Categories
Wellness

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world

It’s a sad fact that 120,000 deaths in the US per year are associated with work. It should come as no surprise then, that organizational anxiety is something that can impact anyone. Just because someone doesn’t outwardly seem to be struggling, that doesn’t mean they aren’t.

What is organizational anxiety?

Organizational anxiety is when the state of your company makes employees feel anxious. This could be due to mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, finances, etc.

Remember: anxiety is contagious

I often call anxiety a contagious disease. Not because it’s spread by bacteria, but because if one person in a room feels anxious, there’s a high probability that person will pass their anxiety on to other people even if they don’t mean to.

This could be through the words they use and how they describe a situation. Or through subconscious things like how they move or their facial expressions.

For instance, someone constantly twitching their foot under the desk. Yes, I know it isn’t always anxiety. 

But it is a sign of excess energy you need to burn off. And this can often be due to anxiety or stress increasing our cortisol and/or adrenaline levels. 

Sometimes we just need to go stretch our legs. That fidgeting could be annoying to colleagues, and they’re just too nice to say anything.

It’s these kinds of thoughts and actions that are contagious. And that’s why it’s really important to remember that when things are up in the air in your organization, organizational anxiety will be high. Even if you don’t see the signs that you think you will. Mental health issues don’t always manifest how we expect.

Organizational anxiety may also be worse if you’re office-based or hybrid, because employees spend more physical time with each other. So they can experience how others feel more easily. And it’s much harder for them to switch off from that than if they work remotely.

How to reduce organizational anxiety

Here are some tips to reduce organizational anxiety during challenging times in your business:

Offer remote work

As I mentioned above, anxiety is contagious. So if employees can work remotely from somewhere they’re protected from the contagious nature of organizational anxiety, it’s less likely to rub off on them, even if they have their own concerns.

Create a culture of psychological safety

If employees don’t feel comfortable or safe at work, they’ll naturally feel anxious just leaving the house or sitting at their desk to check in for the day. Building psychological safety ensures employees can discuss their worries before they develop into organizational anxiety.

Communicate clearly

If you take just one thing away from this list, make it clear communication. Clarity is one of the strongest ways to diffuse organizational anxiety.

When employees know where they stand with you, what to expect from the business, and you talk to them as equals, they’ll feel more at ease.

Encourage breaks

Sometimes, when we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough, or trying to fix something, we want to keep going. But this is exactly the time when things can go wrong or we don’t perform at our best.

Breaks are a key part of resetting our mental health, even if we don’t have anxiety.

Encouraging employees to take regular breaks to grab a drink, stretch their legs, or talk to colleagues about what they watched last night, breaks them out of a cycle that can lead to burnout.

The more often employees take breaks, the calmer they’ll be. Which means fewer mistakes and happier team members.

And the more often your people can perform at their best, the more you’ll get out of them. And the less organizational anxiety will take its toll.

Make it okay to discuss mental health

While we’ve come a long way on the mental health front, it’s still often taboo to discuss it.

I’ll never forget something that happened in a previous role: a colleague took time off due to work stress. And people mocked him behind his back for it.

That was my signal never to discuss mental health with those people because they’d never get it.

It sometimes only takes one comment from a colleague or senior leader for employees to feel able to—or never able to—discuss their mental health. 

But if you want high performers, you have to acknowledge that that comes with lows like anxiety, depression, and burnout, too.

You can’t have the highs without the lows. We can’t perform at 100% all the time. Acknowledging that, and sharing our mental health stories, allows us to bond with colleagues and feel more able to be ourselves. Which in turn reduces the risk of organizational anxiety.

Know the signs

Do you know how to spot the more subtle signs of anxiety?

Someone I know is a huge perfectionist. Their colleagues praise them for their attention to detail, reinforcing this perfectionism—and creating huge work-related anxiety.

Colleagues praising their high standards has created a dangerous cycle. They now ruminate over small details and hyperfocus on work instead of taking breaks. 

But since perfectionism often isn’t considered a sign of anxiety, their colleagues have never thought about raising the issue.

When people channel everything into their work and have no time for hobbies, exercise, sleep, or to cook a healthy meal, that’s a neon sign saying something is up and that person is at high risk of damaging their mental health. Perhaps they’re worried that their role is insecure or that they’re not good enough. Or maybe they just don’t want to let their colleagues down. It’s important to get to the root of the problem and address it before it spirals into organizational anxiety.

Take inspiration from therapy exercises

When employees can share how they really feel and what they’re worried about, they’re far more likely to feel calm. Encourage them to come up with solutions if they can. Or if it’s out of their control, to discuss/write down what’s really on their mind to get it out of their system.

Focusing on solutions or writing down hypothetical worries can help us to let go of any organizational anxiety we’re carrying. That way we can get back to the task at hand.

Conclusion 

Organizational anxiety can feel somewhat inevitable, especially in challenging times like these.

But there are steps you and your leaders can take to put your employees at ease and support their psychological wellbeing so that they can perform at their best.

Connection is the antidote to organizational anxiety

The causes of organizational anxiety aren’t always things that are within an employee’s control. Helping them stay connected to each other can make them feel more supported and able to take what’s happening within the organization in stride.

Empowering your team with a central hub for your employee experience ensures they never have to wonder. All the information they need is in one place, alongside opportunities to bond with colleagues, automated engagement surveys, and in-depth, real-time analytics for you.

Discover how Workrowd can help you mitigate organizational anxiety—book your free demo today.

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world
How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture
The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool
Categories
Learning & Development

How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture

Constructive criticism is essential for a healthy company culture. 75% of employees feel that feedback is valuable, while 65% want more of it. But knowing it’s important and actually understanding how to give constructive criticism are two different things.

Not knowing how to give constructive criticism could even affect your employee churn rate. Companies that provide regular feedback experience turnover rates that are 14.9% lower than those that don’t.

So, your employees want you to help them improve. This ties into how important learning and development is to employees of all generations. 

Millions of us are going to have to learn and adapt to the new technological revolution. Feedback from colleagues, managers, and even mentors or coaches, will play a vital role in helping each of us pivot into new areas.

