Category Archives: Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement, News

“Experience is Everything” – Experts Discuss Why Retailers Need to Focus on Employee Experience

Experience is everything, particularly for employees. Austin Cooke, COO of Poundland and Jon Kelly, MD of live events agency Meet & Potato explain why retailers need to focus as much on employee experience as they do on customer experience in order to drive commercial gain.

So often in the world of retail, the focus is on the experience of the customer. And whilst this is of utmost importance, Poundland COO, Austin Cooke, argues the customer experience will never be better than the colleague experience, and that the two are intrinsically linked.

Austin Cooke

Poundland invests in an annual conference and quarterly regional roadshows that supports this sentiment. Talking about this, Austin said:

“The annual conference is the one time in the year we can get everyone together. We share universal messages, have one big party and set the tone for the next financial year. We also do regional roadshows every quarter which sees the board visit 7 regions across 4 days to provide company updates and make sure we see every store manager once every quarter.

“The conference in particular allows us to reward and recognise teams and individuals who are adding value to the business, with life changing prizes such as having their mortgage paid, winning brand new cars, luxury holidays etc. We launch the strategy for the following year, set out our aims and ambitions and give our teams the motivation and momentum to take back to their stores to help us deliver. This is a huge culture piece for the business and it’s massively valuable.

Having a People Focus is one of the key elements of Poundland’s business strategy. “Our people are our biggest asset and we need to make sure they know that. But when it comes to events, it has to be done right. The conference is our once in a year opportunity to communicate and appreciate a mass live audience, and we need to use experts in the business to help us with that.”

 

So how do brands do this successfully? 

Jon Kelly

Jon Kelly, MD of Meet and Potato, an agency that produces live and virtual events and content, designed to creatively showcase their clients’ business strategy, argues that authentic brand experience is paramount.

“When putting on an internal event for a retail business, we need to understand their strategy, values and personality, and most importantly, their audience. We need to echo this knowledge across every aspect of the event environment. The Poundland conference is a great example. Colleagues need to feel immersed in the brand, and that their experience is as important as the end customers’. The event has to practice what the brand preaches. For example, Poundland has a minimal queueing policy in store, so it’s our job to ensure that during the time 1400 of their people are with us at the conference, they’re not queuing too long to register, to go into a breakout session or for their lunch.”

Just as important as the physical environment, is the messaging.

 

“We work closely with business leaders to develop really inspirational content to motivate their retail teams to deliver. These events are huge catalysts for the business and set the tone for the year, so we need to be bang up to date with the brand priorities to make sure the key messages land with the audience.

“Once we have the environment and the content in place, it all comes down to delivery. We always encourage the brands we work with, to be human, bring their true personality into the event and engage with their employees authentically just as they encourage colleagues to do in store. You don’t want a top down culture at an event, with no emotion or personality, that won’t motivate your teams. The whole experience needs to leave them feeling informed, entertained and appreciated.

 

Asked how Austin knows these events work he replies, “We notice a huge uptick in the productivity of our teams and we also notice a drop in attrition. We put the effort in with our internal teams, so they pass this on to our customers. This matters, and in retail at the moment, where there is consistent negative news, it matters more than ever. Invest in your teams so they invest in you and drive sales. It makes commercial sense by building loyalty and retention for your business. And don’t take yourselves too seriously. Our board loves these events, we’re often presented with the most outlandish ideas for delivery and if it will help the message land in a memorable way, we go with them.

 

Jon agrees. “Every business is different and not everyone will be comfortable being too zany, but find your comfort level and go for it. With a bit of expert guidance, a brand can create truly memorable experiences to engage and inspire their teams.”

 

For more information or to discover other ideas for employer events, visit www.mandp.agency

 

Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, News, Talent Management

Aon research finds UK HR professionals believe EVPs ‘attract but don’t retain’ talent

  • Aon’s 2023 HR Future Focus Survey identified differences between what respondents say and how they actually feel
  • HR professionals also reported company benefits do not meet employee needs and that employees do not understand reward packages

Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has found that HR professionals believe that UK employers’ employee value propositions (EVPs) attract but do not necessarily retain talent.

The research used Aon’s Neurotech® listening tool Reflection®, which measures both conscious and non-conscious responses to a series of statements to ascertain what respondents are truly feeling. The listening tool captures two types of insight: a traditional score – what people are prepared to say (consciously moderated answers) and a neuroscientific score – how people really feel (unconscious, intuitive, or unfiltered views).

