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7 Sure-fire Ways to Earn Your Employees’ Trust

by | Nov 7, 2023 | Adaptability, Communication, Influence, Positive Feedback, Recognition, Respectful Workplace, Trust

7 ways to earn your employees’ trust 

Employees are sensitive creatures, and one of the quickest things they pick up on is whether or not their boss trusts them.

Trust is a critical element for a healthy workgroup and company. Without it, morale and productivity suffer, good employees leave and the rumor mill works overtime.

What does a failure to display trust look like? Micromanaging and a lack of willingness to delegate are two of the most common traits.

Other behaviors that make employees feel as if you don’t trust them include:

  • Pridefulness or lack of humility
  • Failure to build relationships with individual team members
  • Dictatorial behavior
  • Failure to listen and accept other viewpoints
  • Failure to admit your mistakes or accept that others make mistakes

Here are seven tips for how to squelch your trust-busting tendencies.

1. Establish a Personal Connection

Great leaders make time to get to know their team and what each employee needs to perform well. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming. All it requires is a stop by someone’s desk to ask, “How’s it going? Do you have any questions about that new task you’ve been assigned?”

It’s easy to lose touch with your team when you’re constantly caught up in the hustle and bustle. But if you don’t pay attention to current projects and the challenges your employees are facing, you can’t provide the support they need to keep efficiency and productivity humming. And if you’re aloof most of the time, your team won’t feel comfortable coming to you when they need help.

In addition, demonstrate that you care about your team members as human beings, not just employees. Keep up with their personal lives. If someone has a death in the family or a sick dog, extend a simple expression of concern or maybe offer them some extra time off to show that you care. This can help build mutual trust and loyalty between you and your employees.

2. Show Humility 

No one wants to work for a know-it-all or someone who can’t admit when they’ve made a mistake.

If you find yourself falling into that habit, remember, you’re a business leader, not a god. No one expects you to know everything. In reality, the ability to admit a mistake or ask for help demonstrates strength.

Even better, acknowledge your team’s expertise by asking your employees for their opinions and implementing their recommendations as often as possible.

3. Connect the Dots for People 

Facilitation builds trust because you’re helping team members make alliances in other departments and broaden their skills.

Simply ask, “Is there anything you need to do your job better?” You’re likely to find many opportunities to help your employees.

For instance, Jenny needs help finding the right person to help her resolve an issue she’s having with your company’s accounting software. You introduce her to Max, your company’s accounting software wiz. This simple gesture shows Jenny that you’ve got her back. It shows that you want to see her succeed. This can go a long way in helping you build trust.

4. Make room for mistakes 

We all make mistakes. Some are small – such as a misplaced file – and some are cringe-worthy. Your employees will appreciate it if you quickly debrief them on the small mistakes and treat those as growth opportunities on the way to better performance.

Conversation starters may include:

  • Talk me through what led you to that decision.
  • What do you think went wrong?
  • Let’s talk about what can be done differently next time.

Rarely will someone make a mistake so huge that it affects the business and becomes worthy of heavy-handed involvement from you. But when a big problem happens, remember that it’s usually not one person’s fault, but a series of missteps and broken processes.

Treating employees’ mistakes as a business problem rather than a personal failure signals to your team that they can trust you to react appropriately when things go wrong.

5. Ditch the micromanagement 

It can be tempting to think you know the best way to perform a task. In reality, people perform better when they’re allowed to get a job done in their own way.

Other ways to throw off the shackles of micromanagement include:

  • Let your team make routine decisions without coming to you for permission.
  • Eliminate unnecessary approval processes.
  • Delegate tasks as learning experiences and set expectations up front.
  • Acknowledge your way is not the only way.
  • Encourage your team members to hold each other accountable – this should not come from you only.

In addition to making employees feel like you trust them, empowering team members encourages them to use their creativity to get the job done.

6. Demonstrate trust logistically 

It seems simple, but the lines of communication must be open in order to build trust. This doesn’t have to be complicated. A few logistics are all you need.

First, it’s hard to trust a manager you rarely see or speak with. Make yourself available by leaving your office door open as much as possible. Walk the shop floor, greeting people, asking questions and offering help.