So let’s dig deep into how to give constructive criticism:

Why should you care about how to give constructive criticism?

92% of people believe feedback can help them improve their performance.

And with Gen Z, the biggest, most diverse generation ever now entering the workforce (and many of them having started their working lives during Covid), knowing how to give constructive criticism could be a huge positive for your employer brand. Especially when you consider that 63% of Gen Z-ers want more constructive feedback throughout the year.

Gen Z has the tech skills you need to keep your business on the cutting edge. But, they sometimes lack traditional workplace skills. Giving them, and also teaching them how to give constructive criticism, can help them navigate this new terrain to make them more successful in their roles.

Why? Constructive criticism helps someone improve their performance as well as their confidence. It can reassure them that they’re on the right track and redirect them if they’re heading in the wrong direction.

And let’s not forget the keyword here: constructive. It’s not about being mean or even just focusing on the negatives. It’s about pointing out what they’re doing right and what needs improvement so that they can perform at their best at work. Which of course means you get better results out of them.

All this helps you create an open culture where people feel comfortable discussing what’s working and what isn’t in your business.

As a result, they can iterate and improve much faster, and they’ll feel more comfortable taking risks. In turn, this could put you ahead of your competition.

How to give constructive criticism

So now that we know why constructive criticism in the workplace matters, how can you ensure the feedback you provide is effective?

Be upfront

You don’t want to sugarcoat things when approaching how to give constructive criticism. The conversation will wind up taking twice as long. At the same time though, you want to be polite in the way you offer it. While it’s technically the same if you say something is “terrible” or it “needs improvement,” one will make the recipient feel defensive, while the other is far less likely to offend them. 

Word choice is important when providing feedback, whether you do it in written form or in person. You want to ensure whatever you say is clear and honest, without being insulting to the other person.

Beware of formulas that sound inauthentic

We’ve all been taught formulas like “feedback sandwiches” by now. Which means your employee is likely to see right through it if you’re not careful, and instead of dwelling on the positives like you want them to, focus on the negatives.

Or worse, think you’re only saying the positives to lessen the blow of what you really think. It’s no longer a recipe for success when it comes to how to give constructive criticism.

Say nice things too!

Too often, we hear “constructive criticism” and assume it’s all about the negatives. But the point of feedback formulas isn’t just to soften the blow for the recipient, it’s also to remind you to acknowledge the positives, too.

We can often forget to do this when we’re finding fault with something. Highlighting positives is as much of a skill—if not a harder one—than pointing out what’s wrong.

However, if you want the best from your team, you need to talk to them about the good and the bad. Both types of feedback should feel genuine, not forced.

Be sure to thank your employees for their hard work as much as you criticize them. It’ll make them feel more valued and engaged at work!

Remember: constructive criticism is a skill

People often assume that they can give feedback because they’ve sat in front of a TV and critiqued someone’s performance on America’s Got Talent. But doing it in the workplace is an entirely different ball game.

Giving effective feedback is a skill that requires active work. The words and phrases you use make a huge difference in how the recipient feels and the information they internalize.

When you actively work on how to give constructive criticism, you ensure that you can help and guide the recipient in the right direction, rather than just being mean (which, let’s face it, criticism can often feel like—especially online).

Create a culture of feedback

The more someone gets feedback, the less it feels like a big deal when they receive it. 

Likewise, they should be able to offer feedback to your business about what’s working and what isn’t.

One way you can do this is by sending automated feedback surveys at particular times. Workrowd can help you do this. Simply set it and forget it; the software will send your surveys, collect and analyze the data, and make it available to you in easy-to-read dashboards. It’s a no-brainer.

Share tips in an ERG

Employee groups are a great way to connect employees. Why not use them as a way for employees to learn new skills, too? 

Constrictive criticism is an art and a science that requires an understanding of language and psychology—especially the psychology of the people you work with, since some people will interpret things differently. Sharing good examples or asking questions about how to phrase things is important.

This can further reinforce your culture of giving feedback, too.

Want help managing your ERGs and getting the most from them? Book your free demo to find out how Workrowd can help.

Conclusion 

Learning how to give constructive criticism is a key part of growing in any role. It’s even more important than ever as many of us adapt to new ways of working.

It’s crucial to remember that how to give constructive criticism is an evolving skill. There’ll always be new or better ways to deliver feedback that you haven’t considered before. How you deliver your comments also make a difference to the recipient’s reaction and emotions, and whether they learn from the feedback you share or feel defensive.

If you’re ready to gather more feedback to improve your employee experience, and support your team members to build their skills, Workrowd can help. Contact us today to learn how our all-in-one platform can help you reach and exceed your goals.

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world
How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture
The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool
Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool

Back in 1987, just 2% of the workforce was older adults. That number is now 7%. The silver worker has become a major player in today’s workplaces.

Workers 55 and older are projected to make up more than 25% of the workforce by 2031. And according to the Pew Research Center, the average silver worker now works longer hours and gets paid more than ever. 

Around 11 million older workers are now employed in the US. Over 42% of these are in management, professional, and related occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Which shows how their knowledge and experience remains relevant to the workforce.

Some of this increase is because we’re living longer. Some is because we’re in a cost of living crisis where extra money can go a long way (or not). And retirement age in many countries continues to increase. 

In the 1990s the average age of retirement was 60. It’s 66 today, and 41% of US workers expect to continue working in some way beyond 65.

So what can you do to support your silver worker population? Here are some tips:

Provide training to help them adjust to the evolving technical landscape

The world is changing faster than ever. Offering your silver worker cohort support through different training initiatives shows that you still value their contributions. And you want to help them adjust to what’s new. 

It also shows that you’re not going to write them off because they’re over a certain age.

Training could come in the form of books, webinars, coaching, mentoring, audiobooks—the list is almost endless.

Offer them opportunities to mentor

Your older employees have plenty of experiences and skills that they can share with your younger recruits. That’s true whether they’re new to your business or have been there a while. The average Boomer employee stays in a role for 8 years. So why not give these silver worker team members the chance to mentor?

