Category Archives: Employee Experience

Employee Engagement, Employee Experience, News

Half of U.K. Deskless Workers Say they’re Viewed as Expendable

Deskless workers are feeling unseen and not taken seriously by senior leadership

Over half of U.K. deskless workers (51 per cent) say they’re viewed as expendable by their employer. Plus, almost a third (32 per cent), feel that their corporate, desk-based colleagues regard them as inferior.  These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2024 Global Culture Report which gathered data and insights from more than 42,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 27 countries worldwide including 4,818 from the U.K (of which 1,734 are deskless).

Deskless workers comprise 80 per cent of the Global workforce and include offline and essential workers who traditionally work away from a desk. They are emergency workers, and those who keep production lines moving, customers purchasing and organisations functioning. However, despite their crucial roles, the Report highlights that many deskless workers are feeling dispensable and sidelined.

 

“It was not long ago we were clapping the efforts of frontline workers, but many are now feeling unloved and that their contributions don’t matter”, says Stuart Cheesman, European Strategist of workplace culture expert, O.C. Tanner.

 

30 per cent of deskless workers admit they are often talked down to by people in the corporate office, aren’t taken seriously by senior leadership and find that their ideas are quickly minimised or dismissed.

“Undermining and diminishing the roles of deskless workers is not only morally wrong, but isn’t good for business” says Cheesman. “When deskless workers are made to feel expendable, they are unlikely to stick around and deliver their best work. In contrast, when they feel seen and appreciated by their organisations, the business outcomes are significant including improved staff retention and performance.”

 

The Report recommends educating leaders on how to effectively appreciate and recognise their deskless workers. This includes the messages leaders want to communicate to them, how they can create meaningful and authentic recognition experiences, and how they can nurture a strong sense of belonging for all.

When deskless workers are understood by their leaders, including how they prefer to be recognised and appreciated, there’s a 350 per cent greater chance they’ll choose to stay with their employer another year. They are also 378 per cent more likely to deliver great work and 258 per cent more likely to feel a sense of fulfilment in their jobs.

 

Cheesman adds, “Leaders can’t afford to neglect their deskless workers who are essential to their success. They must ensure that all their people are regularly appreciated and respected for the jobs they do and the contributions they make. Doing so will nurture a compassionate and appreciative culture that ultimately delivers compelling bottom-line results.”

 

About 2024 Global Culture Report

The O.C. Tanner Institute, O.C. Tanner’s research, analytics, and education team, uses multiple research methods to support the Global Culture Report, including interviews, focus groups, cross-sectional surveys, and a longitudinal survey.

Qualitative findings came from 18 focus groups among employees and leaders of larger organisations. The groups and interviews were held throughout 2022 and 2023, each representing various types of employers, including both private and public entities.

Quantitative findings came from online survey interviews administered to employees across Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The total sample size was 42,446 workers at companies with 500+ employees. The O.C. Tanner Institute collected and analysed all survey data. This sample is sufficient to generate meaningful conclusions about the cultures of organisations in the included countries. However, because the study does not include population data, results are subject to statistical errors customarily associated with sample-based information. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from the O.C. Tanner Institute.

 

About O.C. Tanner

O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee experiences. Its Culture Cloud is a suite of apps and solutions, including recognition, service awards, wellbeing, leadership, and celebrations that help people thrive at work. O.C. Tanner provides these and other services for thousands of the most respected companies in the world. For more information visit www.octanner.com/uk

Employee Experience

New iCIMS Research Serves as Wake-Up Call for Employers: Nearly 60% of Candidates Never Hear Back from the Company After Applying

The new report evaluates the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to applying to some of the biggest European-based brands.

Great experiences lead to great hires, yet new research reveals many of the most prominent organisations based in Europe are lagging innovation and providing a subpar application experience for job seekers. Today, iCIMS, a leading provider of talent acquisition technology, published the European Talent Experience Report 2023, which highlights the pain points of finding and applying to jobs, and how talent teams can modernise processes to attract and hire the best workers. 

The research was conducted by students at the French business school, HEC Junior Conseil. The students evaluated various criteria across the job search and application process at nearly 250 of Europe’s largest companies across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, finance, retail and more. 

