What retail employees want

Transcription

1 What retail employees want Insights for driving engagement and retention A Culture Amp ebook

2 Introduction Every year we see our customers become more and more sophisticated, intentional and successful in the way they hire, inspire and develop people. Driven by people feedback from employees, and reliable analytics, people operations experts are taking action to improve people s experiences at work, increase employee engagement and help people be more effective. In this report, we explore what we ve learned about people who work in retail organizations. We also draw on the experiences of our customers to offer ideas you can use to improve your workplace. Jason McPherson Chief Scientist Culture Amp Buddhi Jayatilleke Lead Data Scientist Culture Amp What retail employees want 02

3 Contents Why does employee engagement matter?...04 What do retail employees want?...06 What keeps retail employees engaged?...07 What keeps retail employees from leaving?...08 Learning and development...09 Leadership...10 Reward and flexibility...11 Impact and enablement reports every HR executive needs...13 Footnotes...19 What retail employees want 03

4 Why does employee engagement matter? While the times of employee engagement being viewed as just a warm and fuzzy nice-to-have are hopefully behind us, there s still some confusion as to what the ROI of engagement is, and whether that s an appropriate lens to apply. Whether you re motivated by employee wellbeing, company bottom line, or both, there are compelling reasons to focus on employee engagement. When we take a look at our data for retail organizations, it s clear organizations with higher employee engagement have higher Glassdoor scores. There is significant research across all industries on how increasing employee engagement can impact business success in many areas. Glassdoor scores Glassdoor employer review scores provide a rating out of five, and Culture Amp engagement scores provide a rating out of 100. As you can see below, there is high correlation between the scores. minimum maximum average median glassdoor culture amp Engaged organizations: 1 3x grow profits up to 3x faster than their competitors can reduce staff turnover by 87% can improve performance by 20% Employees who work for engaging organizations exhibit: 2 positive perceptions of the deal they get from their employer lower levels of stress a better work life balance What retail employees want 04

5 Attracting & retaining talent Share earnings Employees from companies with engagement scores in the top 10% are 80% more likely to recommend the company as a great place to work. 3 An engaged employee is 87% more likely to stay with an organization % Companies with highly engaged workforces outperform their less-engaged peers by 147% in earnings per share. 5 Cost USD$450 $550 billion Estimated annual cost (USD) of actively disengaged employees in the USA. 6 Replacing one employee is estimated by some experts to cost as much as their annual salary. 7 Absenteeism In workplaces with low engagement, 51% more inventory shrinkage occurs. +51% shrinkage Average number of sick days taken by employees engaged 6.2 disengaged Health Does your work life negatively impact upon your physical health? 9 YES 12% of engaged employees say yes. YES 54% of actively disengaged employees say yes. What retail employees want 05

6 What do retail employees want? What people say they want, what makes them more engaged at work, and what makes them want to stay, are often three different things. To untangle these signals, we incorporate questions in our engagement surveys to identify what factors (for example reward, learning and development and leadership) drive engagement (motivation, commitment, future commitment, pride and recommendation). By asking sets of questions related to factors, as well as five key engagement questions, we can make sense of how each factor impacts each element of engagement. Importantly, we can compare the factors that influence overall engagement, and those which influence commitment. Although they re similar, you ll see in the following pages that a factor that doesn t impact engagement can play a part in peoples decision to stay or leave, and vice versa. Using our data we can also compare the responses of people who work in the retail industry to people who work in other industries. The overall engagement scores are hardly different - but when we dig deeper further along in this report, you ll see there are gaps in specific factors where retail performs better than other industries, and vice versa. Engagement score There are a few different ways that Engagement and other survey scores are commonly calculated and presented. This can cause a great deal of confusion when we are making comparisons between results from different sources. At Culture Amp we recommend using simple and transparent methods so scores can be readily understood and replicated. We ask questions using a five point scale and the top two responses represent agreement and strong agreement. The scores simply represent the percentage of people who have agreed or strongly agreed on average. *Other Industries include all other industries in our benchmark database excluding New Technology companies and Retail companies. New Technology was not included as it was deemed inappropriate as a comparison. engagement scores score gap Engagement score Retail 70% Other industries* 70% 0 recommend Would recommend company as a great place to work Retail Other industries* 80% 81% -1 motivation Motivates them to go beyond what they would in a similar role elsewhere 68% 67% +1 pride 88% Proud to work for their company 86% +2 present commitment Rarely thinking about looking for a job elsewhere future commitment Can see themselves still working there in two years time 52% 55% 61% 63% -3-2 What retail employees want 06