In addition to benefitting your younger employees, mentoring helps your older employees grow their leadership skills. It also provides more purpose at work, which can help with employee engagement.

Help them connect in an ERG

You can create an ERG for just about any population or demographic, so why not start a silver worker group?

It allows people to discuss what’s on their minds, share memories, ask questions, and talk to people who understand where they’re coming from.

Workrowd can help you get more from your employee groups. You can keep everything in one place, so it’s easier for team members to find whatever they need, and enables them to connect with their colleagues. Book your free demo today to find out more.

Ensure you don’t have an ageism problem

It’s a sad fact that ageism still exists. I’ve spoken to many people over a certain age who won’t apply for new roles—and instead stay in jobs that make them unhappy—because they believe when they’re over the age of 50 (sometimes even 40!) that no one will want to hire them anymore. Even if they have decades of experience in their industry.

Given that the average age of CEOs in the FTSE100 is 55, this is pretty mind-boggling. But ageism does still exist. It’s why celebrities who age naturally get told they look “old” and precisely why most celebrities opt not to. It could ruin their careers.

There are subtle signs this is changing (mostly outside of Hollywood) with Boomers now being the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. But it still requires people to keep their attitudes in check.

To show that you value the wisdom that comes with age, you could create a silver worker showcase on your organization’s social media. 

Or if they’re comfortable, consider helping them grow their own personal brands.

The more you can show that employees of a certain age are still valued parts of your workforce, the more likely you are to attract the silver worker demographic to your business and retain the ones who already work for you.

Update your pension plan

Census data found that almost half of adults aged between 55 and 66 have no personal retirement savings. The global average pension is also considerably below the 65-80% of earnings experts recommend to maintain someone’s living standards when they retire.

Saving for retirement is often one of those things that people put off because they think they can worry about it at a later date. Then a later date hits and they’re left with very little. If you don’t already have a 401(k) option for your employees, consider creating one with auto-enrollment. Similarly, if you do already have one, make sure it’s effective and up-to-date.

In the event auto-enrollment isn’t an option, periodically remind employees that they can opt in if they want to. Or consider having a company policy of auto-enrollment, especially for employees approaching silver worker status.

Provide flexible working options

Over a third of companies offer part-time, flexible, or phased retirement options, according to Mercer. 

For the silver worker who finds full-time work too much but isn’t yet ready to give it up entirely, this can be a really beneficial option for both the employee and your business. They get to stay in the workforce longer, giving them a sense of purpose and keeping them mentally agile. And you get the benefits of their years of experience in the workforce.

Conclusion 

Your silver workers are treasure troves of knowledge and experience. Their presence in the workplace is going to continue to grow, too, as people live longer, retirement ages go up, and the cost of living crisis continues. 

Providing support for your silver workers ensures that you retain all their great experience while balancing it with their changing needs.

If you’d like to really help your silver worker demographic, why not connect them in an ERG? Workrowd makes it simple for you to set up and manage your employee groups. Plus, you’ll get real-time analytics you can segment to see what really matters to a silver worker within your organization. Get in touch to find out more.

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world
How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture
The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool
Categories
Employee Experience

8 future of work trends that will impact your employee experience

The future of work will look very different from the working world we know today. Many of the children in school right now will go on to work in roles that don’t yet exist.

It was the same for many millennials in the early 2000s. Content marketing didn’t exist back then when I dreamed of being a writer, for example.

The speed of technological advancement means that new roles are going to emerge. At the same time, old ones will die off, and the future of work will be unrecognizable.

Businesses therefore need to change and adapt to stay fresh, attract younger candidates who are digital natives, support knowledge transfer between employees, and continue to provide a positive employee experience.

What trends do you need to keep in mind to optimize your employee experience for the future of work? Here are our picks:

Green energy transition

The green energy transition will make millions of jobs obsolete. But it’s also going to create far more jobs than it eliminates.

To support employees through this transition, you need to invest in training initiatives. This will help them adapt their existing, potentially beneficial, skills.

While different countries will shift to green energy at different rates, green energy isn’t going anywhere. It will change both the future of work and life.

It will also create new roles, such as how we now have mechanics who specialize in electric vehicles.

AI

Many employees are worried about AI coming for their jobs in the future of work. It’s therefore important that businesses explain where they stand on AI, how they intend to use it, and how they want employees to use it. It isn’t going anywhere and it’s likely to become even more embedded in our lives.

AI can play a role in improving employee experience by helping with things like streamlining repetitive tasks, analyzing data, assessing job candidates, conducting interviews, etc.

Offloading these tasks to AI saves teams time and energy. That way they have more to spend on human interactions. Which further improves your employee experience by allowing for more personalized (and potentially longer) interactions between colleagues.

Return to office

The return to office trend has continued recently, with more big companies insisting employees are better off being at a desk in an office for the duration of the working day.

While being in an office has its benefits, it’s also very limiting. It restricts where you can hire from to a certain radius. Which means you risk hiring people from similar economic and cultural backgrounds. As a result, you get less innovation and creativity due to a decrease in diversity.

Over the next few years, up to a quarter of workforces in advanced economies could end up working remotely between three and five days a week. This is four to five times more remote work than before the pandemic. In terms of accessibility, this is huge. But, given recent company rollbacks on remote work, I am skeptical of this future of work stat.

Make remote work work for you

If you want to make your remote work culture a success, you need to invest in the right tools. That’s true both today, and in preparing for the future of work.

Workrowd helps you connect with your employees. Everything they need from files to upcoming events to employee groups and programs is kept in one place so that they always know what’s going on. Get in touch today to find out more.

Gen Z

Gen Z is now firmly a part of the working world. As one of the largest and the most diverse generation ever—and the first of digital natives—they’re bound to impact the future of work.

Businesses need to consider how they can set these young people up for success.

While Gen Z will need to adapt from education to the world of work, the world of work also needs to adapt to the new ways of thinking Gen Z brings. They’re not all about work work work. They want a life outside of their job and they’re not all that interested in traditional career paths.

Instead, they want purpose-led work with good pay and work-life balance. Is that too much to ask for? We’ll have to wait and see.