The results confirm that many organisations have room to improve: 

  • More than half of companies (nearly 60%) fail to follow up with candidates after they apply. 
  • Only 9% of companies include the salary in a job posting. 
  • It takes candidates an average of ~8 clicks to find open jobs on a corporate site. 
  • Only 3% of the career sites have a chatbot for 24/7 support.
  • Less than half of career sites offer the ability to “one-click apply.” 

“Candidates interact with modern tech in their everyday lives, and they are used to intuitive systems and processes that just work,” said Darren Crowder, head of field innovation, EMEA, iCIMS. “Leaders can use this research to understand how they can improve the experience talent has with their employer brand and better capture top talent. At the end of the day, bad experiences impact your organisation’s bottom line.” 

From finding a job to following up post-interview, job seekers expect a seamless and personalised experience. Here’s how employers can meet those expectations:  

  • Provide transparency in job postings. Candidates want to know potential pay before investing time in applying and potentially interviewing. In fact, nearly 50% of final-year university students in the UK and more than 40% in France claim they wouldn’t apply for a role without the salary range. Despite this, a mere 9% of corporations in this study included salary information in job postings. And, only 21% included workplace expectations (remote, hybrid or in the office).  
  • Offer a window into company culture. A simple video of real employees is exactly what candidates want to see to determine whether a companies’ culture is a fit for them. Yet, only 4% of job postings on career sites include video content. Utilising video in job postings – free of production teams and high budget – can put employers miles ahead of the competition in engaging top talent and increase organic traffic to their career site by up to 75%. 
  • Reduce time to apply. Candidates are experiencing a lengthy, frustrating process, taking an average of ~8 clicks just to find an open job on a corporate site – up from ~5 clicks in 2021. Virtual chatbots offer 24/7 support and can help identify relevant roles, yet only 3% of companies have one, leaving candidates with laborious steps to find and apply for open roles.  
  • Engage at scale with personalised communications. What happens post-application says a lot about a company. Yet, more than half of companies fail to follow up with personalised feedback after candidates apply. To make automated communications more meaningful, companies can leverage marketing automation technology to nurture and engage candidates at scale throughout the talent journey.  

“It’s easy to assume that new technologies like automation and AI are the antithesis to human connection. But I believe they can be the opposite,” said Eric Gellé, SVP of EMEA, iCIMS. “Effective TA tech can streamline laborious recruiting processes and make systems simpler for candidates, humanising the talent journey. Utilising tech of the future is the only way to stay ahead of your competitors and make the job search less painful for candidates, and recruiters.” 

Download the iCIMS European Talent Experience Report 2023 now to explore trends and experiences from Europe’s largest brands, and success stories from Specsavers and Uber on creating exceptional talent experiences. Discover job seeker and employee expectations in the U.S., as well as more transformational customer stories here. 

Employee Experience, HR, HR News, L & D, News

Over half of global workforce don’t believe they have sufficient digital skills to perform their work

  • 80% of employees expect their job to become more digitally focused in the next two years
  • 46% believe digital skills will be one of the top skills to focus on in the future
  • Yet, up to 53% of employees believe they are currently lacking digital skills to sufficiently perform their work
  • Concerns rise as 58% of workers say not having the right skills affects their team and collaboration in a negative way

More than half of employees lack digital skills despite roles becoming more digitally focused, according to Europe’s fastest-growing digital learning provider, GoodHabitz. It conducted a survey of 24,235 employees across the UK, Europe, Latin America and Australia asking what role personal development played in their lives and what organisations need to do to fulfil their needs at work. It highlighted a major shift towards digital roles, with 80% of employees expecting this to happen in the next two years.

The survey found that 46% of workers believe that digital skills will be one of the top skills to focus on towards the future. As 61% feel the need to reskill themselves to stay successful in the future, this highlights the challenge for organisations to provide L&D opportunities.

Mark Thompson, UK Manager of GoodHabitz, said:

“There is enormous demand to improve digital skills, especially as more than half of the global workforce (54%) is working fully or partially remotely. It’s somewhat surprising then, that up to 53% of employees believe they lack digital skills to sufficiently perform their work.