One caveat: You have to “manage by walking around” regularly. If you only talk to employees when something is wrong, they’re likely to fear your sudden presence in their midst rather than trust your being there.

Sharing meals brings people together, so host regular employee get-togethers.  A monthly team lunch to celebrate that month’s birthdays can be an excellent time to find out what’s really going on in your team members’ professional and personal lives.

7. Share success and give credit 

Nothing undermines trust faster than a boss who hogs credit for a job well done. Don’t be that manager or employees will stop sharing their good ideas.

In staff meetings, ask everyone to share a success story or something they feel good about. Publicly recognize when one or more team members resolve a long-standing issue, land a new client or find a way to reduce costs.

Praise is both highly motivating to employees and free. All it takes is a bit of thought on your part.

Trust runs both ways 

Source: Insperisty Staff, 2023

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them”. 
– Ernest Hemingway

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

Your Colleagues

In the Your Colleagues section in Catalyst, users can:

  • Learn their colleagues’ strengths, when to pull them into a project, and what stresses them out
  • Compare preferences and tendencies across a range of workplace behaviors using the DiSC model
  • Gain access to tips that help them work better together in a variety of situations

Many Catalyst users review this section before heading into a meeting or kicking off a new project with a coworker.

3 Steps on How to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

by | Sep 8, 2023 | Adaptability, Communication, Engagement, Feelings, Recognition, Respectful Workplace

how leading with emotional intelligence drives engagement

When emotions run high, it may be tempting for leaders to want their teams to discard their feelings at the door, focusing on the work at hand. But attempting to create a feelings-free workplace is never the solution. Leading with emotional intelligence will have a better short- and long-term payoff.

The problem is rarely that leaders are coldhearted. Rather, leaders feel the pressure themselves and are trying to control their own stress. They are faced with monumental tasks to pivot the company and their teams. They feel the weight on their shoulders to show a brave face for their team and keep the cogs turning. And it may seem counterproductive to focus on feelings when there’s so much work to be done.

But ignoring their team’s emotions can lead to disengagement. Employees may struggle to put in the bare minimum effort. And high-performing employees become a risk for burnout and leaving.

Not only do business results suffer, but it can take a deep physical and mental toll on employee health.

That’s why leading with emotional intelligence is so important.

Step 1: Acknowledge Personal Derailers

Remember the classic airline advice to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting other passengers? We recommend a similar approach to leadership. When leaders don’t have a handle on their own stress, they will struggle to support others. As a result, their negative personal tendencies, what we call derailers, start to show up under stress.

Derailers are the “dark side” of our personality, and we all have them. These include personality traits like becoming argumentative, controlling, or impulsive under stress. We can’t change our personalities, but we can learn to manage our reactions and responses under stress.

4 Ways to Manage Derailers

  1. Anticipate upcoming stressful situations and ask yourself, “What outcome do I really want?” Then, if you start to feel stress coming on once you get in the situation, PAUSE and count to 10 (or at least 5!). Taking a moment before you respond can help make sure you respond in a way that reflects your intentions.
  2. Acknowledge, but don’t celebrate your derailers. If you overreacted to something, you could apologize. But apologies wear thin after a while. It’s not OK to use derailers as a justification, i.e., “I’m sorry, but I just had to say that…I am impulsive.”
  3. Manage your physical and emotional health to support keeping yourself in the best state of mind.
  4. Practice, practice, practice!

HR and leadership coaches can also help leaders manage their own emotions. They can help identify leaders who are under the most stress and talk with them about managing their emotional triggers. They can also help leaders pause by asking key questions such as “Which upcoming situations are most concerning?” Or “What type of outcome is important to you?”

Then leaders can begin planning for the challenges ahead of managing their own emotions while leading with emotional intelligence.

Step 2:  Read the Room

Leaders need to work on recognizing emotions in others. In other words, they need to practice empathy.

However, some leaders confuse empathy with sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand other people’s perspectives. Sympathy is feeling pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.

Many leaders struggle to show empathy because they think it means they have to feel bad for the person or they can only respond if they have faced similar scenarios firsthand, i.e., “I’m sorry you’re feeling so stressed. I understand why you didn’t get the report done.”