How companies accommodate Gen Z’s way of wanting to work will be a significant differentiator. It may be the difference between companies successfully adapting to the future of work and being left behind.

DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility)

It’s estimated that as much as 40% of US GDP growth between 1960 and 2010 was because of an increase in women and people of color in the workplace. If businesses want to continue growing, they need to continue to embrace diversity.

DEIA decreases the likelihood that companies will fall into groupthink which reduces internal innovation and problem-solving skills.

Remote work, flexible hours, adaptable office equipment, and accommodations like sending meeting agendas in advance are simple ways that businesses can support employees with different needs.

Sharing the types of adaptations they offer will also become a key differentiator to a company’s employer brand in the future of work.

Honesty and integrity

As more companies become opaque (and social media stops fact-checking) it will become increasingly important for employers to make their organizational values clear. 

Employees want to know what their employer stands for and that they’re on the same side. They can only work that out if their employer is open and honest about what matters to them. And about what’s happening in the business.

Failing to be open and honest is likely to lead to even more uncertainty in an already uncertain world. Which could impact your engagement, retention, and hiring efforts in the future of work.

Company purpose

Purpose is a key driver for younger employees who are motivated by feeling like they make a difference in the world.

Making your company values clear to people inside and outside of your organization helps attract the right types of hires. It also ensures values stay at the forefront of their mind when they join.

For instance, if a value is that employees can “disagree agreeably” they should be able to have a healthy discussion about a project. Then when that’s over, continue to respect and listen to each other even if one of them didn’t get what they wanted.

Knowledge transfer

With so much happening right now, and so many employees retiring or not sticking around as long as their predecessors, knowledge transfer will be vital to business success in the future of work. 

Not only will it ensure that knowledge doesn’t leave with an employee, but it will also help to retain employees by offering them more training opportunities.

Things like employee groups and mentoring can ensure that just because someone leaves, the strategies and tools that they used don’t have to leave with them.

Conclusion 

The future of work will affect every level of business, from senior leadership right down to recent graduates and apprentices. The pace at which it approaches will only continue to grow, too.

How businesses adapt to these changes will have a huge role in their ability to survive and thrive in the future of work.

Ready to future-proof your employee experience? Workrowd’s all-in-one suite of tools can help.

Find out how an automated hub for everything employee engagement ensures your success no matter what the future holds. Drop us a note to see how our platform can help you reach and exceed your future of work goals.

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world
How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture
The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool
Categories
Learning & Development

6 ways to make the most of career ladders in your organization

Supporting employee career growth can play a vital role in your talent attraction and retention efforts. Offering career ladders ensures your people know they have a path for growth in your organization.

Which is important, because a quarter of employees report plans to quit their jobs in the next six months due to a lack of growth opportunities.

Promoting internally can save you money on the expensive hiring process, ensure you retain your star players, and help you attract better-quality hires who want to grow with your organization.

The higher up in an organization you go, the more likely a promotion is to be internal. 21.5% of C-Suite and other top positions are internal hires, compared to just 8.9% lower down the ladder. 

However, there are benefits to promoting employees who start at the bottom of your career ladders, too. For instance, they have more internal knowledge on how things work. Which means they can use this to find efficiencies, boost productivity, and connect more easily with colleagues at every level.

Here’s how to get the most out of career ladders in your organization:

Connect those on similar paths

There are inevitably times, when we’re working toward a goal, where we feel disheartened. Or when we need support from someone who’s been there to solve a problem. ERGs are an effective tool to connect those who are on similar paths.

Workrowd can help you create and manage employee groups that drive real impact. It’s a one-stop shop for employees to find the latest information on what’s happening in the organization, alongside ways for them to network and share knowledge. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

Use internal and external trainers

To climb your career ladders, employees need to learn new technical and soft skills. While you’re likely to have lots of great knowledge internally, external coaches, mentors, and teachers are also useful resources that shouldn’t be underestimated.

Not only can they act as objective sounding boards, but their external knowledge and experience can prevent groupthink by ensuring that you regularly get new insights and perspectives.

There’s always a new way of doing things. Sometimes that new way of doing things can give your business a new lease on life. And in turn, help you become more competitive as more employees use their knowledge to ascend your career ladders.

Set quotas and embrace DEI

Despite the recent pushback, studies have shown that quotas and DEI initiatives are effective at weeding out incompetent employees. They ultimately help businesses become more profitable.

The London School of Economics found that adding more women increased the competency of male employees by 3%. 

Organizations with greater gender diversity are 25% more likely to outperform competitors. And those with greater ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to outperform. Diverse teams make better designs 87% of the time.

In addition, diversity makes teams 35% more productive, increases cash flow per employee by 2.5x, and means businesses get 26% more job applicants.

Diversity is still something that matters to Gen Z, too. Businesses that stop prioritizing it may become less attractive employers to the first generation of digital natives. In doing so, they risk being left behind by the future of not just the workforce, but the world.

Offer mentoring

Mentoring is an effective tool for knowledge-sharing. Those who’ve already climbed their career ladders can share their knowledge with people further down. Which can be particularly useful for supporting underrepresented talent in the workplace.

Team members from underrepresented backgrounds face unique challenges that can be difficult to navigate without adequate support. A mentor can provide this support, making the employee feel more like they do belong in the workplace and can continue to climb one or more career ladders within your organization.

Send surveys to check in

The only way you’ll know if the support you offer your employees is effective is if you send surveys to check in and ask what they think of their current situation and where they’d like to go.

Workrowd can help you send those surveys.

And better yet—you can set them to go out automatically at particular milestones. 

That way, the process becomes more seamless for you and employees. Wouldn’t you rather focus on supporting employees and helping them up your career ladders, rather than sending surveys?

Consider alternative paths

Not everyone wants to be—or is suited to being—a manager. Is that a reason to lose your top employees?

Being a manager requires a unique balance of technical and people skills. The truth is, a lot of people don’t have this combo (even those in management). But there never used to be non-managerial career ladders for those who wanted to grow their skills or income.