7 What keeps retail employees engaged? Let s take a look at the top ten questions that are most strongly related to employee engagement. Comparing engagement scores of retail and other industries, there are some notable gaps. Retail employees are more likely than employees in other industries to believe their organization s offering is good as, or superior to those of competitors. As you can see by the rankings, there s a difference in how questions relate to engagement and commitment. Some are ranked in the top ten for both engagement and commitment, and others only for one or the other. Driver analysis Driver analysis is a family of statistical techniques used to determine how strongly variables are related to each other. In the Culture Amp platform, every individual s responses (to every question) are statistically compared with how they respond to the engagement questions to determine which questions are most strongly related to overall engagement. Importantly, the things a company does very well, or not very well, are not necessarily the things that determine how engaged or committed employees are. driver rank engagement commitment question factor score gap [Company] is a great company for me to make a contribution to my development The leaders at [Company] demonstrate that people are important to the company s success I believe my total compensation is fair, relative to similar roles at other companies I am given opportunities to develop skills relevant to my interests I believe there are good career opportunities for me at [Company] The leaders at [Company] have communicated a vision that motivates me I receive appropriate recognition for good work at [Company] At [Company] we act on promising new or innovative ideas I have confidence in the leaders at [Company] The products and services [Company] provides are as good as, or better than, our main competitors learning and Retail 77% development Other industries 73% +4 leadership 64% 71% -7 reward and 43% flexibility 50% -7 learning and 61% development 67% -6 learning and 65% development 60% +5 leadership 63% 67% -4 learning and 64% development 64% 0 impact and 69% enablement 67% +2 leadership 67% 73% -6 impact and 84% enablement 73% +11 What retail employees want 07

8 What keeps retail employees from leaving? Below are the ten questions that most strongly relate to commitment. When customers are looking to understand what's impacting retention, this is how they go about initial diagnosis. As you can see, although time out from work didn't appear in the engagement drivers, it's number four in the drivers of commitment. Notably, although compensation sits at number three for engagement, it's number one for commitment. driver rank engagement commitment question factor score gap I believe my total compensation is fair, relative to similar roles at other companies I am given opportunities to develop skills relevant to my interests The leaders at [Company] demonstrate that people are important to the company s success I am able to arrange time out from work when I need to I believe there are good career opportunities for me at [Company] [Company] is a great company for me to make a contribution to my development I am happy with my current role relative to what was described to me I have confidence in the leaders at [Company] [Company] effectively directs resources (funding, people and effort) towards company goals I have access to the things I need to do my job well reward and Retail & H. 43% flexibility Other Ind. 50% -7 learning and 61% development 67% -6 leadership 64% 71% -7 reward and 82% flexibility 83% -1 learning and 65% development 60% +5 learning and 77% development 73% +4 learning and 72% development 75% -3 leadership 67% 73% -6 impact and 55% enablement 58% -3 impact and 73% enablement 74% -1 What retail employees want 08

9 Learning and development Driver questions related to the learning and development factor appear twice as much as any other factor of engagement or commitment for retail employees. Learning and development is a strong driver of engagement in all the industries we work with. Employees crave: the opportunity to make a contribution to their development; developing skills relevant to their interests; career opportunities; appropriate recognition; clear role descriptions. Highlight learning and development opportunities in your job advertisements to attract driven candidates. Zulily offers learning on the job through their fun, fast-paced and ever-evolving business. Additionally, employees have access to over 400 online and in-person courses including an 8-course program for managers to help make them more engaging and effective leaders. zulily also offers a job exchange and rotation programs to facilitate continued career development. One of zulily s most popular programs is their monthly zuniversity series, where they bring in innovators and leaders from different industries to speak to employees. Find out more > Learning and development needn't be expensive. Here are two approaches our customers use. Ask the right questions Making the time to understand peoples' goals allows you to match people with growth opportunities. You could ask questions like: What do you want to be doing that you aren't currently doing? ; What are the three most important things you would like to accomplish right now? ; What do you need that's preventing you from reaching those goals? and How can I best support you to achieve those goals? Some organizations have employees share their goals in a document that's available to management and peers, so people can help one another achieve their goals. Teach each other Give employees an opportunity to learn from each other. One organization's learning and development program is taught by employees. They teach classes and workshops that range from extracurricular skills to those that are essential to their roles. This has proven to be a formalized way for employees to share their skills and interests with others in the organization. The community aspect fosters collaboration and team support. What retail employees want 09