But that’s not the case. Empathy does not require you to agree with the person’s opinions or actions. It’s simply the acknowledgment of how they’re feeling and why they are feeling that way.

For example, a leader can empathize by using a straightforward formula:

“It sounds like you’re_(feeling)__ because / about ___(fact)____.”  

In an actual conversation:

“From all you’ve shared, it sounds like you’re overwhelmed because there are so many competing priorities right now.”

Empathy also doesn’t require leaders to have the answers.

Leaders often fall into the trap of wanting to “fix” situations for their employees, but until they have demonstrated true active listening by capturing the facts, feelings, and showing that they understand how the person feels then they cannot move to the practical next steps.  Acknowledging feelings of uncertainty, stress, and pressure to perform goes a long way to helping people feel understood. As a result, they can feel more engaged and motivated to be part of the solution.

Step 3: Be a Part of the Solution

The final step is the one that drives results. As leaders get a handle on their own emotions and the emotions of their teams, they can start to mobilize people toward what needs to be accomplished.

Leaders can mobilize their teams by seeking three things:

  1. Seek perspective: “What do you see as the biggest impact from the changes?”
  2. Seek help: “Which priorities seem to be competing the most?”
  3. Seek ideas: “What’s a better way I can communicate the priorities so you truly know what is a priority?”

And then comes the hard part: Leaders need to listen to and act on their team’s feedback. That doesn’t always mean doing what teams suggest. But they do need to find a way to acknowledge and incorporate comments into the final solution. Even when team ideas won’t work, leaders can build trust by sharing rationale for why suggestions will not be incorporated.

Source: DDI, 2023

“When awareness is brought to an emotion, power is brought to your life”. 
– Tara Meyer Robson

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

Agile EQ Edition

Everything DiSC Agile EQ doesn’t just measure a person’s EQ. It provides a foundation for improving EQ by focusing on observable behaviors that are measured by DiSC.
Agile EQ helps learners understand their emotional responses by using both the language of DiSC and a new concept called Mindsets. The Agile EQ Mindset map helps learners recognize what behaviors are associated with the different mindsets(below).

5 Can’t Miss Keys to Fostering Innovation in the Workplace

by | Aug 30, 2023 | Active Listening, Adaptability, Feelings, Influence

5 keys to fostering innovation in the workplace

In business, it’s critical to adapt to and create change in order to stay ahead of the competition. When you foster a culture of innovation in the workplace, the payoff can be greater business achievement.

It can’t just be the members of your leadership team who are tasked with coming up with ideas to do things better or faster. It requires a commitment and input from all levels of the company.

  1. Create opportunities for sharing ideas

Does your organization have a culture of innovation? Can your employees come to you with ideas? Or do you regard questions and suggestions as disruptive?

When employees have the opportunity to be innovative and contribute to your company’s mission and goals, it increases their level of engagement. They feel a part of a whole and see how their work moves the business forward. It’s a terrific motivator.

Your goal is to create an environment where sharing ideas is OK. Be receptive and appreciative of your employees’ interest and input. While every suggestion may not be something the organization takes on, the ideas are worth considering.

Once you tap into the intellectual capital of your employees, you – and they – may be surprised at what you uncover. But you may find there are some who are reluctant to get involved; they’re likely afraid of failure or think their jobs aren’t innovative or creative.

To pave the way for employees who are reluctant, consider having a group brainstorming session. Ground rules should dictate that there are no bad ideas. This is also where you make sure the more timid employees have an opportunity to participate.

Consider having everyone write their ideas on index cards and tape them on the wall. Or for a hybrid and remote team, create a survey that’s always available for individuals to share ideas. Whichever you decide, this makes it so the idea is the focus of attention – not the individual. This will provide the opportunity for all to share ideas, not just the superstars.

  1. Provide the right resources

You have to give your team enough time, budget and encouragement to truly innovate. They need all three resources to be successful.

Time is usually the resource that’s lacking. There’s never enough of it – we get embroiled in the daily to-dos and don’t consider future needs.

This may require a shift in culture for your organization. Allowing time for brainstorming, research, testing, failure, recalibration and implementation is difficult. It takes commitment and planning. Innovation and creativity don’t happen without the investment of time.

