THE TALENT MAGNETS™
The current state of six essential elements that define thriving cultures.
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE
A sense of belonging improves several cultural metrics:
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“[Community is] a way of being together with both individual authenticity and interpersonal harmony so that people become able to function with a collective energy even greater than the sum of their individual energies.”
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The weaknesses of an organization are often attributed to its leaders. However, data suggest the blame may be at least partially misplaced—especially in organizations that prioritize the experiences of individual contributors. The reality is leaders are employees, too, and increasing their recognition and reducing their stress and anxiety will directly result in better leadership and less burnout. Until then, leaders have a difficult and lonely role, and organizations face consequences.
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“Leadership is an active role; ‘lead’ is a verb. But the leader who tries to do it all is headed for burnout, and in a powerful hurry.”
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As an increasing number of people resigned from their jobs last year, our research examined why. Most often, the reasons boiled down to a compelling desire for a more fulfilling life. Employees’ sense of fulfillment increases when organizations enable life balance, support the growth and development of everyone holistically, create a thriving workplace community, and help each person contribute to the collective purpose. Our data also show that when employees are fulfilled, great business outcomes follow.
Employees who reach a high level in each of the following areas see better odds of fulfillment:
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“When pursuing an employee experience that engages workers, companies too often make the mistake of looking at only one-size-fits-all solutions. They vow to provide more flexibility, opportunities, and an inclusive culture. While these factors matter, they don’t cover what is often the most important one that’s missing: a personal sense of fulfillment.”
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Personal histories shape our current and future perceptions, and this holds true for employee recognition. We found that people’s poor recognition experiences at prior organizations can create a negative bias toward recognition programs and cultural initiatives that come after. On the other side, excellent previous recognition experiences create an equal challenge by raising employees’ expectations. The answer lies in expressing appreciation early and often.
Recognition integration (RI)—the degree to which recognition is embedded in an organization’s culture—has a significant impact on subsequent cultural outcomes:
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“Part of why it’s so important that we weave recognition and appreciation into the fabric of our culture and elevate the importance of its impact is because now, more than ever, we understand that recognition, just like compensation and benefits, is a fundamental part of the associates’ experience at work. ”
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Symbols are woven throughout organizational culture. Think of the framed first check, the founder’s portrait, or even military medals, for example. Companies that use relevant symbols in their employee recognition—and integrate them early and often in the employee experience—significantly amplify the positive impact.
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“Symbols are powerful because they are the visible signs of invisible realities.”
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Organizations benefit greatly from the talent and expertise of generalists—those multi-dimensional employees with diverse backgrounds who are curious, imaginative, and willing to embrace evolving work environments. Unfortunately, our latest research shows generalists are also much less likely to feel appreciated and much more likely to feel burned out, especially compared to their specialist coworkers.
Despite the value they bring to the workplace and the high demand for them, many generalists feel under-recognized by their employers:
“Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses—especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”
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