“Many employees are acutely aware that they want to be prepared for the future and they need their employers’ support. Having a workforce that is fit for the future requires more than giving them access to the skills they believe are important for work. It’s equally important to invest in the skills that they are intrinsically motivated to learn.”

Indeed, skills development does not have a one-size-fits-all approach, and GoodHabitz research showed that employees from different generations want to focus on different sets of skills. For instance, while 33% of respondents aged 35-49 and 36% of those aged 50+ wanted to focus on digital skills in the coming years, 33% of younger workers are more focused on management and leadership skills.

“Without the right tools to succeed, the gap between current and future skills will continue to grow. But what if an employer doesn’t respond to the need for these skills? Here it’s clear too – 58% of the employees say that not having the right skills affects their team and collaboration in a negative way,” concluded Thompson.

The GoodHabitz ‘Bridge the Skills’ report is available to download here.

 

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About GoodHabitz

GoodHabitz, founded in 2011 in the Netherlands, is a global provider of E-Learning solutions. By offering engaging and fun online courses, from soft skills to digital skills and languages, GoodHabitz contributes to the personal development of every employee. Various engaging learning formats make sure that the content is accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Coaches help to establish learning cultures in the organisation and all that for one fixed price. Currently, more than 2,500 companies, like Puma, Sony and Philips, upgrade their workforce with GoodHabitz. More than 500 employees are working for GoodHabitz in offices all over Europe. Please visit the website www.goodhabitz.com for more information.

GoodHabitz is featured in Training Industry’s 2022 Online Learning Library Companies Watch List.

Business Advice, Employee Experience, News

How You Can Be A Better Boss And Improve Employee Experience

Every business owner knows how important it is for their employees to feel engaged and inspired. It can be tough during periods when things are as tough as they are right now, when you know that the people who you work with are facing a lot of worries outside of the workplace, which are inevitably going to trickle through. Costs keep creeping up everywhere you look, as energy bills, food prices and petrol prices continue to increase. You want them to know that they are valued, and you want to make things as easy for them as possible once they clock on.

 

It is also a fact that every business owner is looking for ways that they can ensure that their business continues running smoothly over the next several months. The current cost of living crisis is a huge cause for concern, as customers and clients will be thinking more carefully than ever about how they are spending their money and where they are going to be spending it. This means that it is more important than ever that you are finding the best ways to motive your staff, to give them the support they need, and to improve your own management skills. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

 

Consider Where The Workplace Is

It seems like a long time ago now that debate was raging about whether working from home was going to be a sustainable option. Now, most companies have committed to one of three options. The first is bringing everyone back to the office full-time and putting the emphasis on the idea that the best way to work is to have everyone in one place. The second is to work from home and embrace the flexibility that brings. The third is hybrid working, which seems to be most popular and offers workers the option. If you have yet to commit to one style of working, make this a priority. Ask your team which solution would suit them best and make it clear that they have a real say in your final decision. And remember, having a little certainty is so important in these uncertain times.

 

Think About What The Workplace Feels Like

If you are operating out of an office or central workplace, then it is important to think about what that space is like to work in. One of the most important things for mood and productivity, for example, is natural light. But you also need to think about whether the office space that you have set up is conducive to good communication. Are there places that your team can go to bounce ideas around? Is there room enough that they can take a break and walk around? Try to take a step back and really think about what it is like for your employees to work where they do. And if your team is working from home, think about passing on some tips for creating a good working environment. Talk to them about the importance of having a proper home office set up instead of working at the kitchen table. Encourage them to take regular breaks, and to share any helpful steps that they have learned.

 

Help Them To Stay Engaged During Meetings

One of the hardest parts about working remotely or having some employees who are working from home is making sure that everyone is on the same page at any given time. This is particularly important if you are giving a seminar on a new piece of technology you are using for example or breaking down your goals and targets for the next month. With the market as unsteady as it has been recently, you need to know that you are not going to lose any time because there has been a misunderstanding in an important briefing, or that someone has tuned out and stopped paying attention. When you are all in the same room, it can be a little easier to gauge if people are following or getting left behind. This is where live polling can come in handy. With live audience polling, you can ask your employees if everyone understands a certain point or keep them engaged by asking a question and getting instant feedback. This platform from Vevox offers a range of live polling types for instant feedback and engagement, and you can create polls in seconds.