What can you do to provide the resource of time needed to foster innovation in the workplace?

  • Set aside weekly chunks of time for team discussions about what’s working or not working – and how it can be made better.
  • Challenge your employees to help you overcome an obstacle with an inventive way of dealing with it.
  • Split them into teams for a friendly competition on problem-solving.
  • Offer training and development on creativity, change, teamwork and motivation.
  • Embrace failure as just another step toward getting it right.

As for budget, are there resources your team needs to be more creative?

Does everyone have the right digital tools that will help create innovative solutions? Is there additional training needed for increased learning and development in new areas of focus? What’s it going to cost you to bring out the innovation on your team?

Encouragement is the secret sauce in fostering innovation in the workplace. The first step is to make clear the company’s key objectives so that new ideas focus on what’s important for the organization.

The next step is to make your workplace a safe place to take a risk. Remember, not everyone wants to speak up for fear of failure or rejection. But everyone has ideas – it may just take some time and practice to get them to share.

For ongoing encouragement and learning, suggest books or articles on creativity and innovation to help employees find out how to tap into their own creative ideas.

You also could have employees spend time job-shadowing someone in the company. It just might spur one of them to do their job differently to align better with company goals.

If you’re open to hearing about it, your employees will likely embrace the opportunity to make a positive change. Most people are surprised at how innovative they can be, given a chance.

  1. Promote freedom and flexibility

As we’ve discussed in previous blogs on how various generations like to work, many employees are more comfortable working wherever they are, rather than the confines of a cubicle or traditional nine to five schedule.

They feel restricted – especially from an innovation perspective – if they’re required to work a certain way, at a certain in, following very specific instructions.

It’s largely because of generations Y and Z that organizations are reconsidering how employees get work done. We’re seeing more workweeks that include alternate days off, flexible schedules, longer workdays with more days off, varied start times, remote schedules, etc.

While some businesses can’t afford to organize shifts based on employee preferences – customer needs take priority – some organizations can be more flexible on when employee productivity happens.

When your employees are working at a time, place and pace that’s best for them, they’ll be more apt to offer creative and innovative ways for getting work done. And, if they feel they have the freedom to work in the way that’s best for them, they’ll likely feel more valued and be more engaged.

Innovation can flourish, and your bottom line sees the result when productivity and employee engagement are at their peak.

A side note: The perception that a company has an old-fashioned work structure may make it difficult to attract and retain employees.

  1. Build a diverse team

What is the design of your team? Is it a diverse group of thinkers?

News flash: If you’ve hired like-minded people of similar experiences, backgrounds, skill sets, mindsets, age, etc., you’re on a path to innovation failure. For innovation to make a real difference, you need a variety of ideas.

Take a fresh look at your team. If they’re all like you, make sure your next hire is somebody who breaks the mold. Then, listen to them. Innovation doesn’t work if you hire people with varied skills and experiences but insulate yourself from their ideas.

Encourage your staff to experience new things, brush up on professional development and tap into what’s going on in your industry. When they learn about trends or new concepts through education, invite them to figure out how to incorporate those into their work.

  1. Work to individual strengths

Find the right people for each task. This may be different than a job description. It’s about productivity and where their skill sets fit best. You can enhance your employees’ innovation when the skills and tasks align.

Let’s say you’re trying to streamline your processes for greater efficiency. You might gather a group of workers together and charge them with finding ways to restructure the process.

You could pick your top four superstars and turn them loose on the project. But take a moment to think about it: Is there someone whose natural bent can bring something different to the team? Someone you wouldn’t typically seek out for a special project?

What about Joe? Although he usually stays in the background and lets other shine – because he believes there’s really no “innovation” or “creativity” in his job – you remember something: He’s the guy who reads math and statistics books for fun.

Could Joe’s acumen be the catalyst for a new process at your company? Joe – who never thought innovation was part of his job description – is suddenly the company’s newest innovator.

Given his success on this project, he’s ready to tackle the next challenge. You’ve just unleashed innovation in the workplace!

“Innovation is taking two things that exsist and putting them together in a new way”. 
– Tom Freston

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

Conversation Starters

With Conversation Starters on Catalyst, teams have an easy and fun way to tackle common challenges that hinder performance and move to tangible change. By combining DiSC with simple discussion guides, teams can talk about personality-based differences and how they affect group performance.