The difference between the two scores reveals a cognitive dissonance gap. This gap is the difference between what people say and what people really think. When both scores are close together, it suggests low cognitive dissonance, where people are responding authentically. However, when there is a clear gap between the scores, it indicates a degree of inauthenticity.

In Aon’s 2023 HR Future Focus Survey, when respondents were asked about EVPs attracting talent, traditional and neuroscientific responses were aligned. They showed a slightly positive score of 60 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively. Most respondents agreed on both a conscious and subconscious level showing low cognitive dissonance, and suggesting respondents were authentic in their response to this question.

However, when asked if EVPs retain critical talent, traditional responses were scored slightly more positive at 58 per cent, in comparison to neuroscientific responses, which had a negative score of 42 per cent. The cognitive dissonance between the two responses was 16 per cent, indicating that respondents, despite agreeing with the statement consciously, did not actually agree on an unconscious level.

In addition, Aon identified a cognitive dissonance in participant responses to reward-related statements in the survey:

  • Our company benefits meet employees’ individual needs
    Traditional score: 59 per cent. Neuroscientific score: 28 per cent. Difference: 31 per cent.
  • Employees understand their total reward package
    Traditional score: 53 per cent. Neuroscientific score: 25 per cent. Difference: 28 per cent.

Jackie Waller, associate partner, Rewards Advisory UK, Aon said:

“The challenge in retaining people is significant and is forcing organisations to reconsider their business strategy in light of talent shortages. The recruitment challenge features on the ‘risk registers’ of most of our clients right now, leading to a higher focus on reskilling and upskilling internal talent.

“Retention is now an item of strategic and competitive differentiation and organisations need to rethink how they engage and develop their existing talent base to build a more resilient workforce.”

Nathalie Hyatt, strategy principal, Health Solutions UK, Aon said:

“Employers tend to use traditional surveys when carrying out employee listening exercises and employees themselves answer these types of surveys using their conscious mind, thinking about the question asked and often giving a considered response. But these responses may be influenced by a number of mindsets – from being strategic in their answers, secretive or even disinterested or disruptive.

“The difference therefore between conscious and non-conscious-level response is often substantial. ‘Cognitive dissonance’ is the discomfort and stress people feel when they struggle with two conflicting beliefs. The greater the difference between the beliefs, the higher the dissonance and the greater the stress on the individual who is concealing their gut feeling.

“For instance, when looking at results across the survey as a whole, neuroscientific­ responses differed by as much as 39 per cent compared to the traditional survey. Using neuroscience technology to listen to employees is a key way for employers to have clarity and confidence to make more informed decisions and create meaningful action plans to deliver better employee experiences.”

For more information, download Aon’s 2023 HR Future Focus HR Respondents Survey here. For more information about Aon’s Neurotech® listening tool Reflection® click here.

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries and sovereignties with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.

Employee Engagement, News, Transport

Transport employees’ emotions – data analysis shows the depth of strike and deadlock issues

  • 65% of transport workers feel that if they do great work, they won’t be recognised
  • Just 43% are committed to their employers (global average 58%)
  • 38% feel highly unappreciated (global average 22%)
  • 48% trust the senior leaders to lead the company in the right direction (global average 69%)
  • Insight from nearly 45,000 employees at over 20 operating companies 

Transport workers are one of the most unappreciated groups of employees according to engagement surveys across the sector. Only 35% of employees feel recognised for their contribution at work, compared to other industries where the average is 63%.

Inpulse, experts in employee engagement, analysed the emotional climate at over 20 transport companies to understand precisely how people feel at work and why they feel this way to help uncover what action can be taken to increase employee engagement.

The findings from circa 45,000 employees showed that more than one-third of transport workers (38%) feel negative about their workplaces, with emotions such as ‘unappreciated’, ‘stressed’ and ‘irritated’ prevailing. In addition, over half of workers (51%) don’t feel confident they will be listened to when they share their views. Only 59% understand how their work contributed to the company’s strategy and goals – a low statistic compared to an average of 80% across other industries.

