Groundbreaking new research from Great Place To Work® shows that experiences of employees around inclusivity, innovation, fairness and integrity drive exceptional business performance during uncertain economic times like a recession. Analysts indicated that Singapore may face the risk of a technical recession in 2023, with the export-driven economy set for a bumpy ride.
As economies open up post-pandemic and contend with complexities in the global economy – rising costs, disrupted supply chain and geopolitical tensions – the key for organisations to succeed is to maximize human potential. In his book “A Great Place to Work For All”, Michael C. Bush, Great Place To Work CEO spoke about the new frontier in business where developing every ounce of human potential is crucial. How can business leaders help their organizations not just survive but thrive as global economic conditions become less predictable?
The answer is in your company culture.
4.5m employees have spoken
Great Place To Work analyzed our employee workplace experience data set of more than 1,700 organizations representing roughly 5 million employees over the past 15 years — including the Great Recession of 2007–2009.
In the ASEAN region, in 2022, we surveyed close to 146,000 individuals representing 260,000 employees across seven countries in ASEAN, across a wide range of industries and company sizes, including both local enterprises and multinational companies. Many of these organizations are Great Pace to Work-Certified™ companies and Best Workplaces™ list winners.
What do employees value at their workplaces? Among our Certified community, these are consistent traits within the workplace: a positive, high-trust experience around inclusivity, innovation, fairness and integrity.
We also found that particular aspects of the work experience were vital for employees. They are: feeling treated as a full member of the organization, management following through on promises, and fair promotions and feeling welcome when joining new teams. Another critical experience is “Innovation By All” – a sense that everyone in the organization is invited to generate new and better ways of doing things.
Why Are Our Employees So Important?
Many serve customers directly, so they’re plugged into the reality of how the business is doing on a daily basis. They can also often be the first to suffer wage cuts, furloughs or layoffs, or have been disproportionately affected as “essential workers” during the pandemic. They are likely to be the first to feel the pain anytime the business is in trouble and when their experience is positive, the overall experience of all employees is likely to be positive.
Critical Employee Experiences for Surviving and Thriving during a recession
No matter your level, from frontline manager to CEO, you can help your business move from surviving to thriving by focusing on improving the employee experiences in these five areas:
1) Everyone is treated as a full member
When every employee feels that they are valued, you build trust, retain talent and increase engagement.
Thriving testimony:
Flatlining testimony:
How to take action:
Recognize the extraordinary work your people are doing in this crisis: working from home, transiting to a hybrid work arrangement, showing up for work despite the accumulated stress of the past 2+ years, being willing to pivot and adapt.
2) Practice Innovation By All
You need everyone in the organization looking for ways to improve productivity, reduce costs, or deliver superior value to the customer, especially during turbulent times.
Thriving testimony:
Flatlining testimony:
How to take action:
Ask employees for new ideas – whether those are ideas for cutting costs, improving customer service and retention or generating revenue in new ways.
3) Management delivers on promises
In uncertain times like these, we all need as much stability as possible. When you’re a predictable and steady leader, your employees can focus on their work and their lives and not on second-guessing or managing you.
Thriving testimony:
Flatlining testimony:
How to take action:
Level with your people. The old warning about not overpromising and underdelivering applies now more than ever. Be careful about the commitments you make and carry them out. Provide whatever hope you can while also trusting your team to manage complexity.
4) Promotions are fair
Fair promotions signal to employees that leaders make decisions based on performance and capability in an even-handed way. You’ll inspire everyone to give their all when they see that people like them can advance.
Thriving testimony:
Flatlining testimony:
How to take action:
Review your promotion and hiring process for any bias or inconsistency, and double down on transparency. Make your criteria for advancement crystal clear and celebrate promotions by explaining the qualities and achievements of those who earned a larger role.
5) New team members are welcomed warmly
Teams often are volatile in a recession. Their make-up and purpose can change rapidly as strategies and company structures pivot. Whether hiring new people or shifting existing employees onto new teams, the tone is set early. An inviting team climate cultivates engagement and best efforts. A cold greeting fosters indifference or worse.
Thriving testimony:
Flatlining testimony:
How to take action:
Many companies are onboarding employees and moving existing staffers to new teams remotely. Take the same (or more) care and intentionality around connecting people to each other and to the business as you would in person.
Start engaging your people right
No matter the health of your company’s culture entering a recession, the formula for success today is the same. It involves the five action items mentioned above. And it includes a crucial sixth one: Listen continuously to your people.
Organizations must track the experience of their employee groups, as part of a wider strategy to monitor their culture. The organizations that provide the most inclusive, high-trust culture for all their people are the ones most likely to avoid flatlining during this downturn and beyond. They are the ones most likely to soar.
Help your company soar through the current economic climate
>Stay informed and respond to the rapidly moving needs of your employees with a high-trust workplace culture.
>Understand and close the experience gaps between employee groups with a culture management tool.
>Explore company culture advice to help you create an inclusive workplace.