You will:

  • Get to know each other faster
  • Communicate more clearly
  • Make better decisions together

Getting started is easy!

  1. Visit the Your Groups feature on Catalyst
  2. Create and save a group with people in your organization
  3. Click into Conversation Starters and choose a topic

10 Characteristics of a Good Leader

by | Aug 8, 2023 | Adaptability, Communication, Decision-making, Executive Leadership, Influence, Trust

10 Characteristics of a good leader 

No matter how much or how quickly the world changes — how automated or disrupted work and life become — one fact remains: outstanding leaders create a positive path forward for us all. But what does good leadership really look like?


Based upon our decades of research and experience in the field, we’ve found that good leaders consistently possess certain essential qualities. Read on to learn what they are, and how to begin cultivating these 10 characteristics of a good leader within yourself, on your team, and at your organization.

  1. Integrity

Integrity is an essential leadership trait for the individual and the organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are charting the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our research shows that integrity may actually be a potential blind spot for organizations. Make sure your organization reinforces the importance of honesty and integrity to leaders at various levels.

  1. Delegation

Delegating is one of the core responsibilities of a leader, but it can be tricky to delegate effectively. The goal isn’t just to free yourself up — it’s also to enable your direct reports to grow, facilitate teamwork, provide autonomy, and lead to better decision-making. The best leaders build trust on their teams through effective delegation.

  1. Communication

The best leaders are skilled communicators who are able to communicate in a variety of ways, from transmitting information to inspiring others to coaching direct reports. And you must be able to listen to, and communicate with, a wide range of people across roles, geographies, social identities, and more.

  1. Self awareness

While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility are paramount for leadership. The better you understand yourself and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, increasing your self-awareness, the more effective you can be as a leader.

  1. Gratitude

Being thankful can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and anxiety, and better sleep. Gratitude can even make you a better leader. Yet few people regularly say “thank you” in work settings, even though most people say they’d be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss. The best leaders know how to demonstrate sincere gratitude in the workplace.

  1. Learning agility

Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do.
If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster learning agility through practice, experience, and effort.

  1. Influence

For some people, “influence” feels like a dirty word. But being able to convince people through logical, emotional, or cooperative appeals is an important trait of inspiring, effective leaders. Influence is quite different from manipulation, and it needs to be done authentically.

  1. Empathy

If you show more inclusive leadership and empathetic behaviors towards your direct reports, our research shows you’re more likely to be viewed as a better performer by your boss. Plus, empathy and inclusion are imperatives for improving workplace conditions for those around you.

  1. Courage

It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key trait of good leaders. Rather than avoiding problems or allowing conflicts to fester, courage enables truth-telling so leaders can step up and move things in the right direction.

  1. Respect

Treating people with respect on a daily basis is one of the most important things a leader can do. It will ease tensions and conflict, create trust, and improve effectiveness. Respect is about more than the absence of disrespect, and it can be shown in many different ways, but often starts with being a good listener.

Source: Center for creative leadership

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”. 
– Warren Bennis

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

DiSC Quadrants

Although the DiSC dimensions form four distinct styles, it is probably more useful to think of the DiSC circle in continuous terms. Consider that each of the four styles blend into their neighboring styles much the same way that colors blend into one another on the color wheel. Red and yellow are distinct colors, but they both blend to form a new color, orange. In the same way, the D and i styles are distinct, but the space between them on the circle represents an equally distinct set of traits. 

7 Ideas for Continuous Virtual Team Building

by | Jun 29, 2023 | Adaptability, Continuous Learning, Engagement, Flexible Schedule, Working from Home

7 ideas for continuous virtual team building

We all have become more familiar with the virtual world over the years, whether we have wanted to or not. Team building can be difficult when you are not face to face so here are seven ideas to promote team building through a screen.

