Another year of changing workplace dynamics has gone by. You have witnessed the unprecedented in the past three years. The employee engagement levels dwindled between 31% and 40% before reaching an average of 36%. Globally, this figure raised from 15% to 21% in 2022.
Employee engagement evolved rapidly in the post-pandemic era. It is no longer about keeping employees happy but ensuring they feel fulfilled in their jobs. They need a sense of purpose to be dedicated to the workplace.
A few employee engagement trends have emerged recently that apply to all levels of employees and surpass industrial boundaries. These trends will prevail in 2023.
Let’s take a look.
The employee-centric or people-first culture has shifted organizations’ primary focus from customers. And more companies are embracing this philosophy every day.
Employees are the new brand ambassadors, or the new customers, and will influence decision-making in 2023. Here are a few practices creating ripples in the employee engagement realm right now.
You have seen how working only from home can disrupt personal lives. But traveling to work every day doesn’t ensure productivity either.
Up to 72% of candidates consider work-life balance critical while choosing a job, and approximately 60% of employees experience higher productivity at home. That’s why many organizations have adopted a flexible work culture to suit their employees’ needs.
And in 2023, promoting work-life balance will become more critical. Around 62% of millennials are expected to switch to the freelancing gig economy in the next two years for a better work-life balance.
Cloud-based HR tech sells like hotcakes. HR professionals worldwide prefer it as it can enhance productivity by up to 40%. Besides, many functions offered by cloud tech include digital forms and workflows for regulatory compliance.
Cloud-based HR software can be integrated with many aspects of human resource management, like performance management, feedback-gathering surveys, employee benefits, and recognition platforms.
Besides, there are many other advantages:
AI-enabled tools like Amber have revolutionized how you connect with employees, gather their feedback, and make decisions. 80% of executives believe AI can drive tremendous value in any organizational activity. Every HR function has been touched and refined by AI and ML. It is bound to grow in 2023 for the various benefits like:
One-third of HR leaders count D&I among their top five priorities. And why not? The more diverse your workforce, the better the ideas and experience. People from different backgrounds, races, ethnicity, or nationalities bring more creativity and out-of-the-box insights.
Overall, D&I culture promotes belongingness, team spirit, and psychological safety. 83% of millennials are more engaged at work in inclusive companies, which means they are less likely to quit early.
Women have managed to scale up the ladder in the past few years, but there still is a long way to go. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report 2022 states 26% of women made it to the C-Suite, and 28% are at the Senior Vice President level.
Women are switching jobs for better prospects at an unprecedented rate higher than men. They are not afraid to ask for their dues and fulfill their demands. They are looking for a more inclusive work culture and are not afraid to build it independently. And this trend is expected to scale up in 2023.
Perks and promotions are no longer enough to keep the employees engaged. You need to think ahead and offer them privileges that make them feel valued. And then millennials and Gen Z form the largest section of your workforce today. Thus employers are likely to weigh their likes and dislikes while finalizing the perks.
Some incentives catching up fast are health and wellness packages, children’s play area or a pet care facility for working parents, flexible working schedules, napping rooms, and paid vacations. These trends will surely come up through employee feedback, if not from employers.
Employees consider career growth opportunities while joining a company. In fact, professional skill development opportunities can enhance employee engagement by 2.5 times. Employees are looking for skill upgrades too. Last year saw 41% of companies employ in-person training programs compared to 25% in 2021.
Employees are up to 10 times more likely to quit if they don’t like the career trajectory or how their skills are utilized. This has put more pressure on employers to offer a lucrative growth plan. And this employee engagement trend is bound to influence decision-making this year.
You may recall the times when appreciating an employee at work was simpler. You just had to give a shout-out, verbally or via email, and combine it with a goodie. The pandemic not only made it more challenging to connect with employees but also changed their thought processes.
Today, 63% of employees receiving due recognition and rewards (R&R) are likelier to continue at a job. Plus, it enhances employee performance by 14%. That’s why over 91% of HR experts consider R&R a critical investment.
One-third of employees want their managers to connect with them more frequently. Work often suffers due to miscommunication, mismatched expectations, or things left unsaid but influential enough to affect employee performance.
Communication becomes difficult when employees connect via a screen, but employers have found better ways to dig deeper. For instance, Amber, an AI-enabled chatbot, connects with each employee individually to gather feedback and genuine feelings about the work environment.
Then, some industries have witnessed interesting employee engagement dynamics over the years.
Here’s how employee engagement trends have evolved for them.
The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector is known for its intense and high-pressure work environment. Such stress affects employees’ satisfaction and engagement levels. Probably that’s why this sector suffers from a poor employee engagement rate of just 33% and a voluntary turnover of 16.2%.
BFSI adopted digital interactions mostly during the pandemic. But the scenario forced the sector to push its boundaries of innovation and find new ways for business growth and employee engagement.
The industry has taken some measures:
Healthcare is among the biggest employment sectors that employs up to 13% of Americans. Stress levels run sky-high, which is why employees constantly need to be engaged and happy. But engagement becomes a challenge due to prolonged and erratic working hours.
Healthcare employees face extreme burnouts, which can impact the quality of care they provide. The industry, on average, has a employee turnover of up to 7%, of which 35.2% of employees leave due to work-life imbalance.
Healthcare was the most affected due to the pandemic. The retention programs run by hospital administrations were put to the test during this time, and most of them failed. While 70% of hospitals believed in the effectiveness of their employee retention programs, the physicians disagreed. Around 69% of the physicians felt highly disengaged.
A recent study by Harvard Business Review found that a 1% increase in engagement levels can reduce hospital-acquired complications by 3% and readmissions by 7%. Thus, the industry has woken up to begin new trends that will prevail in 2023.
Here are the top 7 trends for 2023.
Employee engagement is being revamped across the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. Employers are now more aware and determined to evoke a sense of self-management in their employees down the line.
Some trends have caught up like wildfire.
One trend is gaining traction in every industry and making HR heads turn. It is the onset of tech-based tools in managing and engaging employees.
Employers spend approximately $720 million in measuring employee engagement in a year, but the figure remains a dismal 36%. Around two-thirds of the workforce still remains disengaged or unhappy. That’s why employers are turning to AI and ML for employee engagement activities.
Technological dependence takes the load off employers and brings many benefits.
Our clients have witnessed hikes in employee engagement and saved the cost of doing multiple activities to engage their employees. The biggest support your employees need is someone who would listen to them and get it acted upon.