Matt Stephens, Founder and CEO of Inpulse, said: “The emotional climate in the transport sector is unlike any other industry. The positive and negative sentiments are near equal strength (53% positive, 47% negative), which is highly unusual as it is normally much more strongly positive.. Generally speaking, transport employees feel positive emotions due to enjoying the nature of their work and, therefore, they have high levels of job satisfaction. What’s more, people feel committed to their roles and responsibilities and are happy carrying out their day-to-day duties.

“However, the negative emotional climate is dominated by people feeling unappreciated. Alongside feelings of stress and irritation, the negativity is often so deeply entrenched that it breeds toxicity and is presenting leaders and HR teams with an arduous challenge.”

The report also highlighted that people feel uncertain and anxious about the direction of the organisation and, therefore, what this means for them in their roles and personal lives. Additionally, only 48% trust senior leaders to lead the company in the right direction (compared to a global average of 69%).

Despite this, many transport workers (43%) are still committed to their companies, even though they feel highly unappreciated (38% vs global 22%). However, commitment is slipping compared to the commitment from the overall global workforce (58%).

Stephens continued: “There are so many transportation strikes challenging the industry, yet our analysis shows that behaviours of leaders and line managers is key to unlocking the situation and can make a significant difference.

“Important engagement factors for employees include working towards clear goals and having sight of the direction of the organisation – the lack of which is impeding efforts to engage employees. It can be difficult, however, for transport leaders when strategy and vision can be in the hands of government decisions.

“The good news is that we’ve seen, over the last five or six years, that appreciation is one of the easiest emotions to turn into positive recognition. With small tweaks in leader and managerial behaviour, other sectors have seen enormous change, helping reduce negative emotions. What’s more, it doesn’t need financial involvement. Behavioural shifts include saying ‘thank you’ more often and recognising when people are doing the right thing, rather than calling people out if they’ve done the wrong thing.”

 

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About Inpulse

Inpulse provides real-time emotion-driven employee insights that improve engagement to help increase the performance of a company. The Inpulse team provides support, including analysis of data to bring unbiased perspectives to decision-makers.

Employee Engagement, News

Construction recruitment experts celebrate anniversary of EOT success

 

Construction recruitment experts Sphere Solutions are marking the first anniversary of becoming employee owned, which has boosted the business’ workplace culture and earned record levels of growth.

 

Providing technical, qualified staff across multiple levels to almost 900 companies in the building, construction management, civil engineering, rail, housing, architecture and mechanical and electrical sectors, Sphere Solutions established an Employee Ownership Trust in April last year.

 

The transaction saw shareholder directors James Hughes and James Parsons sell the majority shareholding of Sphere Solutions to employees, via the Trust. The pair were motivated to meaningfully recognise the team’s contribution to Sphere Solutions and identified an EOT as the right succession plan that ensured security and long-term growth for all.

 

Developing the business’ existing people-centric approach through employee ownership has unlocked further growth at Sphere Solutions, which has filled 19,000 vacancies and placed around 8,500 individuals into construction roles at all levels. With growth ambitions across South Wales, the South West, and into new construction sectors, along with an ongoing commitment to ensuring social value, the team at Sphere Solutions has also increased in size significantly since becoming employee owned.

 

Based on Sphere Solutions’ impressive performance in the last year, individual profit distributions approved by the trust saw all eligible employees receive a tax-free bonus of £3,600 each.

 

Bryn Jones, Finance Director of Sphere Solutions, said: “The decision by James and James to pass the business to us as employees was a huge show of trust and it’s fantastic to feel so valued. The EOT truly empowers us all to take Sphere Solutions to new levels going forward, which is really exciting.”

 

Also felt across the business is the knowledge-sharing that employee ownership encouraged. With more transparency and clarity about the business’ operations and performance, this heightened communication has led to greater learner opportunities.

 

For the employee council too, a diverse group of staff has represented the whole team’s interests, gaining strategic insights and management experience. Sarah Webb, member of the Employee Council, commented: “Having the platform to discuss ways in which we can improve the business and help to implement new ideas is fantastic.”

 

A clear benefit to staff, Sphere Solutions has cited its EOT as improving staff retention, and even playing a key role in attracting new talent to the business.

Employee Engagement, News

Educ8 Training celebrates UK Employee Ownership Day

Staff of Educ8 Training Group based in south Wales, are celebrating UK Employee Ownership Day on Friday 23 June.

