We all know the world of work is changing. There is so much noise about what jobs will be taken by Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and the future of work.

Globalisation and Technology have been spruiked as major game changes in the talent space for a while now and I still believe these factors to be totally relevant.

With Covid-19 this now has become very real for many organisations and it comes with some pros and some cons.

We here at Optimum have embraced this way of working for a few years – we operate in a virtual workplace. We have a team on the ground at our Head Office but 45% of our workforce are based elsewhere and staff are encouraged to “plug in” from anywhere to get the job done although we talk daily, connect through VC, one question remains:

How do we know we are connecting virtual employees to our business?

There are numerous answers and exhaustive amounts of research to this question, but I reckon it boils down to 3.

Yes only 3 real key points:

  1. Performance
  2. Engagement Measures
  3. Communication

Let me break my thinking down a little further for you:

Performance

If people are performing effectively in their role then it can be concluded that they actually know what they are looking to achieve – the goals are clear and they are in the right jobs.

Engagement Measures

The good old engagement survey has been around for decades – we have our own tool (Employee Life and My Employee Life) – now more than ever it is time to ask a few questions to employees to check in on their mental health, their tech and inclusion to pick up who needs support.

Communication

Everyone wants to know what is happening – so tell them as much and as often as you can and include everyone – especially in uncertain times.

Why is it important?

Well I love a good statistic to back things up and here are a couple:

“Companies in which 60 percent (or more) of the workforce is engaged have average five year total returns to shareholders (TSR) of more than 20 percent. That compares to companies where only 40 to 60 percent of the employees are engaged, which have an average TSR of about six percent.”

“Highly engaged employees achieve 12 percent more of their goals than employees with low engagement. Twelve percent of an employee salary of $35,000 equates to $4,200.

When considering the impact on an organization with 10,000 employees, the value of engagement can yield a major impact of $42 million.”

(Baumruk et al. 2006: 24)

So, now you have a virtual workforce, I hope you find these 3 simple but effective aspects useful to connect people to your business.

If you need any more insights or want to talk through Performance Framework or Engagement / Retention then we are always open to a conversation to share some ideas.

STEPHEN CUSHION
General Manager – Consulting

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