 

Show Them That Health Matters

We have all learned a lot about how mental health issues affect everyone in recent months. There have been endless stories about burnout and other stress and anxiety-related issues that have forced everyone to take a good long look at themselves and the environment that they create. If you want to be a better boss and if you want your team to feel happy and motivated, then mental health must be a priority. Stress the importance of mental health days and make sure that people feel comfortable taking them. Think about how you can make people feel more confident coming forward with mental health-related issues. You should also think about how you could include mental health support in your benefits packages. There are a lot of ways that you can show your team that their health matters and they will reward you for it.

 

Provide Opportunities For Employee Growth

One of the biggest stories of the last couple of years (and there have certainly been a lot of those) was the Great Resignation. Employees across a wide range of different sectors were leaving their jobs, and there were a lot of different reasons given for why this was happening. One of the most persuasive was that people were realising that there was nowhere for them to go in their current roles and that recent events had forced them to ask whether they were really happy or if they wanted to pursue new horizons somewhere else. Now, experts are warning that it may come back. If you are thinking about expanding into new areas or prioritising different services, think carefully about whether you could train your employees to take on that role instead. Encourage your team members to shadow people further up the chain than them and offer to pay for new skills training. These are the kind of things which make people feel like they are helping to build something.

 

Improve Your Communication

Communication is one of the main cornerstones of any successful company, and when it is not working properly, you are going to run into trouble very quickly. If you have noticed that things are getting missed, or if it is taking too long for issues to be brought to the right person, then you need to have a careful look at the communication structures in your business. Streamlining is important but be sure to talk to your department heads before you make any big changes to avoid leaving anyone important out. Think about how you can give more responsibility to your individual team members without overloading them with pressure. You should also think about how often you are having meetings. If you find that you are unable to get through a single day without at least one meeting, think about the effect that this is having on your employees’ productivity.

Employee Experience, News

The majority of employees wish their workspace was quieter, survey reveals

  • IRIS Clarity poll finds that the majority of workers don’t like noise in the office, with respondents wearing headphones to avoid it
  • Over a fifth of work calls are interrupted multiple times each call due to background noise

London, UK; Monday 11 July: The majority of employees wish their working space is quieter than it is now. That’s according to a poll by IRIS Clarity, the AI-powered voice isolation app, which surveyed UK and US respondents on their attitudes towards office noise.

Seventy-one percent of respondents wish their working space was quieter than it is now. This is more prevalent in the UK (79%) compared to in the US (63%).

The poll found that the majority of respondents don’t like noise in the office (54%) and actively wear headphones to avoid it, compared to 46% who feel like some office buzz and noise fuel their creativity. Interestingly, male respondents were more likely to thrive on office noise (53%), whereas female respondents prefer quieter offices (58%). When comparing the results between ages 18-34 and 35+, those in the younger age bracket prefer atmospheric offices (57%). Those 35 and above don’t like office noise (63%).

When asked how frequently background noise interrupts their calls throughout the day, the majority of respondents said they were disrupted at least once a day on calls they conduct (89% at home and 91% at work). Additionally, those surveyed said they are more likely to be distracted in the office (54%) compared to at home (46%).

Jacobi Anstruther, founder and CEO of IRIS Clarity, commented: “Whether you love or hate office buzz, it shouldn’t be disrupting crucial conversations on work calls. Distracting noise reduces concentration and productivity, while also causing workplace stress. At IRIS, we ensure the focus remains on what’s important: your words.”

Using the latest in AI technology, IRIS Clarity’s software removes distracting background noise from VoIP and customer calls. Real-time and bi-directional, IRIS Clarity allows participants on both sides of a call to immediately enjoy clearer sound, no matter where they are. IRIS Clarity improves focus, engagement, and wellbeing, bringing control to otherwise uncontrollable environments.

