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New Research on Returning to Work: Safety, Childcare, Communication, and Recognition

The “return to work” conversations have left employees feeling vulnerable and concerned about their future. For most companies, questions about childcare, safety, and communication have not been answered. And, as the uncertainty continues, it is having a devastating impact on the employee experience.

Aptitude Research has launched a major study to look at how employers are supporting their workforce during this time and how employees are responding.

We found some significant gaps in what employers and employees had to say around:

  • Productivity: 85% of employees say they are working more during this pandemic, while nearly 50% of employers say that employees are working less.
  • Flexibility: Only 32% of employees are getting more flexibility during this time, even though 55% of employers state that they offer more flexibility.
  • Wellbeing: 62% of companies state that they are investing in employee wellbeing yet, 64% do not feel valued by their employer.

One thing that both employers and employees agree on is the amount of stress in the workforce. 71% of employees state that they are more stressed during this year, and 95% of employers agree. Employers need to rethink how they are supporting employees today, including communication, safety, and wellbeing. I am excited to share the first look at this research this Wednesday, July 15, at 2 pm EST.

Below are a few of the topics:

Employee Safety: Although 49% of employers say that employee safety is their top priority,  nearly 40% of employees do not feel safe returning. When asked what companies are doing to ensure safety, 58% are providing masks and protective equipment, and only 21% have redesigned their office spaces to provide a safer environment. Most companies are frequently communicating with employees about safety, but few are taking action.

Childcare/Homeschooling: Companies can’t talk about “returning to work” until they address the reality of “returning to school.” And, most families are still uncertain about the future of childcare. Employers do not typically address childcare issues, and most employees do not feel safe talking about their needs with their managers. In today’s environment, companies must think about how childcare impacts the employee experience. Currently, 1 in 3 employees do not feel comfortable talking about childcare, and only 11% of employers ask employees how to support their childcare needs.

Communication: One of the most basic strategies companies can use today is to communicate frequently with employees. Seventy-three (73%) of employees we surveyed said that the only communication they are receiving is email, and 60% said they would prefer other forms of communication. Companies need to rethink the tone, frequency, and method of communication.

Recognition: One of the most concerning findings from this research study is that 61% of employees do not feel recognized today, and 78% do not feel recognized by leadership. Employees work long hours, adjust to change and new technology, and sacrifice their health and time with family. Yet, most employees do not feel appreciated. 1 in 2 employees has not received any recognition since the pandemic started.

These topics impact employees both personally and professionally. I hope you will join us for this important conversation, and I am excited to share this latest research project with you.

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Employee Communication: Lessons from The State of Colorado

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Most companies understand the importance of employee communication but fail to have an effective strategy. Companies need to continuously practice and improve the way they communicate. They need to invest in the right strategies and tools to make communication consistent and engaging. And, for many companies, it doesn’t come easy. We found that less than half of employees are reading their communication messages.

The State of Colorado is one company that has prioritized communication, invested in an employee communication platform and achieved significant results over the past few years. I had the opportunity to interview this impressive organization recently for our recent Employee Communication report. Below are some highlights:

With over 95,000 total employees and offices in all 65 counties, the State of Colorado is the second largest employer in Colorado. Communicating with employees and providing the right education on Total Compensation became a top priority in 2015 when the State of Colorado revamped its communication strategy and invested in a communication platform.

The Challenge: Several years ago, employee communication was a major challenge for the State of Colorado. For starters, HR was not centralized and agencies within the State of Colorado had their own independent communication strategies. These agencies had no clear model or even a standard employee benefits guide to inform them on issues such as benefits, wellness and compensation. Communication was not consistent and often had conflicting messaging throughout the organization. As a result, only 12% of employees participated in open enrollment in 2014.

The Strategy: Two years ago, the State of Colorado made the decision to invest in a more systematic approach to communication. HR began to shift from a reactionary role of delivering messages to a proactive role of empowering employees to achieve success. Instead of agencies doing one-off communication, the State of Colorado made the following changes:

  • Communication Campaign: The State of Colorado invested in a multi-channel campaign, referred to as its “HR Toolkit” that included emails, train-the-trainer materials, webinars, regional meetings, and posters.
  • Communication Platform: Through the use of GuideSpark’s multi-media solutions, the State of Colorado was able to provide compelling videos and content to engage and connect with employees. It was also able to measure those efforts through GuideSpark’s analytics.
  • Develop an Annual Employee Benefits Guide: For the State of Colorado, the employee benefits guide replaced the independent communication efforts of the various agencies and provided the consistency and context that employees needed.

The Results: Through a new communication strategy and the right technology investment, the State of Colorado was able to achieve the following results in open enrollment in 2015:

  • 98% participation in open enrollment program
  • 31% increase in High Deductible Health Plan enrollment
  • 150 hours of time saved by eliminating meetings
  • 50% participation in wellness program.
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Employee Communication: Executive Summary

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Aptitude Research Partner’s is excited to launch our Employee Communications research focused on strategies for building stronger relationships between employees and employers and driving business success. Please click on the link below to download the Executive Summary of the report.

ARP Employee Communications Exec Sum

Employee communication is the most critical job of the modern HR professional and too often, the most overlooked. Any workforce challenge can be linked to poor communication including engagement, retention, productivity and performance. When employees do not receive the information they need to do their jobs, they are more likely to underperform and to leave. Although 96% of companies recognize that stronger communication drives business results, most employee communication is ineffective and inconsistent. In fact, only 47% of employees read their communication messages.