 

The event is run by the Employee Ownership Association and this year’s theme is #TheEOeffect. It aims to showcase the positive impact employee ownership has on employees, business, the wider economy, communities and the environment.

 

Formed in 2004 and employing over 250 members of staff, Educ8 Training Group is an employee owned and award winning provider of apprenticeships and training. It became an Employee Owned company in February 2022.

 

Colin Tucker, Chairman of Educ8 Training Group said, “Our people mean everything to us. Without a motivated and engaged workforce the company would not have achieved the growth and accolades it has. We were immensely proud to transition to employee ownership.

 

Working with the EOT and Group Board, we want to create an environment where we become exemplars in the EOT world, driving wealth through our employees and into our communities. We are excited for the future and look forward to working with all our partners to achieve our collective aspirations.”

 

Grant Santos, CEO of Educ8 Training Group added, “It is difficult to believe over a year has passed since Educ8 become an Employee Owned business. The past year has been extremely busy, with Haddon Training and Aspire2Be joining the group and achieving further growth. We have grown by 50 members of staff and our employee owned status has undoubtably helped with staff retention and recruitment.”

 

In conjunction with EO Day, Educ8 Training Group is launching an employee forum to further support the work of the EOT and bolster employee engagement. The forum will act as a conduit between the EOT, the group’s executive board and the employees.

 

The group is also launching a competition for staff to design a logo for the EOT, with a prize for the chosen entry.

 

James de le Vingne, CEO for the Employee Ownership Association said, “Companies such as Educ8 Training Group are great examples of the economic and social benefits that can be achieved when employees have a say in the business in which they work. Since it started, the reach of EO Day and the scale of the employee ownership sector has grown, with both having more than doubled in the past few years. Now, we have the opportunity to accelerate the pace of growth and reach even wider audiences to shout about employee ownership and its impact.

 

The benefits that employee ownership provides the business and employees is something this year’s EO Day will raise awareness of. At a time of economic turbulence, EO’s benefits for employees, businesses and local areas is particularly relevant. By celebrating, we can help showcase the impact of employee ownership and #TheEOeffect.”

 

Numerous events will run across the UK, with the involvement of thousands of employee owners and partners. EO Day was introduced to raise awareness of employee ownership as an economically strong and balanced business model.

 

Tracey O’Neill, Head of HR at Educ8 Training Group said, “Being part of an EOT provides security for our future, knowing that if we sell the company the EOT’s share of the sale proceeds would be divided amongst the employees.  Who knows what opportunities may lay ahead in years to come. The EOT provides a legacy which will continue and grow. If in years to come there is a future sale it will allow employees to share in that reward which is pretty amazing.”

 

The benefits of employee ownership have been proven in EOA led research. Benefits include improving employee health and wellbeing, increasing productivity and fostering creativity and innovation across an array of industry sectors.

 

UK employee owned companies contribute over £30 billion to the UK economy annually. Additionally, employee owners have higher levels of job satisfaction, feel a greater sense of achievement and job security, and are more likely to recommend their workplace than employees in non-employee owned businesses.

 

Employee owned businesses operate in a range of sectors including healthcare, social care, education and training, transport, manufacturing, retail and professional services.

 

Find out more about Educ8 Training Group, become part of our EOT and join our team. Visit: www.educ8training.co.uk

 

Customer Experience, Employee Engagement, News

Antavo and CarltonOne Join Forces to Improve Loyalty Program Engagement

The partnership will allow businesses to offer third-party benefits to their customers through their existing rewards scheme.

Antavo, the leading Enterprise Loyalty Cloud, and CarltonOne Engagement, the purpose-powered engagement platform with a global rewards fulfilment engine, today announce a partnership to help brands drive lasting customer loyalty by boosting their reward experience.

By integrating the Antavo Enterprise Loyalty Cloud and CarltonOne’s vast reward catalogue, brands can now offer customers a wider range of customer loyalty rewards including: merchandise; flight, hotel and leisure experiences; gift cards; mobile top-ups and charitable donations.

The partnership allows Antavo and CarltonOne to deliver full-circle rewards programmes, covering transactional and non-transactional loyalty schemes so that brands can reward their members in a way that is most appropriate to them. The partnership makes CarltonOne the first integrated reward fulfilment partner of Antavo.