    1. Leverage technology

    If your company has embraced remote work, your teams likely have already been videoconferencing. This is essential for enabling colleagues to see each other face to face.Videoconferencing certainly isn’t the only technology you can harness to reduce the perception of distance between people. Also consider using:

    • Technology platforms (e.g. Slack, Microsoft Teams) through which people can post messages, chat and share pictures, for example
    • Social media (e.g., private Facebook chat groups or similar)
    • IM

    These additional options promote more frequent, direct communication between individuals, and can help to recreate some of the spontaneous or more relaxed conversations that people would have in the office.

    1. Schedule regular virtual meetings

    It’s one thing to videoconference at all, and it’s another thing to commit to doing it regularly. If you want your teams to feel a real sense of camaraderie and familiarity, scheduling meetings at least once per week is optimal. This includes both:

    • Team meetings
    • One-on-one meetings with direct reports

    Allow time in each meeting for small talk and personal discussion, during which employees can talk about what’s going on with them either at work – including how they may need support – or outside work.

    1. Take personal quizzes and share the results

    An essential component of teamwork training is understanding where other people are coming from, and how that impacts their working and communication styles.

    Why not have your team take a personality quiz, such as the popular DISC assessment, and share their results with each other over a video call? This has the benefit of:

    • Increasing self-awareness
    • Educating colleagues about each other
    • Enhancing empathy and emotional intelligence (EQ)
    • Decreasing the potential for conflict
    1. Host virtual events

    Who says you can’t throw events in a virtual environment? If you videoconference for work, you can also videoconference to socialize and strengthen relationships among colleagues.

    Invite your team to gather virtually for lunch or happy hour – whatever is appropriate for their time zone.

    During these events, you could ask employees to share a few photos of their favorite memories or major life events over the past year to discuss with the group. Or, you can play some fun games (more details coming up next). Have a bigger budget to play with? Try coffee or chocolate tasting sessions.

    1. Play games

    The possibilities here are endless, but the goal is the same: To have fun and share a laugh and friendly competition with colleagues while learning about each other.

    Game ideas:

    • Online bingo
    • Online escape rooms
    • Getting to know each other games, for example:
      • “This or That,” during which employees answer a series of questions about their personal preferences and can talk a bit more about themselves, such as:
        • Beach or lake?
        • Coffee or tea?
        • Movie/TV shows or books?
      • Kahoot, which is an app in which game administrators can pick a few categories (ex., favorite vacation destination or pets’ names), employees create their own questions and answers, and their colleagues have to guess the correct answers
    1. Establish virtual mentor-mentee pairings or virtual work buddies

    Mentorship programs can exist in virtual spaces, too. Similarly to how entire teams and managers and direct reports meet regularly, mentors and mentees should also videoconference on a regular basis to check in and give mentees an opportunity to ask questions or obtain coaching.

    If a remote employee is new to the organization or has recently changed roles or teams, it can also be helpful for their manager to assign them to a workplace buddy. This person can help to facilitate their transition, answer questions and just serve as a familiar face.

    1. Move employee resource, or affinity, groups online

    Employee resource groups and employee affinity groups can be a great opportunity for remote employees to get involved with an organization and establish connections with people who share their life circumstances, interests or hobbies.

    For example, employees who are former veterans or who are interested in supporting veterans in the workplace could videoconference regularly to discuss those issues and share ideas.

    Or, employees who enjoy reading or movies could form virtual book and movie clubs. Similarly, employees who are interested in fitness and personal wellbeing could create virtual groups focused on those topics – and even create virtual challenges.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” 
– Michael Jordan

Did you know this about disc?

DiSC is an assessment that aids with effective communication

3 Things Your Future Employees Want (and What You Can Do About it…)

by | Jun 1, 2021 | Adaptability, Flexible Schedule, Newsletter, Talent Management

When it comes to what talent management in the future might look like, a 2020 study points to three defining priorities among knowledge workers.

The last year has forever changed the way employees view and approach work, but one thing holds true: Businesses that want to attract and retain the talent they need to move forward must understand the top priorities of their future workforce. They must embrace new, flexible work models and cultivate a workforce that can design their own careers. Employees want to determine when and where they work. They want to work with a diverse team. They want to be measured on the value they deliver, not the volume they deliver. And they expect to be given the space and trust they need to do their very best work, wherever they happen to be. Companies that understand and embrace these wants and needs will not only boost the motivation and engagement of their existing workers, but will gain the attention of the brightest new recruits and take their business to new heights.

