We are in the midst of an “employee engagement crisis.”
 
If you believe Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, that is. And why wouldn’t you? Is it a stretch to believe that the workforce isn’t engaged? That same report says only 33% of workers are enthusiastic and committed to their work…which means the majority of your workers…aren’t.
 
This is something we have been monitoring for the last two years. There are several reasons companies should be concerned about this crisis. A few we are seeing:
 
Communication channels. Consider this is the first time we have five active generations in the workplace. Limiting communication to select forms is limiting what your whole employee base is hearing from you.
 
The gig economy. Employees have more options today, period. And when one of them is becoming your own boss and being selective about the work, well, that’s tough to compete with.
 
Emerging generations. We already talked about the range of generations in the workplace today. But consider millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. (According to the Deloitte Millennial Workplace Survey, 2014.) Also consider that a Gallup poll shows 60% are open to leaving within three years – a turnover rate that costs the U.S. economy $30 billion a year. This is the number that has the C-suite’s attention…and is putting the pressure on communications professionals.
 
Location, location, location. Remote working. Part time employment. Job sharing. Gig economy. “Work” today isn’t actually done at work…it’s done anywhere. And when your office environment is literally and figuratively an open environment it’s hard to connect with employees, not to mention stay connected.
 
The good news is you can find out a lot about where you stand on facing and dealing with this crisis by answering one question: Who owns your company’s communications strategy?
 
This is a critical time for communicators because information and expectations are accelerating at rates we’ve never seen. Consider there are more job openings than this time last year (6.2M v. 5.6) – and consider that 60% of employers say those job openings stay vacant 12 weeks or longer. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2018.)
 
One way we are helping clients overcome this challenge is with the launch of akhia inside, a platform created to bridge employment gaps and overcome communication obstacles by placing our teams inside our clients’ facilities, going from being an extension of your team to actually being the team.
 
Whether it’s providing the counsel necessary to develop the communications strategy or the resources to execute the communications strategy – or both – we want to put ourselves in a position to drive our clients’ business and help solve a very real crisis.
 
If this is a crisis you are facing, we should talk. You’re not alone…and you don’t have to take on the challenge alone.