However, the world of work is changing. Many millennials and Gen Z-ers don’t want to follow traditional paths. But they also don’t see why they can’t continue to grow.

Consider having career ladders for those who want to focus on their technical knowledge without losing time to people management.

For example, you could create a principal engineer role for software developers who want to focus on knowledge over people management. They can become the go-to person on a particular area or topic. It can help streamline processes and retain internal knowledge.

Conclusion 

Climbing career ladders is seen as a rite of passage for many people. However, in 2025, it isn’t for everyone. Make sure you offer a variety of options to help everyone thrive, no matter their goals.

Supporting employees to climb your career ladders, instead of them having to jump from one company to the next as is often the case, helps you retain internal knowledge and top talent.

Connect colleagues

If you’d like to empower your employees who are climbing career ladders, why not connect them via an employee group? Get in touch today to find out more about how Workrowd could help you do just that.

7 strategies to reduce organizational anxiety in an uncertain world
How to give constructive criticism for a healthier company culture
The rise of the silver worker: 6 ways to support this talent pool
Categories
Company Culture

6 organizational values examples to supercharge your culture

Almost two-thirds of people who leave a role do so because their values or goals don’t align with the organizational values of their employer.

While there’s never going to be a perfect match, when employees’ values do align with their employer’s they’re happier and more productive, meaning your business can grow faster.

When a company has a well-defined set of values, employees are 115% more engaged.

And when they discuss those values daily instead of yearly—keeping them at the forefront of employees’ minds—employee engagement goes up by 37%.

Despite all this, less than a quarter of businesses have a detailed list of company values.

If you’re considering creating organizational values to help motivate your workforce, or you want to rejig your existing ones, here are some examples to get you started:

Purpose 

With the cost of living crisis, numerous wars, and a tumultuous political climate, the traditional model of having a stable job, buying a house, and being able to afford marriage and children has now become the exception rather than the rule. 

So, it’s no surprise that employees want more from their work. They want to feel like they’re making a difference in the world, not just working to pay the bills.

In fact, teams with a strong sense of shared purpose experience a 17% increase in performance. Obviously, incorporating purpose into your organizational values can make a huge difference to output.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)

DEIA still matters to employees. And it’s increasingly important to younger generations. Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation ever.

Clearly prioritizing diversity shows that you listen to, and understand, employees’ motivations and priorities. 

It also shows that you want to avoid groupthink and encourage creativity with your organizational values. The more diverse a workforce is, the more creative and better at problem-solving it becomes.

Creativity 

Creativity is an overused buzzword on resumes to the point where it’s now a little meaningless. But true creativity is still a powerful tool—especially in the age of AI.

True creativity comes from diversity of thought, both within teams and among individuals themselves.

For example, Ada Lovelace was both a scientist and a poet. Her combined interests allowed her to think differently from her contemporaries. In fact, she’s most well-known for being the world’s first computer programmer.

When we focus purely on one thing, it becomes harder to problem solve. We never give our brains a break, we have no time for play, and we’re too focused on what’s in front of us.

When we have a range of interests, it has a subconscious effect. For example, some interests of mine include cooking and ghost stories. So I’ve written books about a haunted chef and often use cooking or ghosts as analogies for life or writing techniques. Those things are unique to me and my interests.

If you want to embrace creativity as one of your organizational values, consider encouraging employees’ creative hobbies outside of the business, in addition to organizing creative activities for them to try together. There are endless possibilities, from pottery throwing to painting to cross stitch and beyond.

Continuous learning

Learning new skills is good for our physical and mental health as well as our work performance. 

Using your organizational values to create a culture of learning, and giving employees the opportunity to keep learning, helps your business stay fresh and innovative. 

It also creates a more psychologically safe space, where employees are more comfortable taking risks. After all, if you’re not taking risks, how can you learn?

Honesty and integrity

Employees want to know they can trust their employers. Having honesty and integrity as organizational values demonstrates that you’re going to be open and honest with them. Even if things are uncomfortable.

This transparency creates a deeper connection with employees and can even have a motivational impact when things are going badly. After all, if their values are in line with your organizational values, they’re going to want the business to succeed. And they’ll put more effort in to help it do so.

Work-life balance

Work-life balance was a big trend during Covid, but there’s been some backlash lately. 

For example, the co-founder of BrewDog recently said that the UK is “one of the world’s least work-oriented countries.”

Perhaps because so many are struggling to pay the bills even when they have a job, they wonder why they should bother putting the effort in if they can’t afford basics like food and electricity.

As the world continues to change at an unprecedented pace, many of us have begun to realize that giving all our time and energy to companies that either don’t pay enough, don’t value employees enough, or will drop employees without a second thought, isn’t worth it.

Instead, employees want to be able to switch off at the end of the day and do their own thing. Whether that’s spending time with children and family, building a side hustle, pursuing a creative hobby, or simply relaxing in front of the TV.

And employers should encourage this. When employees have time to recharge and have a range of hobbies, they’re happier and more productive. Forcing employees to work extremely long hours is unsustainable and risks burnout.

Conclusion 

Organizational values play a key role in your attraction and retention efforts. And they help you bring in people who are aligned with your values and want to help you succeed.

Organizational values can also help you attract customers with similar values. In turn, that increases your brand strength and your visibility.

Encourage a culture of connection

Connecting employees with a one-stop shop for everything your organization offers can work wonders for your employee experience. Organizing important information, events, programs, and groups in one place ensures team members can always access what they need, when they need it.

Workrowd can help you keep your organizational values front and center with a central hub for your company culture. Get in touch today to learn more and book your free demo.

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Learning & Development

7 ways to improve your annual performance review process

Dread. That’s the feeling many employees get in the lead-up to their annual performance review.

I’ve had plenty of conversations with friends panicking over them. No matter how long they’ve been in a role or how good they know they are at it.

There’s something about sitting down and formally discussing their performance over the year that makes people sick to their stomachs.

While businesses can’t completely eradicate this feeling, there are steps they can take to make the process better. Not just for employees’ mental health, but also for getting the most out of the annual performance review process and their employees.