CarltonOne’s established Global Reward Solutions platform will be available to Antavo’s customers, allowing them to deliver broader reward schemes. CarltonOne’s merchandise catalogue offers thousands of unique products to members in 185 countries worldwide, including those from best-selling brands such as Apple, Bose, Sony and FitBit.

 

“Having relevant, tailored and appropriate third party rewards as part of a loyalty program significantly improves the reward redemption rate, which is why we’re so excited about working with CarltonOne.” says Attila Kecsmar, CEO and Co-founder of Antavo. “CarltonOne has developed an enviable roster of brand partnerships and experiences which are available to businesses all over the world, allowing them to reward their customers in ways they will respond to best. This partnership means that our clients can now integrate third-party rewards to their loyalty campaigns with ease, helping them reach out to and engage with their customers in an ever more personalised way.”

 

“We’re delighted to welcome our friends at Antavo to the CarltonOne rewards platform,” CarltonOne founder and CEO, Rob Purdy said. “We’re a true believer in their mission to make it easier for companies to create powerful loyalty initiatives, and are honoured to deliver a world-class rewards offering for all their programs. Whether it’s merchandise from brands like Apple or Sony, a vast choice of gift cards or amazing travel experiences, our rewards platform will now make every Antavo program even more compelling for members.”

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About Antavo

Antavo is an Enterprise Loyalty Cloud, providing best-in-class technology to manage experience-based, paid, and lifestyle loyalty programs online, in-store, or on mobile.

Antavo’s no-code, API-centric platform makes the loyalty program experience fully customizable and empowers loyalty and marketing teams to run their program internally, without IT help. The company invests 60% of its revenue into its product and issues quarterly product releases.

Antavo is a pure-play loyalty technology vendor recognized by Forrester, Gartner, Loyalty360, and is the preferred choice for loyalty consultants, agencies, and system integrators all over the world. Antavo empowers clients like BMW, KFC, La Cage, Kathmandu, Luisaviaroma and BrewDog, as well as global businesses in the travel, pharma and fashion industries. For more information, visit antavo.com.

 

About CarltonOne

CarltonOne is a purpose-powered engagement platform that creates B2B social recognition, customer loyalty, rewards, and sales/channel incentive programs. With the goal to make every moment matter, the company offers Power2Motivate — a customizable enterprise engagement solution; Global Reward Solutions — a worldwide supply chain enabling customized AI-personalized storefronts of over 10 million rewards across 185 countries; and Kart — a free shop and save benefit for employers. Each of these solutions fuels CarltonOne’s Evergrow sustainability mission to fight climate change with a unique eco-action business model that funds the planting of millions of trees every year. For more information, visit carltonone.com.

Construction, Construction News, Employee Engagement, News

Record high levels of commitment and engagement for construction workers compared to other industries

  • The industry has the top Engagement Index Score at 77% compared with 71% across other sectors
  • Construction workers feel 17% more positive about working at their organisation than others
  • ‘Committed’ is the most selected positive emotion for this sector with 45% of employees choosing this answer
  • Insight from over 60,000 employees in the construction sector

The construction industry has the highest Engagement Index Score in comparison to other sectors, according to the latest research from Inpulse, experts in employee engagement.

Over 60,000 construction employees have been surveyed. Their responses revealed that they are more engaged than employees from the retail, transport, education, finance, recruitment, legal, healthcare and technology sectors. Employees in the construction industry have an Engagement Index Score of 77%, in comparison to an average of 71% across the other sectors.

In addition, when asked how positive they felt about their employers, construction workers scored 17% higher than the other industries. In fact, 63% of construction workers feel positive about their workplaces, with the most selected positive emotions being committed, valued and happy. Only 16% feel negatively selecting irritated, frustrated and stressed.

Jodie Harrison, Insights Consultant at Inpulse, said:

“Historically, construction has been a very operations-focused industry. However, these scores reflect the sector’s devotion towards making a transformational change to improve employee engagement and experience. Looking after people and connecting with teams is now given the same respect and investment as other business-critical topics such as safety. We see buy-in from execs and senior leaders, where focusing on employee engagement generates a higher Return-on-Investment (ROI) than focussing solely on profit.”

Breaking the numbers down further, 76% of construction workers felt they had an opportunity to share their ideas to improve the business compared to the average of 58% amongst other sectors. Moreover, 75% would recommend their company as a great place to work compared to an average of 66%.

