Employees once might have readily accepted the notion that to advance in their careers, they needed to go above and beyond and devote most of their time to work.
Post-global pandemic, however, although employees remain committed to their work, professional achievement is being recognized as part of, not the only component of, personal fulfillment.
“There is no going back to a life where work is at the center of it,” said Steven Businovski, who oversees talent management and organizational development for Maxeon Solar Technologies. “The decentering of work was and remains an overwhelmingly healthy thing that we gained from our experiences over the very early years of this decade.”
Leaders who continue to cling to seemingly outdated notions regarding employee commitment are failing to “read the room” regarding a large-scale reevaluation of what is important and what employees truly value.
“It is a matter of a business’s survival that they recognize that 19th-century ‘command and control’ organizational cultures are no longer applicable in the 21st century,” Businovski said. “On the contrary, they do far more damage to organizational cultures than these leaders seem to be able to comprehend.
“In a world in which the war for talent is very real, and where the employee value proposition is perhaps the key determinant in attracting and retaining the best talent, businesses and leaders need to focus on the employee experience.”
Values and culture refresh starts from the top
To effect long-lasting and impactful mindset changes, organizations must go beyond the need for culture initiatives driven only by HR and invest in initiatives such as leadership development programs.
See also: Why employee experience is resurging in the era of AI
Businovski also recommends a formula that can help organizations more effectively drive mindset changes:
- Start with your business’s goals and, from there, identify what kind of culture will best facilitate your business strategy in achieving your organization’s goals.
- Boldly and bravely install the values that underpin the culture you want to create as an integral component of your enterprise-level strategic planning.
- Let that culture and its values permeate every aspect of your functional and operational goals, strategies and plans. HR can then support each part of the business to tailor a coherent and powerful people strategy, which includes culture, capability and learning, along with organizational development goals, strategies and plans required to achieve the culture change your business needs to drive toward its strategic goals.
He is, however, quick to reiterate that culture change must come from the top, not be delegated to the CHRO and HR alone to solve.
“Cultural transformation must carry a visible and vocal championing by the CEO and every member of the executive leadership team, and it must be endorsed by and expected from every leader in the business,” said Businovski. “Cultural change must be purposeful, and it must be modeled and communicated explicitly—it won’t happen by accident, and hope isn’t a strategy when it comes to achieving these types of goals.”
Progressive organizations, he added, have rebuilt along profit-for-a-purpose missions and have begun to offer flexible working arrangements, purposeful talent development and career progression opportunities as hallmarks that provide proof of positive cultural change.
They also provide acknowledgment, recognition and reward for achievements; their employee support services include initiatives such as parental and caregiver leave and healthcare support, including mental health, and they are proactive in giving back to the community.
Transcending these efforts is a willingness to embrace inclusiveness and an honest endeavor to understand what employees need from a workplace. As Businovski explained, “A people-centered culture, which values employees first and foremost as the driving force behind any organization’s chances at success, is a non-negotiable to most if not all of us.
“It’s not that organizations are at risk of losing their best talent if they do not—they have already lost their best talent for not getting their act together quickly enough!”
He said the best talent will continue to gravitate toward employers of choice, which promote employee involvement in every process, product and service offering regardless of job title, background and work location.
This is in sharp contrast to organizations that continue to be run from an archaic militaristic template where everyone defers to the leader above them while buying into the myth of presenteeism.
“This shift of top talent to employers who can offer an irresistible employee experience will not just continue—it will accelerate. Relenting on the ‘old school’ or ‘hardline’ ways of leading any organization is no longer a ‘nice-to-live’ or a matter of luxury; it is critical to the success, and even survival, of every business,” concluded Businovski.
“Your culture is the enabler to the true source of your competitive advantage—your people.”
Shawn Liew wrote this story for HRM Asia. Find more from this author at HRMAsia.com
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