This report based on data collected in February 2016 will explore the need for strategic communication, the changes in today’s workforce and the role of technology in driving business outcomes

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Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

Raytheon: Improving the Candidate Experience through Better Communication

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As customers, we want to feel important. We expect a customer experience that is personal, simple and human. Fortunately, most companies are committed to meeting these needs. If I think about the sites I visit regularly (Adidas, Fiverr, Amazon or even sites for my kid’s activities), they all share two things in common. First, they offer real-time chat options and second, they ask for feedback about the experience. Chat and messaging help us feel supported in a friendly and familiar way. Feedback is important because we want to know that our opinions matter. Again, customers want to feel important.

The same is true for our workforce. Candidates and employees also want an experience that is personal, simple and human. Why should messaging and feedback be limited to just the consumer world? The good news is that more solutions are becoming candidate-centric and employee-centric – committed to providing the same experience we see in the customer world to our workforce. In my opinion, the key to making candidates happy is making solutions simple. One candidate-centric provider that has really impressed me this year is Brazen. They are able to put the individual first by providing exactly what candidates want…communication and feedback. Brazen offers a simple solution for attracting and engaging passive talent through real-time messaging.

Raytheon has been using Brazen for the past four years to improve the candidate experience. With so many positions available and too many applicants, providing a 1:1 engagement was a challenge for the defense contractor. With Brazen, Raytheon is now able to provide a more personal experience through individual chat-based events. Candidates are attracted to Raytheon and then have the option to schedule a chat with a recruiter or hiring manager to learn more about the organization and the recruitment process. The process of looking for a job is transformed from scary and unknown to friendly and familiar.

Below are a few ways that Raytheon is using the solution:

  1. Enterprise Tool: To support its four business units, Raytheon has been leveraging Brazen for over 4 years to schedule chats with candidates that typically last for 20 minutes.
  2. Targeted Events: Raytheon uses Brazen to schedule very specific, targeted events for military hires or women (just two examples). These events go into greater detail about the culture and work environment at Raytheon. These events are also much longer – sometimes lasting between sixty to ninety minutes. The military events attract 60-140 candidates and are held 8-10 times a year.
  3. Target Specific Jobs and Roles: Raytheon uses Brazen to target specific types of roles, locations and market to a specific demographic.

Through this solution, Raytheon has been able to identify candidates quickly, engage with them in a meaningful way and gather more information to make better decisions about candidates. They have also been able to save money that would be spent flying candidates to meet with recruiters and hiring managers. Overall, it has proved to be a win-win for both candidates and recruiters.

In a world where experience is defining our workforce, we need more solutions that make communication easy and simple.

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Blog Talent Acquisition Strategies

A New Year, A New Survey, A New Conversation

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If you follow the HCM space, you may have noticed that everyone seems to say and write about the same stuff. We all talk about analytics being important, the rise of a more flexible workforce and the need for solutions that focus on the individual. We talk about mobile, social, and video and how they are being used. We talk about the evolution of talent acquisition and HR departments and examine trends. And while all of these topics are important, we believe it’s time for a new conversation. One that focuses on what works, what doesn‘t and what needs to change in the future. A conversation with new ideas and new actions all powered by data and insight.

We want to start that conversation today and we want you to be a part of it. We are so excited to launch our Hire, Engage and Retain survey that will look at what drives success when finding and keeping talent. We want to hear about the processes and technology you are using and what will change in 2016. By taking this 20 minute survey, we want you to have an opportunity to share your story and help us start this conversation.

Below are a few ways this survey is different and few things to expect from our research.

Why Is This Survey Different?

  1. Focus on Communication: Communication is a critical part of HCM that often goes ignored. We have included questions to help determine how companies are communicating with talent and what they plan to do in 2016.
  2. Start-Stop-Continue: As we enter the new year, most companies have big plans for how they are hiring and engaging talent. We want to know what processes and technology you plan to start, what you plan to stop and what you will continue to do.
  3. Differentiators: The relationship you have with your technology is an important one. We want to look at what differentiates providers beyond product capabilities and how providers are partnering with companies to help drive business results.
  4. A Consistent Approach to Talent: Many parallels can be drawn between how companies communicate and interact with candidates and how they communicate and interact with employees. Yet, they are not always consistent. We are looking at where companies can improve the ways they both hire, engage and retain top talent.

What Can You Expect from our Research?

  1. Customer Satisfaction: We will be exploring customer satisfaction across all areas of the customer journey from needs assessment and readiness to selection to implementation and beyond.
  2. Holistic Talent Acquisition: Talent acquisition is complex and important enough to deserve its own suite of technology solutions. We will look at how companies are building out a comprehensive talent acquisition model, investing in leading platforms and thinking about an ecosystem of solutions.
  3. Engagement Experience: We will be looking at how companies are thinking differently about engagement solutions and investing in recognition, wellness, communication platforms, and performance tools to better engage their workforce.
  4. Aptitude Index Reports: This research will help to power or aptitude index reports that profile the leading providers and examines their differentiators across the customer journey.

We hope you will join us in this new research adventure and share your experiences with us. We looking forward to hearing your story. Happy New Year!

 

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