Have regular check-ins

Rather than having one big check-in after 365 days, have regular ones throughout the year instead. This will make them shorter, more focused, and reduce anxiety as they become part of everyday work.

It also means that when you’re discussing something that’s happened, it’s fresher in everyone’s minds. That makes it easier to look back on and learn from issues, versus a single annual performance review.

It’s not just about using these sessions for feedback—they also help make managers more accessible to employees. This puts everyone at ease when they have meetings together.

Make feedback a regular occurrence

Whether you use radical candor, constructive criticism, or another technique, the more you make feedback a regular part of the business, the less anxious employees will feel about their annual performance review. And the less there will be to cover when that time of year rolls around.

A third of employees want regular feedback outside of an annual performance review. By providing them with that, you ensure that they continue to grow and improve throughout the year. Likely at a faster pace, too, because they can adapt what they’re doing sooner.

In any review, ensure there’s a balance of positive and negative feedback. That way employees don’t feel like they’re constantly being criticized.

When we only receive negative feedback, it can make us worry that we can’t do anything right and we’re not good enough in a role. This is particularly true if we lack confidence or are newer in our careers.

Positive feedback and recognition go a long way toward making employees feel appreciated and supported in the workplace. 

Share the agenda in advance

Whatever you can do to reassure employees that their annual performance review isn’t a bad thing can mean that review season doesn’t cause anxiety or stress.

Sharing a clear plan or outline for the session in advance, for example, makes it so employees know what will be covered. That way, they’re not walking into the discussion blindly.

Preparing employees for conversations makes the whole thing less stressful. It’s often the fear of the unknown that can trigger anxiety. People can prepare talking points and responses, making the process more accessible for those who don’t think well on the spot.

The clear outline for the conversation also keeps the meeting focused and ensures you cover everything.

Make it a two-way conversation

In one of my previous roles, my annual performance review was not, in fact, a performance review. 

I sat with my manager and they told me what I needed to do for the next 12 months. There was no room for me to speak, no analysis of what I’d done, and my opinion didn’t matter.

Despite all that “effort”, none of what was listed for my future priorities got done. Everyone forgot about the reviews the following day, and it was back to business as usual.

To get the most out of employees, it’s important for them to feel heard. Making their annual performance review a two-way conversation is a really simple way to do this.

After all, it’s about them. So why wouldn’t you ask for their opinion? For what they think they could do better, and what they want to achieve going forward?

Create a clear goal—together

If an employee isn’t onboard with their performance goals, they’re not going to put as much effort into achieving them. That’s why it’s important that their annual performance review is a two-way conversation, and you work out what the goals are for the next 12 months together.

Empowering them to be a part of this conversation may also allow them to feel more comfortable reflecting back on the previous 12 months, as it will feel more like an open discussion.

Develop a culture of psychological safety

Psychological safety is a key tenet of a healthy workforce where employees feel comfortable receiving feedback. 

When people are comfortable at work, they’re more likely to share what they’re going through and be more able to analyze what impacted their performance and why. Meaning they can improve before their next annual performance review.

Use more than a spreadsheet

58% of businesses still use spreadsheets to manage and monitor performance reviews. While spreadsheets have their uses, there are far better ways to assess an annual performance review in 2025.

The right tool can make it easier for employees and managers to track goals and enable you to analyze the progress.

Employees are more likely to trust software to be objective and deliver a fair review than just their manager, too. Which makes sense when you consider that we’re all prone to unconscious biases and it’s easy to forget things.

Despite how much easier technology can make performance reviews, just 45% of business leaders think their organization uses consistent tools for them. Showing it’s time for an upheaval in how we approach the annual performance review process.

Conclusion

The annual performance review process shouldn’t be a time of stress and anxiety for employees or managers.

The right tools, systems, and culture can make it a more comfortable, effective process for everyone. And not just one where managers talk at employees about things that are forgotten 24 hours later.

Boost your feedback culture

Want to find out what your employees really think of your company’s annual performance review? Why not send a survey?

Using Workrowd, you can send automated surveys to collect feedback from employees after key milestones—like their annual performance review. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

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Categories
Employee Engagement

Measuring employee engagement – tips to drive greater impact

While effectively measuring employee engagement at your organization can be a challenge, it’s undeniably important. Low engagement costs the global economy $7.8 trillion every year.

Yet, with so many businesses turning their backs on DEI initiatives—which are proven to boost engagement—is employee engagement really still a priority?

Prior to the pandemic, employee engagement and well-being had been rising globally for almost a decade. Now, they’ve stagnated.

Just a fifth of employees are engaged at work, and only a third are thriving in their overall well-being.

Work now feels pointless to many and they don’t feel hopeful for their futures. I mean, can you blame them? Given the current state of the world from every direction?

Businesses need to be mindful of the impact engagement can have on their bottom lines, and how both company culture and external factors can impact employee engagement and productivity.

Failing to consider these factors means risking a decrease in employee engagement, innovation, productivity, and profit.

Which is risky, when you consider that engaged employees lead to a:

  • 10% jump in customer satisfaction rates
  • 17% productivity bump
  • 20% sales increase
  • 21% profitability boost
  • 31% reduction in absenteeism

To be able to improve your employee engagement rates you need to measure them, though. How do you do that?

Here are our tips for measuring employee engagement:

Automate feedback

Automation is a key part of making your, and your employees’, lives easier.

When it comes to measuring employee engagement, if you automate it, there’s no forgetting to send that feedback survey or not having enough time to do so. The right tool can do it all for you. So you can collect more data in less time.

Want to automate your employee feedback surveys? Check out Workrowd. We can help you send automated, bite-sized surveys so that it’s easier for you and your employees to discuss what’s happening in your business in real time. And did we mention we can automatically analyze the results, too?

Make feedback opportunities bite-sized

The more effort you make something for someone—especially a busy employee—the less likely they are to do it.

Think about those feedback surveys you get from a coffee shop or doctor’s office that say they’ll just take ten minutes for you to complete. How often do you actually want to fill them in? And how often do they offer some sort of reward/prize to incentivize you to do it?

