A great workplace is one that is great not just for some groups of employees, but for all – regardless of who they are or what they do. Best Workplaces™ distinguish themselves from ‘good’ (or even ‘very good’) workplaces by creating a consistently positive workplace experience across all their employees, whatever their age, gender, race, job role or function, managerial level, etc. This is what creating a For All™ experience means.
In our first blog in this series featuring the Best Workplaces™ in Singapore 2023, we shared that our data analysis revealed that an improvement in a company’s Trust Index™ score from 2022 to 2023 correlated highly with an improvement in employees’ experience in the areas of Collaboration and Communication. The converse was also true, implying that Collaboration and Communication are key characteristics exemplified by management teams that contribute to a high-trust workplace.
In this blog, we take a deeper look at workplace experiences around Collaboration and Communication, through the lens of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) by managerial level, gender and age, to understand differences in employee experience among workplaces in Singapore.
(Note: Our analysis takes into account all the companies that participated in this year’s survey, including non-Best Workplaces.)
Collaboration refers to management’s willingness to engage employees in collective efforts. This includes seeking and responding to feedback and suggestions, and involving employees in decisions that impact them.
Communication measures the extent to which communication between management and employees is effective in inviting two-way dialogue. This includes being approachable, being clear about their expectations, keeping employees informed about important issues and changes, and giving straight answers to questions asked.
By Managerial Level
Data showed that across the four managerial levels* surveyed, individual contributors and frontline managers had relatively lower scores compared with more senior levels.
(*The four levels comprise Individual Contributors, Frontline Managers/Supervisors, Mid-Level Managers and C-Level/Executive Leaders.)
In workplaces in Singapore, experiences of most executives are not aligned with the ground. There tends to be a big gap in their experiences — with senior executives having the most positive experience, while those in the junior ranks (individual contributors and frontline managers) having the least positive experience. Senior executives in the organization believe that they are doing a great job engaging with and listening to employees. This is an experience that is not necessarily shared by individual contributors and frontline managers.
This indicates that communication and engagement efforts tend to get diluted as they flow down the organizational hierarchy, and underscores the importance of bridging the gap between executive leadership and lower levels. There is a clear perception gap between what senior executives and their staff consider as effective and engaging.
Additionally, data showed that mid-level managers tend to have a more positive perception (albeit to a lesser extent than executives) suggesting that middle management might play a crucial role in facilitating communication and engagement efforts between employees and top management.
Organizations can adopt a two-prong approach to their communication and engagement efforts. For example, rather than relying solely the senior leaders to share information (e.g. townhall sessions, All Hands meetings), they can equip mid-level managers to cascade the required information to ensure clarity and to address questions and concerns, before they are expected to cascade the information and respond to their teams’ queries. Concurrently, they can vary their messaging (e.g. choice of language and approach to explaining the rationale) and leverage different (or a wider range of) platforms to suit the different levels of staff. It also highlights the need to actively involve mid-level managers in employee engagement efforts, such as seeking feedback and input, and responding to questions asked.
To develop capability among the mid-level managers, organizations can also incorporate training modules around active listening and seeking feedback as part of people management skills. Some organizations also evaluate the mid-level management’s effectiveness in listening and seeking feedback as part of a bottom-up or 360° evaluation to develop their people manager capability.
By Gender
Across all six statements in the Collaboration and Communication focus areas, females had consistently less positive experiences than their male colleagues. In particular, the biggest gaps between females and males were around finding management approachable and easy to talk with, and getting straight answers to questions asked.
We found that large companies (≥1,000 employees) tended to have a smaller delta between females and males (<3% gap) across the six statements, compared with other companies (up to 6% gap). Based on observations from Culture Audit submissions and our engagements with clients over the years, this may be attributed to the larger companies’ being more intentional with introducing DEIB programs and practices with a strong focus on gender. These include efforts to monitor gender equity metrics at the highest levels, right across the employee life cycle (e.g. hiring, development opportunities, promotions, attrition, etc.) and take active steps when gaps are identified, structured programs to develop and groom the female leadership pipeline, and proactive efforts to facilitate re-entry into the workplace for those who have stopped work for a while (such as for caregiving responsibilities).
At a broader level, the gender-based variance in experience around Collaboration and Communication is more likely to be driven by factors such as having a larger gender concentration in particular job roles or functions and/or by managerial level.
By Age
From the age lens, there was no significant difference in terms of employee experiences around Collaboration and Communication in Singapore workplaces. About 4 in 5 employees have a positive experience in both Collaboration and Communication across the different age bands.
Our hypothesis is that among most workplaces in Singapore, existing approaches to communication and engagement are comprehensive/varied enough to address the needs across different workforce generations. It could also be that the similarities in expectations and preferences around Collaboration and Communication outweigh any differences across the age bands.
The Way Forward
Our first blog highlighted that the overall improvement or decline in a company’s Trust Index was correlated highly with an increase in employees’ experience in the areas of Collaboration and Communication, which are key factors exemplified by management teams.
Taking a deeper dive into the data by employee demographics, we found that the gaps in overall experience by Age and Gender were not huge – with up to 3% variance in Collaboration and up to 4% difference in Communication. The variance was wider by Managerial Level, with a 12% gap between executives and individual contributors in collaboration, and an 11% gap between executives and frontline managers/supervisors in Communication.
What does this data mean for organizations? What do these gaps mean? We champion a FOR ALL
workplace culture because our research on company culture shows that when employees trust that they, and their colleagues, will be treated fairly regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or age, they are:
- 9.8 times more likely to look forward to going to work
- 6.3 times more likely to have pride in their work
- 5.4 times more likely to want to stay a long time at their company
The goal of the For All approach therefore is to create a consistently high-trust workplace experience for everyone, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization. It’s being able to create spaces that celebrate diverse backgrounds and inclusive cultures. While trust fuels business performance at great workplaces, For All accelerates it. And for organizations to thrive in the future of work, For All is a business imperative.
Want to find out how your organization is faring around Collaboration and Communication? Visit us at https://greatplacetowork.com.sg/employee-survey/ to find out more.
To learn how the companies on this year’s Best Workplaces in Singapore List create positive experiences in Collaboration and Communication for all their employees, check out It’s a Matter of Trust: Navigating Uncertainty Through the Power of Leadership.
