when they are going out of their way to try and accommodate them?
- Why is it that we’re seeing relationships between employees and employers becoming ever more fragile even though both are looking for greater substance?
The fact is, employers need more from their people to do better. Transforming workplace performance and improving staff commitment are vital. At the same time, employees say they want more meaningful interactions and involvement with their employer. It seems employees and employers want similar things, so what’s getting in the way?
Because organisations continue to use outdated practices to manage their people, their relationships are strained, leading to a burgeoning gap between ‘them’ and ‘us’. Sadly, despite genuine attempts by executives in recent years to improve workplace relations, the majority of employees say they feel like ‘just another worker’ (JAW) rather than a ‘valued member of the team’ (VMT). Further to this, being on the receiving end of compliance-based practices reminds them of the arrangement and the fact that despite what their manager says, they are neither unique nor special in the eyes of the company.
Although this experience may not be what leaders intend, it is nevertheless being felt, which is why organisations globally are seeing diminishing levels of loyalty on top of increasing employee demands.
This article is part of our white paper ‘The future of work: A performance-focused insight’. To request a copy, please email us at info@vantaset.com
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