The industry only scored lower when asked about effective collaboration between departments (61% vs an average of 65%) and long-term career opportunities (57% vs an average of 58%).

Harrison explains:

“Workload-related stress is an ongoing issue facing most organisations, but in industries with a dispersed workforce, like construction, this stress is surpassed by irritation. Outdated systems and processes impact how people work together, resulting in poor cross-team collaboration. This can result in workplace silos which cause delays, inefficiencies and hinder the ability of the business to operate as one.”

Harrison continues:

“Ensuring people can see a path to continue their career within their organisation is crucial to retaining talent and building a skilled workforce. In this sector, where changing projects or work locations is the norm, sharing the work pipeline and what it means for each individual is critical to avoid anxiety and fears around job security, especially during a cost-of-living crisis. Despite this, construction is an industry where people enjoy their jobs, as opposed to office-type positions where we have seen the rise of quiet quitting, for instance.

“Fortunately, with high levels of commitment still intact, construction organisations can prevent negativity from spreading by looking at ways to modernise technology, facilitate positive colleague interactions and show that they are listening to people’s feedback and feelings, particularly during times of change and uncertainty”, concludes Harrison.

Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, News

‘Disruptive’ mentoring platform helps retired and returning workers retain zest for life

Retired and older workers can boost their income by sharing their expertise with the next generation – keeping active through a new career mentoring platform. 

Hailed as the equivalent for career mentoring as Airbnb is for holiday lets and Uber is for self-employed drivers, Career Navig8r restores a sense of purpose for people who have stopped doing a job they love. 

Career Navig8r aims to give people a ‘career encore’, providing a sense of purpose post-retirement and ensuring their experience is used to help someone else. 

Founder Ken Glynn, of Bettystown, County Meath, in Ireland, says he’d seen his dad lose his motivation and zest for life once he retired.  

Then, when his sister gave up her career to raise children, he saw the same thing. Once proud, loud motivated people who were hungry for success, became less engaged and less motivated as they spent longer out of work and less time engaging their brains.  

Ken said: “It’s fair to say we are disrupting mentoring at work but we’re actually much more than disruptors. Our mentoring platform – that allows mentees to meet mentors, arrange meetings and hold meetings – is coming to fruition after months of hard work. This is a mentoring platform where people who have done well can share their know-how with people who want to do well. In the same role or industry. 

“We’re creating a new marketplace that matches lived experience and expertise with people who are hungry for that wisdom as they take their first steps on the career ladder. The beauty of it is that it’s simple – whether you’re the mentor or the mentee.  

“Imagine on your first day in your important new management job, you realise how useful support from someone who’s excelled in the same role with relevant experience and evidence to back it up would be – that’s what we are making possible. 

“For too long there’s been the idea that you had to be a super high achiever to be a mentor, that’s not always the case. Career Navig8r is built for anyone who wants to mentor. You just need to have done something to a decent standard – and be able to teach others how and why you did it. 

“Many people no longer want a traditional retirement, they want to continue to be vibrant, to feel important, to stay sharp and be of value to their network and we’re making it happen.”  

Career Navig8r’s platform allows mentors to register and create their profile and listings. Mentees then search the database to find someone perfectly suited to their needs. 

A House of Lords committee found that a wave of early retirement for professionals aged over 50 since the Covid pandemic had caused a huge labour shortage. 

“We understand how isolating it can feel when you have left a job you adored and want to continue a rewarding role in society,” Ken said. 

“For the over 50s and anyone closing a chapter on a career, it allows for a ‘career encore’. This platform allows experience and skills to be shared and further developed by the world – rather than being lost. 

“The same can be said for parents who have left the workforce but would like to stay connected, earn money and make a difference.” 

Ken said: “This means mentees will get role specific, practical advice, not coaching or general advice. 

“Our mentors have a wealth of knowledge about how they have succeeded. Now they can get paid for sharing that knowledge, without worrying about having to mentor people who are going to ask them questions outside of their knowledge base. They’ll be mentoring people who want to do what they’ve done. All their challenges and learnings will be relevant. 

“The first eight weeks of any job role are critical. What if, sitting on your shoulder, throughout this time, was someone to guide you through each challenge, giving you the best possible start?  

