{"id":328,"date":"2021-05-25T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T22:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/en-au\/?p=328"},"modified":"2025-04-03T14:55:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T03:55:42","slug":"inspiring-engagement-a-data-driven-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/en-au\/our-work\/blog\/inspiring-engagement-a-data-driven-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring engagement: a data-driven report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Employees are motivated to work harder when they find meaning in their work. To create positive experiences for your customers, you must first create meaningful ones for your employees. Employees should experience these as part of the First Day experience and each day thereafter. Here’s how.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

At BI WORLDWIDE, we study employees. In other words, we study people. What motivates them. What engages them. What earns their trust and loyalty. What inspires them to give their best<\/em>. The result is a collection of data we call the New Rules of Engagement<\/em> study.

In reviewing this past year’s study \u2013 the source of much of what you’ll find here \u2013 we identified some clear themes. Unsurprisingly, some reflect new outgrowths of old truths because they are the core of a great work experience. People appreciate recognition and value meaningful work. They want to be heard. They want a path forward.

But others are clear shifts in what today’s workers value. Diversity, equity and inclusion have become central to both culture and business results. Work culture can impact your employees’ physical health. Engagement strategies are likely impacting your customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are also careful to study the complete employee experience. We think about how we can positively impact employees on all the moments that count. From Decision Day<\/strong>, when they first hear about the job, to their First Day,<\/strong> to the Every Day<\/strong> culture, to recognising them on Achievement Day <\/strong>and ensuring they become advocates on Referral Day<\/strong>. You’ll see these moments captured and mentioned throughout this report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One final note: It’s important to recognise this study was conducted during a period of stable work circumstances. There were no extenuating factors such as economic uncertainty or a global health crisis. We believe these topics are still relevant in this new world of work. The way we put solutions in place may differ, but the fundamental drivers of the work experience remain largely the same.

Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion comes down to recognising your team’s humanity. And your own.

The current state of diversity, equity and inclusion is simple: there is huge opportunity for growth.<\/strong>

Many findings affirm that we can do better. But just one might suffice: there are fewer Fortune 500 CEOs who are women (4.1%) than who are named David (4.5%) or John (5.3%). (NY Times)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case that weren’t enough, as of June 2020, only four Fortune 500 companies have African American CEOs. (CDC, Diversity Inc.) 40% of people think there’s a double-standard against hiring women \u2013 that both men and women are more likely to hire men over women. (Pew) Men are 30% more likely than women to be promoted from entry-level to manager. (Women in the Workplace) And resumes submitted by people with “African American-sounding names” are 14% less likely to get a call back than those with “white-sounding names”. (Research study by University of Wisconsin)

We not only need to be conscious of the current state of work but also the current state of ourselves. We now see the limitations of our statements, thoughts and actions of ten years ago. We will say things today \u2013 including in this report \u2013 which we will see differently in 10 years. Growth means accepting this, remaining open-minded and doing our best.

A growing body of evidence suggests the pursuit of a workplace that is more inclusive, equitable and fair is definitely worth it. We see positive impacts on the Every Day<\/strong> experience of employees as well as on the business results.

Included employees are 17 times more likely to say working brings out their best ideas. (BI WORLDWIDE)

Organisations with the highest ethnic diversity are 35% more likely than the lowest to have above typical financial performance. (McKinsey)

Diverse companies have 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee over a three-year period. (Bersin by Deloitte)

Included employees are 6 times more likely to work as hard as they can. (BI WORLDWIDE)

For every 1% rise in the rate of gender diversity, there is a 3-9% rise in sales. (The Financial Times)

True diversity is hard to achieve. Of course, diversity in hiring is a starting point. Decision Day<\/strong> considerations should include how to attract people of diverse backgrounds to your organisation. A group of people from different backgrounds, genders, religions, socio-economic statuses, educations and ways of thinking are going to create more new and different ideas than a group of people that is homogeneous.

But true diversity also means allowing people to bring their whole selves to work. If we hire people who are unlike us and then demand that they be like us, to fit the mould of the company or culture or team we’re building, we do not truly have diversity. We have conformity with some cosmetic differences. And true diversity is better for business.

We can achieve true diversity by creating equitable and inclusive work environments. We recently asked employees to complete the sentence, “I would have more opportunity at my organisation if I were\u2026” and listed characteristics such as a different gender, race or ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and whether or not they have children. If an employee said “yes” to any one of these, we coded them as feeling inequity at work.

Those who felt inequity were 4 times more likely to wish they were working someplace else and 37% of them plan to leave their organisations in the next 12 months. They also were 7 times more likely to be harassed at work (any type of harassment, not just sexual harassment) and 4 times more likely to report that harassment. Clearly, there are costs associated with inequity in the form of both turnover and risk management.

Behavioural economics is working against us.
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It may seem hard to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, and it is. But addressing these innate biases head-on will help tremendously.

Unconscious bias<\/strong>. We unconsciously use mental shortcuts. Being aware of these shortcuts, and checking our decision-making to be sure we are being fair, can counteract this problem.

Similarity preference<\/strong>. We naturally prefer people like us. It takes intentional effort to seek out and build relationships with people who are different from us.

Confirmation bias<\/strong>. We seek to reinforce what we already believe. This makes us less open-minded to new, innovative ideas.

Conformity<\/strong>. It is hard to go against the group. We should respect people who speak up and ensure their ideas get a fair hearing \u2013 even if we don’t always adopt them.

On the flip side, those employees who feel included are 15 times more likely to find work inspiring than those who do not feel included. This inspiration can lead to greater productivity and innovation. 77% of them would recommend their organisations as great places to work. (See page 17, about the power of referrals.)

True equity and inclusion need to be ingrained in your culture. That takes time. Ask yourself: Would your employees affirm the statements below? And can you answer yes to them as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once this culture is built, we need to protect it. Creating a strong speak-up culture, sometimes called psychological safety, will help people feel included at work while reinforcing a culture of inclusion. To learn more about creating a speak-up culture, see Appendix B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of a healthy work culture? They may be greater than you think.
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Do workplace culture and engagement help contribute to improved employee health? We’re convinced of it. The Every Day experience at work is increasingly linked to our everyday personal lives and wellbeing. But let’s start with the vast impact small changes to employee health could have on your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a strong link between having a healthy workplace culture and employee health. What if you expanded your wellness programs to include employee engagement practices?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider burnout \u2013 an extreme form of disengagement. Contrary to what you might expect, burnt out employees are not putting in significantly more time than their less burned out peers. They put in an average of 42.7 hours a week, a single hour more than non-burned out employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Feeling burnt out is like being on a spinning wheel but going nowhere. It’s not caused by pedalling too hard \u2014 it’s caused by not getting anywhere when you do.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The good news: it’s surprisingly easy to gain some traction. In a healthy workplace culture, people feel like their job matters and see how it connects to larger organisational goals. They also believe their company is socially responsible and value its mission. Not only will they be happier, but they are also twice as likely to recommend their organisation as a great place to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees who report being in a healthy workplace are also at least twice as likely to feel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n