Yeah, that’s so that you focus on the reward not on the effort you’ve got to put in to fill it out.

Sure, one-time, in-depth answers can be useful. But if you collect data regularly, you’ll get more actionable information because you can spot trends more quickly.

Meaning you can pivot faster if something’s going wrong or capitalize on what’s working quicker.

Little and often can be much more effective than one and done. Especially when it comes to measuring employee engagement.

Combine data points from a variety of sources

Imagine you’re collecting employee feedback on your company culture and want to improve response rates. Consider:

  • Reaching out to people from multiple teams—and following up if a particular team has a disproportionately low participation rate
  • Requesting feedback more often—to obtain more real-time data
  • Getting feedback from people throughout the organization, not just at a particular level or in a particular role

To get even more useful data throughout the year:

  • Ask for feedback on multiple initiatives rather than just one or two
  • Include employees in decision-making processes (or at least ask what they think of certain decisions so that they feel heard and valued)

The more data you have, the more in-depth your results will be and the more useful they’ll be for measuring employee engagement.

Make data collection ongoing

Many companies still send one large feedback survey per year. This allows them to track changes over several years.

But in the modern world, where things change so quickly, is yearly enough?

When you make data collection an ongoing initiative, you get an evolving, holistic picture of employee sentiment, rather than a point-in-time snapshot. Meaning the data you get is more accurate, precise, and actionable.

So you won’t just be measuring employee engagement for appearance’s sake. The data you collect can actually lead to positive changes across your organization.

Leverage tools

The right tools are a key part of any digital employee experience. They’re also key to measuring employee engagement. If you want to collect actionable data that can help you drive change within your business, having the right tool is even more important.

Using Workrowd, surveys will automatically go out after employee initiatives to see how team members feel in real time. You can set them to go out after certain milestones, too, and the software will analyze the results for you. That way, you don’t have to rifle through all the responses to find the data that matters.

Instead, you get more time to spend improving employees’ working lives and supporting your organization.

Conclusion

Employee engagement is a key metric that can foreshadow challenging business times, or help you adapt to upcoming challenges. High employee engagement can mean that it’s easier to weather storms, while low engagement is a sign of stormy seas ahead.

Measuring employee engagement is therefore vital if you want to be able to successfully navigate the modern business world. It shows your employees that you support them and listen to them, as well as helping you see how your decisions impact your employees in real time.

If you want to collect more feedback with less work, check out Workrowd. You can automatically send surveys and view the results once they’re already analyzed, meaning you have more time to drive change and support your employees. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

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Wellness

8 ways to boost the value of your employee assistance program

An employee assistance program (EAP) can reduce absenteeism by up to 70%. It can also improve presenteeism, life satisfaction, workplace distress, and employee engagement.

But, on average, only around 10% of employees use EAPs.

Prior to the pandemic, this number was even lower at just 5%.

Why is this? Let’s explore what an employee assistance program is, how to encourage employees to use it, and how to increase its impact.

What is an EAP?

An employee assistance program is a type of benefit some businesses offer their employees. Through it, team members can get a handful of counseling or therapy sessions.

It’s designed to support employees’ mental health at work.

And given that a fifth of US adults are estimated to experience mental health challenges, it could have a huge impact on your employee engagement and productivity.

How to get more value from your EAP

Having an employee assistance program and experiencing its benefits are two different things. If your employees don’t use it (and as the numbers show, most don’t) then it’s not only a waste of money that you could invest elsewhere, but it also means your employees suffer needlessly.

So, what can you do to get more value from your EAP and ensure it’s money well spent?

Make sure you’re using the right provider for you

Just like with any other business you work with, you want to ensure your EAP provider aligns with your company values.

The way some companies offer support, even down to the language they use when talking to employees, may not be compatible with your business.

If you choose to keep your employee assistance program in-house, consider whether your employees will feel comfortable sharing private information with someone internal.

When discussing personal information, there’s always a chance employees will prefer to remain anonymous. Or that they’d rather discuss challenges with someone external and objective.

Especially when most people assume HR is there to protect the business, not its people.

These small differences can influence whether employees feel comfortable using your EAP and if it’s a success for your organization.

Tell employees about it

If team members don’t know about your employee assistance program, or how to access it, they’re not going to use it. So you won’t get your money’s worth and they won’t get the support they need.

Make sure to remind employees that it’s there regularly—in all-hands/town hall meetings, company-wide emails, on Workrowd, etc. The more places they can see it, the more likely they are to use it.

It can also help to remind employees that the support is there during challenging times such as mergers or layoffs. That way they know there’s support out there for when they feel like they’re on shaky ground. It can offer them techniques to support their mental health, prioritize their workload, manage survivor’s guilt, and more.

Make it accessible to everyone

Data shows that 75% of employees in the highest quarter of earners have access to an EAP. In contrast, just a third of the lowest quarter of earners have access.

But someone can experience challenges regardless of what they earn or where they are in their career. So why not make it accessible to everyone?

Especially in the current climate, when so much of what’s happening economically, politically, technologically, and environmentally is unpredictable and will inevitably impact employee well-being.

Your employee assistance program could provide team members with the tools they need to overcome obstacles and progress in their careers.

Create a culture where people are open about using an employee assistance plan

There’s still a lot of stigma out there around asking for help or having mental health struggles. Creating a culture where people feel open to admitting that they’ve used, or are using, your employee assistance program can help remove some of this stigma.

It can be particularly useful if your leaders share their journeys with similar initiatives. Whether that’s therapy, counseling, coaching, an EAP, etc. It shows they really do understand that it’s both necessary and helpful to get mental health support, and they won’t judge anyone for using it.

Share successes

Sharing successes—such as employees being able to better handle problems or even getting a promotion because of the guidance they received—can encourage other people to use the employee assistance program. It gives them a concrete example of what they could achieve if they used it, too.

These successes could be internal successes from current or past employees, or, if the program is new, external case studies provided by the provider you choose.

Ask employees what they need help with

The only way you can help employees effectively is if you know what they really need help with. How do you find that out? Ask them!

