At a time when the talent market is in turmoil and businesses are still struggling to cope with the impact of the pandemic, a new Accenture study reveals that only one in six people feel connected to their job. In fact, people who work from the office have a lower degree of connection.
Accenture’s study “Organizational culture: From always connected to omni-connected” outlines how companies can enhance their culture and sense of connection by providing integrated experiences. These experiences enable people to participate holistically, developing their careers, building relationships and creating value and impact – both personally and professionally, regardless of the physical space in which they work.
The study disproves the hypothesis that just working in the office makes people feel more connected. To be precise, 42% of office workers say they do not feel connected to their work, compared to 36% of all those who follow a hybrid work model and 22% of all those who apply exclusively telework. While interpersonal time and relationships are vital, physical closeness that lacks leadership support, flexibility, technological infrastructure, or a sense of purpose does not necessarily lead people to feel a deeper connection to their work and to each other.
The study also shows that companies that offer integrated experiences can achieve a greater increase in their revenue by 7.4%. These experiences also help build trust, while at the same time representing 59% of an employee’s intention to stay at work. In addition, more than 90% of omni-connected people say they can be productive anywhere.
“People and culture are building blocks of competitive differentiation of organizations and are at the heart of development. As people substantially re-evaluate their working relationships, leadership teams have the opportunity to enhance culture by looking beyond space and the place “, said Ellyn Shook, Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer of Accenture. “By creating integrated experiences, leadership teams prioritize the relationship element and create a framework in which each individual can work to the best of their ability – in ways that serve them, which builds trust and leads to better business results.” .
Building an omni-connected organization
Only 17% of the people who participated in the study stated that they experience and benefit from integrated experiences in their workplace. The study also provides a framework for senior executives to create these experiences, which enhance productivity, help retain talent, and increase revenue.
Leadership teams must start by meeting the basic human needs of employees. The findings are based on a previous Accenture “Net Better Off” study, which identified six human needs that, when met, unlock two-thirds of people’s work potential.
The study also identifies four key pillars for developing integrated experiences:
Modern leadership: Implementing a leadership style, where leadership teams first listen to their people and then translate their commitments into action. When people feel safe to speak, they should be treated with empathy, understanding and respect. With regular and transparent communication, leadership teams can build trust with their people.
Culture: People who understand the connection between their job and the wider corporate purpose are more satisfied and have a greater degree of connection. Leadership teams can strengthen this connection by emphasizing how important different ideas and experiences are for the long-term success of the organization, while creating an environment that supports and cares about the overall health of their employees.
Flexible organization: Complete experiences help people to be productive wherever they are. Leadership teams need to extend the concept of flexibility to also consider when and how individuals work best. From there they can create suitable frameworks that are flexible enough to meet the ever-changing needs.
Technology: The first step is to build a strong technological base in the cloud. The next step is to give employees the opportunity to experiment and explore emerging technologies such as metaverse and at the same time the autonomy to improve their daily processes using technologies and data.
“Leaders focus on evaluating, creating and unleashing the potential of their people and realize that this is an opportunity to re-evaluate their culture and way of working,” said Christie Smith, Accenture Global Lead for Talent & Organization. “By creating an environment that focuses on connection, communication and trust, leaders show in practice that they respect and value the time and talent of their people, which our study shows leads to increased revenue and productivity.”
Source: Capital
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