“This is guidance that, put simply, will accelerate your career in both the short and long term. For this role. And any future roles.” 

The mentor scheme is not only for those who are retired, it can also be for those who have taken a career break, for example to raise a family, and can also offer the opportunity for ‘reverse mentoring’ where younger workers help older workers with upskilling and reskilling. 

Ken added: “This is a new and brilliant opportunity for people with a wealth of experience to make more money and boost their income by sharing their passion and expertise for a role they have lived and loved.  

“It’s a hugely positive step – we would never suggest that everyone loses a sense of purpose as they get older, but for those who have retired and no longer feel valued in a professional sense, it can be an enriching experience to be welcomed back in a supportive role as a mentor.”  

All the mentoring sessions can be carried out remotely, meaning someone in London could be mentored by an expert in their chosen field in New Delhi, for instance. 

Ken also runs a company offering leadership development through training and coaching, but he saw there was often not an exact match between those looking for advice and those ready to give it. 

He wanted to help people like his father and sister so built a more role-specific mentoring platform that gives mentees the exact advice they need. 

The platform is now live and initially targeting those in the IT and Tech industries, although anyone can sign up as a mentor. 

Ken would encourage anyone interested in becoming a mentor to start by visiting careernavig8r.com. 

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Picture caption: Career Navig8r founder Ken Glynn 

Employee Benefits, Employee Engagement, News

Aon research finds that UK employers have an organisational wellbeing strategy gap despite recognising its importance

Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has said its 2022-2023 Global Wellbeing Survey shows that UK organisations have a wellbeing strategy gap. Among UK respondents, 74 percent said that wellbeing has increased in importance and 92 percent said their organisations have wellbeing initiatives. However, just 29 percent said wellbeing is fully integrated into their overall business and talent strategy.

UK respondents differ from other regions: 60 percent of mainland European respondents and 63 percent of global respondents reported that wellbeing has increased in importance. Additionally, the strategic gap is smaller for other regions: 38 percent of mainland European companies and 41 percent of global companies said that wellbeing is fully integrated into their overall business and talent strategy. When asked why the organisation was not prioritising wellbeing, by far the largest reason in the UK was that “leaders have other focuses” at 29 percent. The next highest reason, at 14 percent, was that respondents “haven’t thought about it”.

The survey asked respondents which important business issues could be impacted by wellbeing initiatives. The top three UK answers were employee performance and productivity (39 percent), employee satisfaction and engagement (39 percent), and loyalty and retention (35 percent).

Letitia Rowlin, principal strategic consultant for Health Solutions at Aon in the UK, said:

“A multitude of recent developments, not least the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen wellbeing become a far higher priority in UK organisations as they strive to build a more resilient workforce. Decision makers also increasingly see a link between employee wellbeing and productivity, performance and engagement. However, the UK remains behind when it comes to fully integrated strategic choices and funding.

“For instance, when it comes to funding, 24 percent of UK organisations allocate 4 percent or more of their overall company and benefits funding to wellbeing. This is far behind other regions. Among mainland European companies, 33 percent of organisations commit this amount to wellbeing while this is true for 38 percent of global organisations.”

Letitia Rowlin continued:

“The UK also has a fragmented approach to wellbeing, with many organisations implementing wellbeing initiatives, but far fewer using a data-led approach to tackle the specific issues that are unique to their situation. Using data gives clarity and confidence to make better decisions, applies funding in a strategic way and enables measurement of results.”

Aon’s Global Wellbeing Survey shows UK employers’ top three priorities overall, which are “attracting or retaining” talent, “employee wellbeing” and “profits and financial margins”. This represents a shift in priorities from 2020, when UK employers reported their top three priorities as “meeting financial targets”, “evolving market and meeting changing needs” and “meeting customer needs”.

Letitia Rowlin said:

“Wellbeing has become a differentiator in the war for talent. Employees and candidates want to see that their employer cares, and employers who support employees’ wellbeing gain in improved productivity and performance.”

Aon conducted the survey of human resources and benefits leaders from more than 1,100 companies across 46 countries and multiple industries in collaboration with IPSOS, a leading global market research company, between August and November of 2022.

Explore findings of Aon’s 2022-2023 Global Wellbeing Survey here.

To learn more about the impact of wellbeing programmes on organisational performance, access the 2020 Global Wellbeing Survey here and listen to episode six of the “On Aon” podcast here.