Using Workrowd, you can automate feedback surveys to see what is and isn’t working across your employee experience. This data can then help you make more informed decisions about how best to support your employees now and in the future.

Collect data

When you ask employees what they need help with, it can be useful to do so in a quantitative, rather than qualitative, way. This makes it easier for you to visualize how your employees feel and what they need from you.

For instance, you could ask them if they’d prefer an internal, external, or hybrid employee assistance program. Collecting information on this will help you create a program that’s more likely to be successful. Or it will allow you to pivot to improve employee participation rates. 

Conclusion

An employee assistance program can be a vital tool to help you provide an exceptional employee experience. If used the right way, it can create a culture of support and openness that helps employees overcome barriers. That way, they can progress in their careers and help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Support your employees from day one

If you’d like help finding out how best to support your employees, why not try Workrowd?

You can use our tools to collect employee feedback and share everything they need to know about your employee assistance program in one place. Get in touch today to book your free demo.

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Categories
Employee Engagement

The top talent engagement strategies to focus on in 2025

2025 is here. Which means it’s time to start thinking about the best ways to support employees over the coming year. And, more importantly, the best talent engagement strategies to implement.

Even companies with highly engaged employees need to actively work on keeping those employees engaged.

Otherwise, as trends move on, employees can become disconnected from their roles and the company mission. And end up quiet quitting or leaving completely.

So let’s dive in to some talent engagement strategies to maximize your results in 2025:

Development opportunities

Providing learning and development opportunities is going to top the list of talent engagement strategies for the foreseeable future.

LinkedIn data suggests that 57% of Gen Z employees want learning and development opportunities at work. So if you’re not providing them, you’re likely missing out on a massive pool of talent.

Not to mention that by not offering training opportunities, you risk falling behind your competitors from a knowledge and skills standpoint. Which means that both your business and your profits could suffer.

Career progression

Tying into the professional development topic, employees are far more likely to want to learn if they have a path laid out for them.

It gives them something to work toward—a purpose—and a goal to achieve.

Knowing that if they put the work in there’s a promotion waiting for them is a good way to retain your top talent, too. Building career ladders and lattices is a key element of successful talent engagement strategies.

Purpose 

More and more, employees want to feel like they’re contributing to something bigger. They want to feel empowered and do something that speaks to them on a deeper level, rather than just something that pays the bills.

Having a deeper company mission is one way to connect with your employees. It’s also one of the most important talent engagement strategies.

But purpose can also be simpler than this. It’s can be about clear communication. What do you actually need your employees to do? What is their purpose within your business?

The more connected employees feel to your purpose—and the reason why they’re there—the more you’ll get out of them. And the happier they’ll be to work for you.

AI

AI is here to stay, but using it in the right way is key to making sure it supports your business.  Employees need to be taught how to use it effectively and how it can help, not hinder, their roles.

Otherwise, they either won’t use it, or they’ll fear it’s going to steal their job.

For example, they need to learn things like how to fact check any stats AI provides to confirm they’re accurate (it usually doesn’t link to an original source even when you ask it to); how to write prompts effectively to get the end result they want; and how to use it for idea generation. 

They also need to keep in mind that while it’s good for bouncing ideas around, it’s essentially a regurgitation tool. So if they want something truly original or creative, they have to use it as a virtual assistant and still do the legwork themselves.

That said, ensuring they have the tools and skills they need when it comes to new technologies ranks high on the list of talent engagement strategies.

Recognition and gratitude

Employee recognition never goes out of style. And it never falls off the list of top talent engagement strategies.

People want to feel seen and like the hard work they put in is recognized. A little thank you or virtual high five goes a long way.

When you thank employees for their hard work, they feel appreciated and like they belong in the workplace. 

It doesn’t have to be about a shiny bonus or even a celebratory meal. Sometimes it’s just about getting a shoutout in a meeting or on your employee experience platform. Simple things that make employees feel more connected to your business and the people in it. And that show someone has noticed and appreciated their hard work.

Office returns

The sad fact is that the mass return to office that’s been happening over the last couple of years is unlikely to end.

While there are lots of reasons behind these office returns—and they make businesses less inclusive—there’s too much of a cultural desire to return to the world pre-Covid and act like it never happened.

There are upsides to seeing people face-to-face. It can change how employees engage with each other and enhance professional relationships.

But balance is key. Hybrid work is among the talent engagement strategies that allow you to attract and retain people who can’t (or don’t want to) come into the office every day, but who can still contribute to your business.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

It worries me that more and more, DEI is experiencing a backlash.

Big companies cutting their DEI budgets or roles; people complaining that everyone is too sensitive these days and how we can’t accommodate everyone; DEI businesses closing their doors because they’re not attracting enough business anymore.

I truly hope this doesn’t continue. But unless we’re actively working to create a more inclusive world, things can and will go backward.

Including one person doesn’t mean excluding anyone else. In fact, more diverse businesses have more engaged employees. And make more money as a result.

Championing diversity doesn’t mean making huge changes, either. It’s about having an open mind and finding ways to support everyone.

For instance, I’m lactose intolerant. Organizing an office lunch somewhere I can eat doesn’t mean anyone else misses out: we can all eat there.

It simply means I don’t get left out because everyone else can eat there but I can’t.

There’s no downside to including more people, so long as we remember not to exclude anyone—accidentally or otherwise.

Diversity benefits everyone, and definitely belongs on your list of talent engagement strategies.

Conclusion

These are just some of the talent engagement strategies to focus on in 2025. Several, such as recognition, are classics that never go out of style. Working on them and prioritizing them for your employee initiatives ensures team members always feel like a valued part of your business.

Newer additions like AI and purpose tap into current trends in the wider world. They’re things that are unlikely to go away any time soon, so the more your business can do to demonstrate attention to these areas, the more engaged your employees will be.

Discover what talent engagement strategies work best for your team

Want to find out what your employees want from you, and what could make them more engaged? Workrowd’s all-in-one suite of tools can help.

With a central hub for your employee experience including automated engagement surveys and real-time analytics, you’ll always have the data you need to maximize your impact. Get in touch today to book your free demo and find out more.

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