To learn more about IRIS Clarity, visit the website here: https://iris.audio/clarity-enterprise.

Customer Experience, Employee Experience, HR Tech, News

Industry first automation partnership aims to digitally transform organisations and enhance employee and customer experiences

Digital Workforce and TrustPortal have teamed up to provide the fastest, easiest and most accessible way for organisations to deliver transformed digital experiences for their clients and employees with cutting-edge technologies. The partnership combines two industry-firsts: Digital Workforce’s open, ready-to-run, cloud-based services and Intelligent Automation solutions, with TrustPortal’s proven HyperAutomation capabilities. Together, both companies will provide digital experience transformation© as a service to UK, EMEA and US-based organisations – of any size, in any sector.

Leon Stafford, UK Country manager at Digital Workforce Service Plc said:

“This new partnership will allow us to offer new and exciting Intelligent Automation and HyperAutomation solutions to a range of organisations, which in turn will allow them to provide enhanced services to their customers. Having worked previously in the contact centre industry I am aware that our joint capabilities offers significant benefits in improving CSAT, reducing call lengths and improving the agent experience.

The combination of Digital Workforce and TrustPortal’s platforms provides next generation technology which will deliver greatly enhanced employee and customer experiences as a competitive advantage. With contact centre resources at a premium, we can empower fewer agents, to deliver more value with greater autonomy. We see a future of agents and customers working alongside their digital counterparts, each playing to their strengths.”

Faye Bonsing, Account Director at TrustPortal said:

“To achieve digital experience transformation means designing and delivering the frictionless, personalised and valuable digital service interactions that both employees and customers deserve. With digital experience transformation, hyper-productive employees, provide high-quality, services completed 50% faster – while customers receive valuable, multi-channel experiences. Add lower operational costs and everyone gains.

To realise these opportunities, we’re looking forward to working with Digital Workforce and jointly delivering HyperAutomation-fuelled  digital experience transformation programs – so organisations swiftly gain huge value.”

The  digital experience transformation enablement catalyst is TrustPortal’s advanced ‘out of the box’ HyperAutomation platform: a uniquely agile digital transformation layer operating on top of any legacy IT estate. The platform intelligently orchestrates and augments people, software robots, AI and digital technologies to co-work as unified super resources in real-time. Together, they digitally transform entire end-to-end processes at speed – enabling hugely augmented, simplified, and enhanced employee and customer interactions: at scale, from the front-to back-office – across any channel.

Crucially, with TrustPortal and Digital Workforce’s cloud-based approach, digital experience transformation can be achieved with unmatched ease, speed and security, regardless of legacy IT and digital constraints – with hugely accelerated go to market times. ROI can be generated in months – not years: and at 10% of the cost of traditional digitisation and automation approaches.

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About Digital Workforce Services Plc

Digital Workforce Services Plc is the leading business automation platform and service provider globally. Digital Workforce Outsmart platform allows organisations to accelerate digitalization, increase revenue, improve customer experience and gain competitive advantage. Globally, over 200 large customers use Digital Workforce’s platform and services to transform their businesses with automation. Founded in 2015, Digital Workforce currently employs over 200 business automation specialists in the US, the UK, Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Digital Workforce is publicly listed in Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland.

https://digitalworkforce.com

About TrustPortal

TrustPortal is a UK HyperAutomation pioneer delivering digital experience transformation© for employees and customers across the globe. The catalyst is TrustPortal’s highly advanced enterprise HyperAutomation platform: the first to intelligently augment and orchestrate people, multi-vendor robots, digital and AI in real-time: to deliver better work, smarter across the back to front-office and beyond – with unmatched ease, speed, scale and security.

Since 2017, TrustPortal’s patented technological capabilities have been consistently proved and evolved by playing a central role in mission-critical digital work transformation initiatives across the world’s biggest and brightest organisations including Telefonica, MetLife, IBM and EDF. Supporting TrustPortal is a growing open ecosystem of technology vendors including Blue Prism, UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Salesforce, ServiceNow, MS Dynamics, IBM and best of breed global resellers. https://www.trustportal.org