Orient - The Official Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore - Issue 71 April 2019
Why Active Listening Is More Vital than Ever
By Liana Attard, Partner, Mercer & Richard Smith-Bingham, Director, Marsh & McLennan Insights
In their eagerness to address new competition, rising customer expectations and technological opportunities, companies shouldn’t lose sight of a key component of productivity; a well-aligned and well-motivated workforce.
According to Mercer’s recent study of Global Talent Trends, a staggering 73% of business and HR executives anticipate significant disruption for their firm over the next three years, up from 26% in the 2018 edition. But in their eagerness to address new competition, rising customer expectations and technological opportunities, companies shouldn’t lose sight of a key component of productivity: a well-aligned and well-motivated workforce.
Many firms actively analyse capability demographics to assess whether they have the right skills in the right places – and whether to build, buy, borrow or automate to meet future needs. Fewer, though, pay the same level of attention to workforce psychographics – the influence on personnel engagement of corporate culture, values, protocols, inclusivity, and brand – which inform not only employee behaviour but also firms’ longer-term ability to attract and retain the best talent.
Two broad issues
As companies navigate through anticipated disruptions, two key issues demand consideration in the workplace.
First, as captured in the World Economic Forum’s 2019 Global Risks Report, modern life has had some markedly negative consequences for individual wellbeing, spurring higher levels of anxiety, unhappiness, loneliness and anger. For example, depression and anxiety rank numbers two and seven on the global burden of disease, and the prevalence of mental health issues in young people has risen sharply in recent years.
In many parts of the world, persistent inequality and fractious politics are key drivers of concern, often amplified by social media echo chambers. Digital addiction is a separate (but not unrelated) factor, not only due to personal dependencies but also in the form of workplace applications of technology that lead to an increasing blur between work and life and the loss of privacy from increased employee monitoring.
Second, generational cohorts have differing expectations and requirements. Personal performance ratings and flexible working arrangements, which are valued by older workers (especially those with caring responsibilities), have little currency with Millennial and Generation Z employees, who are more base-pay oriented and generally place higher value on the mission, values and ethics of their firms.
Redesigning workspaces and support tools (even exoskeletons for factory workers) can boost the motivation, productivity and therefore the longevity of older workers. Conversely, a strong corporate purpose is vital to deter younger workers from drifting away.
Customising solutions
Company leaders should be alert to the potential disconnect between employer and employee expectations. For example, companies often assume that, for their employees, career and job opportunities are paramount. They often fail to appreciate the importance that workers place on overall satisfaction in life, with access to friends, family and a reliable support system.