By John Frehse, Senior Managing Director, Labor Strategy at Ankura and Dr. Jessica Kriegel, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at Culture Partners
As we head into 2024, fears of a recession loom large for individuals and corporations alike and understanding what it takes to succeed will be top of mind. Combined with the complexities of an election year, economic uncertainty is growing. The frontline workforce is critical to the United States economy and understanding their sentiment allows leaders to make better decisions.
Data Collection: Ankura has accumulated results from over 50,000 frontline workforce employees to better understand trends in company culture, retention, and output.
Key Questions:
Amongst others, two key questions employees were asked include:
Leadership Communicates Well with The Workforce
Leadership Cares About the Workforce
Main Takeaways:
· Care and Communication: Two Peas in a Pod. Our dive into the data shows a whopping correlation (.9917) between care and communication. When employees feel their leaders communicate effectively, they feel their leaders care about them.
· A Slipping Sense of Care and Clarity: While many start their jobs feeling supported and well-informed, this feeling tends to slip away over time. This drop is particularly sharp in the first 90 days, flagging this period as crucial for keeping the engagement flame alive.
Leadership Communicates Well with The Workforce: (% responding “Yes”)
Month 1: 64%
Month 2: 51%
Month 3: 47%
Leadership Cares About the Workforce: (% responding “Yes”)
Month 1: 72%
Month 2: 56%
Month 3: 51%
· Management in the Spotlight: As time goes on, the shine on management’s performance seems to dull a bit, with employees feeling less jazzed about benefits, working conditions, and feeling included.
· Engagement: The survey also shows that average engagement is high at 70% at first, but quickly drops as employees see care and communication go down.
Discussion: The early days in a new role are like the golden hour for setting the stage with solid communication and genuine care. It turns out, how well we do in this phase can really make or break an employee’s experience and their view of the company’s leadership, affecting whether they decide to stick around or look elsewhere.
Suggestions:
· Onboarding with Oomph: Kick off the onboarding process with a bang by ensuring it’s loaded with elements that show we care and that we’re all ears, setting a positive tone from the get-go.
· Keep the Good Times Rolling: Don’t let the engagement party end after the first 90 days. Keeping up the dialogue and showing continued care can help keep everyone feeling connected and valued.
· Catch Disengagement Early: By keeping an eye out for the early signs of someone feeling disconnected and addressing them head-on, we can tailor our approach to keep everyone on board and feeling good.
Conclusion: By getting proactive about care and communication leaders can not only keep engagement high but also build a workplace culture drives results.