{"id":920,"date":"2024-04-04T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mo.work\/uncategorized\/opinion-employee-engagement-matters-more-than-ever\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T13:52:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T13:52:40","slug":"time-to-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mo.work\/insights\/time-to-thrive\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Employee Engagement Matters More Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my time as the founder of a leading employee engagement platform, I\u2019ve noticed a significant shift in the world of work. I have seen it in the labour market, our working patterns, changes in technology, and the rise of remote working. All of these factors have fundamentally changed employee behaviours \u2013 and means that employee engagement matters more than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact? Employee attitudes to work are different. The \u201chow, when and where\u201d of working will never be the same. It\u2019s time for employers to wake up to the shift \u2013 before they lose their best people.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Power Shift for Employee Engagement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the last decade, the power balance has been shifting in favour of the employee. Employees care about their work situation in ways never before seen. Identity plays a huge factor \u2013 as does flexibility. Today\u2019s highly skilled workers want their jobs to work for them. And they\u2019re willing to shop around until they find a company that accommodates their desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a workforce willing to job-hop. Security, despite the cost of living, is often secondary to fulfilment. Employees want to feel valued. And at the same time, they want to be part of a work culture that aligns with their values. The employee\/employer relationship is shifting towards something more reciprocal \u2013 moving beyond an exchange of compensation for labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change Has Been Rapid for Employee Engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The pace of the change has been fast-tracked because of the impact of the pandemic. We saw this in the rise of phenomena like \u201cThe Great Resignation\u201d. But even as these extremes settle down, the imprint remains: employees want more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As employees hold more power, we can see the impact across recruitment, engagement, retention and productivity. McKinsey summed up the choice employers face as \u201cGreat Attrition or Great Attraction<\/a>\u201c. Put simply, companies must appease their workers or they will face challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Change Can Be Positive for Employee Engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t see this shift as detrimental. There is a lot of research<\/a> that suggests a positive company culture based on values of recognition, connection and belonging is more effective at improving engagement. If businesses want to shift the needle, especially amongst Gen Z workers, they should implement people-centric policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If top talent is willing to shop around for the best company culture, a big salary is no longer enough to ensure skill and productivity. That\u2019s why recognition and engagement should be receiving maximum investment. The future of work is built around people first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engagement is Bottom-up, Not Top-down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For my company Mo, the solution has always been obvious: to help teams and businesses thrive, we must start with the employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution to low employee engagement starts with understanding employee desires. I have learned that the best solution is employee-centred; not top-down but bottom-up. Only by understanding the motivations and behaviours of people at work can we create the best possible experience that enables and inspires everyone to achieve excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great Work Relies on Teamwork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration is a fundamental part of work today. Most of the workforce operates in teams that are fluid and often subject to sudden changes. Our productivity is largely hinged on those collaborations. Modern businesses understand that high performance is dependent on the effectiveness of teamwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration tools have seen enormous investment. Transformation projects and the popularisation of agile working practices have sparked an explosion of tools and technologies like Zoom, Slack and Teams to improve productivity. But these functional improvements forget one thing: human beings have feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When structures are in flux \u2013 such as in a start-up or across a global organisation \u2013 these \u201ccommunication\u201d technologies serve little function to alleviate alienation, invisible work and a lack of team cohesion. For businesses to win, their teams be empowered to thrive in all circumstances. That\u2019s where employee engagement software makes a real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers Must Take Employee Connection Seriously<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned in the introduction, our need to feel part of something bigger is more important than ever. Employees want to feel connected to their colleagues. With the rise of remote work, this is now a significant challenge for HR and People teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing work structures means that face-to-face interactions are becoming fewer \u2013 and employees are getting less feedback as a result. It\u2019s hard to foster relationships across distance unless your company culture is designed to facilitate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social connection is extremely powerful. I have seen our customers prove that people are far more likely to achieve great things when they work well together. Connection creates opportunities for teams to thrive. Here are three examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n