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries and sovereignties with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.

Employee Engagement, Employee Motivation, News

Overworked and Under-Appreciated – The British Workforce Crisis

More than half (53%) of employees in the UK feel overworked, citing factors like reaching their maximum capacity, being spread too thin, or stressing over the threat of additional work – according to new data from Censuswide, commissioned by people analytics company Visier.

The data – which comes during an uncertain economic market where businesses are striving to do more with less – reveals that young professionals aged 25-34 feel most overworked, followed closely by those aged 55+. And, whilst Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget outlined major policy changes to improve support for the workforce, businesses will need to do more for employees who expect better experiences from their employers and aren’t willing to settle. In fact, four in ten (40%) employees would look for a new job with a better work-life balance if they felt overworked.

 

Unbearable workloads

With many organisations slamming on the recruitment breaks amid broader market uncertainty, current employees are being asked to take on more responsibilities. 30% of respondents said they feel their employer has increased their work responsibility outside of their initial role, and 23% feel their employer expects or encourages them to pick up work outside of their remit. When asked about working hours, 32% said that their employer expects or encourages them to work outside of contracted work hours or to ask their line reports to do the same.

These additional tasks have created an environment where employees are reaching a breaking point.  40% of respondents stated their workload has led to feelings of anxiety, whilst nearly a quarter (24%) said they have reached their mental limit.

Furthermore, the data reveals that employees aren’t just feeling increasingly overwhelmed because of work. The cost-of-living crisis (61%) and family responsibilities (34%) were both cited as contributors. It’s not surprising therefore that employees feel they have good reason to participate in “bare minimum Mondays” – the practice of completing the least amount of work necessary to get through Monday, as a result of the constant pressure to be productive. The main reasons for partaking in “bare minimum Mondays” included seeing it as a good way to relieve stress (27%) and because preparing to go back to the work week led to increased feelings of anxiety (23%).

Some 39% also cited that they’d participate in “bare minimum Mondays” because they aren’t being compensated or appreciated for the extra work they do, whilst 15% said they are being asked to spend extra time in the week doing another person’s work for free.

 

Workers bear the brunt

Employees are increasingly looking to find solutions to solve their overloaded schedules. The data reveals that 60% of employees would love to find another job, but the cost-of-living crisis means that they are not willing to take the risk.

This serves as a stark reminder that whilst business leaders and managers are under increasing pressure to increase output to recession-proof the business. Improving team productivity isn’t just about the volume of work completed within a short space of time, but it’s about the working environment created to support those doing the work if businesses are to retain talent in an increasingly competitive market.

We asked employees what their employers could do to set them up for success, 39% revealed that moving to a four-day-working-week would be key, whilst 30% pointed to more flexible working, 37% compensation for the work they do, and 31% an early finish on a Friday.

“This data is a warning signal for employers attempting to buckle down and push for more from their employees.. For many, workloads no longer feel bearable, whether it’s directly related to additional responsibilities, or outside pressure. With business leaders under immense pressure to sustain output, it’s critical they establish a sustainable environment for their employees or risk seeing employees hit exhaustive levels or burn out, or leave entirely,” said Ben Harris, Director EMEA North, Visier.

“Doing more with less may be the economic reality of the moment, but it can come at a cost. There’s a difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Businesses should take the time to understand how their teams are feeling, and engage employees in conversations about workload using workplace tools to gauge their stress levels. Leaders, including line managers, can then also work with individuals to reduce work-related exhaustion and provide support where it is needed most.”

 

Research methodology 

 

Censuswide, 2023

The research was conducted by Censuswide between 06.03.23-13.03.23 (1,007 workers aged 18+ with an even spread across Financial services, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Technology and Energy & utilities industries). Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.

 

About Visier

Visier is the global leader in people analytics and workforce planning. Founded in 2010 by the pioneers of business intelligence, Visier empowers business leaders with the right questions to ask their people data in order to drive better business outcomes while leveraging their most valuable asset: their people. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC with offices and team members worldwide, Visier has 25,000 customers in 75 countries around the world, including enterprises like Adobe, BASF, Bridgestone, Experian, The Lego Group, Merck KGaA, Royal DSM, Standard Bank, Unilever and more.

 

For more information, visit www.visier.com.