By: Michele Egan
What shifts have you seen in employee engagement needs since the pandemic began? For Momentum uncovered three key trends in compiling Social Impact Stats 2021, For Momentum’s annual compendium, which includes our original research plus data from over 80 respected industry reports. At a high level, employees who have moved offsite either part or all of the time still want their companies to provide volunteer opportunities. Companies also want volunteer opportunities to continue with hybrid work because they’ve proved to promote productivity, job satisfaction and team connectivity.
Companies are engaging employees in human-centric ways
Today’s employees want flexibility and balance, but they aren’t just thinking of themselves. They want their employers to do something in their communities and in the world that improves the quality of life for others, too.
- Greater flexibility, more inclusion and a stronger focus on employee well-being and work-life balance are now critical perks for employees.
- 88% of employees believe it’s no longer acceptable for companies to just make money; companies must positively impact society as well.
- Two new items have soared to the top as drivers of employee engagement: a sense of belonging and a sense of pride in the company’s efforts to have a positive impact on the world.
Shared employer-employee values build staff loyalty
Employees are now more likely to stay with a company that does good and feels good. They want to see their own beliefs in social justice and environmental sustainability reflected by the brand they choose to put their time and effort into building.
- Employees want to work for businesses whose values align with their own. 41% of respondents said an employer’s ethics and values were important factors in their engagement.
- Over the past three years, the trends show that more than 50% of all employees are open to leaving their current company for new roles, but this drops to less than 12% if they believe that their company is making a positive impact in the world.
- 59% of young people say they strongly agree that the more socially and environmentally responsible their company becomes, the more motivated and loyal they become to their company.
You’ll find more data points on shared employer-employee values in Social Impact Stats 2021.
As stakeholders, employees are considered just as important as customers
Employees are the human personifications of a brand and its first-line ambassadors, whether they’re interacting directly with customers or simply talking to friends and family about how they feel about their work. Corporations have learned to take employees’ opinions and views just as seriously as their customers’ priorities.
- A similar percentage of companies now measure the business value of community investments through employee metrics (40%) as they do brand/customer metrics (38%).
- 75% of companies that offer both giving and volunteering opportunities have two times more engagement than companies only offering giving or only offering volunteering.
- Business units with high employee engagement achieve higher profitability, productivity, higher customer loyalty/engagement, better safety and lower turnover among other positive outcomes.
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