1. Employees overwhelmingly expect flexible options.

According to the study, 88% of knowledge workers say that when searching for a new position, they will look for one that offers complete flexibility in their hours and location. Also 83% predict that in response to the global skilled talent shortage, companies will leverage flexible work models to reach out to suitable candidates no matter where they live — yet, only 66% of HR directors feel the same. What’s more:

  • 76% of the workers polled believe that employees will be more likely to prioritize lifestyle (family and personal interests) over proximity to work, and will pursue jobs in locations where they can focus on both — even if it means taking a pay cut.
  • 83% of employees think that workers will be more likely to move out of cities and other urban locations if they can work remotely for a majority of the time, creating new work hubs in rural areas.

In order to position themselves to win in the future, companies will need to meet employees where they are.

2. Employees want to re-imagine how productivity is measured.

In the future, companies will need to rethink how they measure productivity because traditional metrics — and views that real work can’t get done outside the office — will no longer cut it. According to the study, today’s employees want to be measured on the value they deliver, not the volume. And they expect to be given the space and trust they need to do their very best work, wherever they happen to be.

  • 86% of employees said they would prefer to work for a company that prioritizes outcomes over output. What does this mean? New employees want to work for a company that cares less about the qualified work output they are able to produce, and more about the impact they can deliver to the business in a holistic sense.
  • But there is a gap here, with just 69% of HR directors saying that their company currently operates in this way, and only half of HR directors saying that their organization would be more productive as a whole if employees felt that their employer/senior management team trusted them to get the job done without monitoring their progress.

Forward-thinking companies will focus on closing this gap, and will design people-centric experiences that give employees the space they need to unlock their full potential and deliver transformative results.

3. Employees want to work with a diverse team.

One thing on which both employees and managers seem to agree? Employees want to work for a company that prioritizes diversity.

  • 86% of employees and 66% of HR directors assert that a diverse workforce will become even more important as roles, skills, and company requirements change over time.
  • Honest, accessible metrics around your diversity progress and remaining gaps are critical to ensuring that efforts to build a diverse team are measurable, targeted, and impactful.

Takeaway for Leaders

What should the major takeaways be for business leaders when it comes to the implications of these findings?

1. See the forest through the trees.

Without the restriction of location, business leaders must look at their recruiting from a broader lens and expand the potential to attract employees who can boost an organization’s creativity and productivity.

They might, for instance, dip into untapped pools of talent such as the “home force” and bring back parents who’ve put their careers on hold to care for children, or people who left jobs to tend to aging relatives. It could also mean looking to Baby Boomers who’ve retired, but who still want to work a few hours per week. And it could mean enlisting more part-time, contract, and gig workers — who make up a larger percentage of the workforce than ever — to take on more hours. And, of course, it means looking for global talent that may reside anywhere.

2. Prioritize learning and development.

New business models sparked by the pandemic and changes in customer preferences and needs have given rise to new roles and opportunities for companies — and their employees — to grow. Upskilling and reskilling will be critical factor in capitalizing on them. As the study found:

  • 82% of employees and 62% of HR directors believe that workers will need to hone their current skills or acquire new ones at least once a year in order to maintain competitive advantage in a global job market.
  • HR directors believe that ensuring that an organization has the latest collaborative technology in place to enable agile learning is the most important factor in recruiting and retaining the best talent, and 88% of employees confirm this notion, saying that they look for this when searching for a new position.

It bears repeating: Organizations will need to prioritize reskilling and upskilling to attract and retain the talent they need to make their businesses grow. Those that do will not only boost the motivation of their existing workers, but will gain the attention of the brightest new recruits and position themselves to emerge from the pandemic not just where they were, but in a stronger, better position to move forward.

The last year has forever changed the way employees view and approach work, but one thing holds true: Businesses that want to attract and retain the talent they need to move forward must understand the top priorities of their future workforce. They must embrace new, flexible work models and cultivate a workforce that can design their own careers. In doing so, they will not only boost the motivation and engagement of their existing workers, but will gain the attention of the brightest new recruits and take their business to new heights.

Source: by Tim Minahan via Harvard Business Review