Over the last few months, the landscape of the modern workplace has dramatically changed. From furloughed workers to full-time telecommuters to employee parents with unexpected homeschooling duties, a lot remains unprecedented and unknown for the global workforce. This uncertainty coupled with a lack of in-person interaction is creating a chasm between employees and their HR advocates. And it could be fueling a culture of “employee disconnect”.
Narrowing the gap between the remote workforce and HR doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, the global crisis can (and probably should) bring HR and employees even closer. We put together a plan (below) that can assess employee disconnect, understand why it happens, and build a bridge between employers and employees through continuous, empathetic communication.
To understand what employee disconnect is and how it’s impacting employees today, it helps to understand how employees felt before COVID:
Based on the above data and the events that have transpired in 2020, not only do today’s employees feel more disconnected from their employers and physical office space, they don’t believe their employers even hear what they’re saying or care enough to make critical changes on their behalf. What was a less-than-ideal dynamic to begin with, topped with a global health and economic crisis, becomes a gaping void in the employer-employee relationship.
It’s unlikely for someone to wake up on the first day of their new job and think “I will never connect with this company!” If an organization is experiencing (or wants to ensure they don’t) employee disconnect, they need to understand how it can plant a few roots and spread throughout the organization.
A few common reasons for employee disconnect include:
Thirty two percent of employees have to wait 3+ months to get feedback from their managers. In fact, annual surveys are on the decline across the board. This is a major missed opportunity for employers to readily learn what’s happening with their people. Surveys are useful tools for uncovering employee disengagement and employee attitude patterns. And the more frequently they’re utilized, the more often managers can connect with their staff for two-way feedback.
With a lack of employee input comes a miscalculation of the overall employee experience. Since so many employees are sidelined at home, gathering an accurate indication of their day-to-day issues will be crucial in connecting with their employee experience. Until then it’s all just bad data. Or, even worse, no data at all.
That three-month-wait for feedback could be stemming from outdated HR technologies and employee experience tools. Certain HRIS platforms or programs require manual data entry, so it could be weeks or more before the organization can actively address employee issues and make much-needed changes.
Regardless of the reasons for employee disconnect, there are ways to end it, prevent it and create better day-to-day employee experiences despite it. The strategy involves proactive employee communication:
In an increasingly digital employee ecosystem, workers have come to expect speed and efficiency. Why wait for a phone call when they can get an immediate direct message? It’s the job of the HR leader to be hyper aware of employee communication expectations and deliver them through every channel possible.
To bridge the employee disconnect, especially in these unprecedented times, it’s going to require assessing, understanding and empathy, only then can you develop the best plan for consistent, frequent outreach, and more opportunities for two-way feedback.