10 Leadership Leadership isn't just about rostering and troubleshooting, although it can seem like it at times. Employees want leaders who: demonstrate that people make the company a success; communicate a vision that motivates them; inspire confidence. Leaders demonstrating the importance of people is the number two driver of engagement (and number three driver of commitment) for retail employees, and there's a -7 gap in scores of retail organizations as compared to all other industries. Finding ways to let people know they're integral to your organization is a great way to boost engagement and retention. Here are some great ideas our customers have shared with us. The Wow! Wall One company has a Wow! Wall where people can post stories of when coworkers have gone above and beyond. The wall is in a high-traffic area so everyone can casually pass by and read about the great work of their colleagues. Thank you cards One organization provides thank you cards for people to complete and hand-deliver. The HR team creates templates that link to the company values and current organizational objectives. This is a great way to reinforce your vision and values, whilst acknowledging exemplary behaviors. Events Having a schedule of events where employees are recognized for their work ensures intentionality and follow-through. One organization has monthly recognition events. They recognize good work and highlight what people are working on and how it's helping the organization deliver on its mission and work toward its vision. What retail employees want 10

11 Reward and flexibility Reward and flexibility is a factor that only comes up as a key driver of engagement for retail and hospitality organizations, not any other industry we work with. Compensation is the number one driver of commitment - indicating that people will leave if they they don't believe their compensation is fair. It's also the number three driver of engagement. retail organizations trail seven points behind other organizations for compensation. Point of difference If your organization is tracking well on flexibility or benefits - mention it in your job ads. Similarly, if there is no leave available over holiday times, setting expectations up front will alleviate friction. The ability to arrange time out from work is also a driver of commitment for retail employees. Considering the nature of the job, retail organizations only being two points behind all industries is not a bad result. Still, the message is that if people perceive that they'd more easily be able to arrange time off if they moved to another employer, it will significantly factor into their decision to leave. Here's one idea from a Culture Amp customer: Cross-training Train employees across positions to ensure adequate coverage. One organization uses a cross-training program to ensure every role has adequate coverage if an employee leaves the organization or just needs to take time off. An inventory of high-risk roles and associated tasks is created and people are given the opportunity to identify tasks they are most interested in learning. The training typically starts as shadowing and culminates in a small project to make sure the person can successfully perform the task. What retail employees want 11

12 Impact and enablement Impact and enablement represents the way people feel their efforts are enabled and amplified as well as how they see the company as impactful in the broader market and world. At the micro level they want to feel they have access to what they need to get their job done and they want to see resources directed in the right places (not wasted). At a higher level they want to see innovation happening (acted upon) and ultimately that their company maintains a strong position in the market. People want to work for an organization where: innovative ideas are actioned; resources (funding, people and effort) are directed to achieve company goals; the products and services are as good as, or superior to those of competitors; they have the things they need to do their job well. Here's one approach to help employees understand the impact of the work they do. Customer panel Share the value that customers experience with employees on a regular basis. Invite a panel of customers to be a part of your all hands meetings. Each customer explains how using your product or service has positively impacted their business and shares some things they wish the product or service could do (or ways the product or service has failed them). An employee moderates a Q&A session between the customer panel and attendees. On a team level, you could invite a panel of internal customers to be a part of your team meeting. The internal customers can explain how the team helps them achieve their goals and highlight some ways the way the team works with them could be improved. What retail employees want 12

13 5 reports every HR executive needs Helping you focus attention where it will have most impact

14 Employee experience Collecting feedback from your employees from early in their career with your organization allows you to understand their journey throughout the employee lifecycle from onboarding to exit. Gathering employees first impressions allows you to refine your recruiting and the way you welcome people to your organization, whilst exit reports can provide valuable input into how you can increase retention. What retail employees want 14

15 Engagement Many of our customers swear by our engagement dashboards with realtime reporting and easy-to-understand reports highlighting key drivers of engagement, and heatmaps identifying hotspots in their organizations they re always prepared to make decisions to improve their workplace. Gone are the days when finance and marketing were the only ones with sophisticated reporting to guide and reaffirm their actions. What retail employees want 15

16 Heatmaps Quickly and easily identify areas where people are thriving and problem spots where attention is required. Our heat maps are one of our most popular features and our team of data scientists and organizational psychologists ensure insights are not only simple to attain, but are reliable and actionable. What retail employees want 16

17 Effectiveness Our feedback tools for managers and individuals provide valuable data about how your team is tracking. Take a look at overall levers impacting how effective your managers are, or review learning and development needs for your team. What retail employees want 17

18 How can we help? Culture Amp is the world s most powerful employee feedback and analytics platform. Designed in consultation with our in-house organizational psychologists, data scientists and user experience specialists, it s easy to use and uncovers valuable real-time analytics anyone can understand. We ve got some exciting additions to the platform coming up in 2017 and we d love to share them with you. Have a chat with one of our people geeks and we can tell you all about them. Learn more cultureamp.com/contact-us

19 Footnotes 1. Corporate Leadership Council /Corporate Executive Board, Improving Employee Performance in the Economic Downturn, Cited in MacLeod, 2009, p Austin, J., interviewed by Macleod, D and Clarke, N., and cited in MacLeod, 2009, p McPherson, J. and Jayatilleke, B., Culture Amp: New Tech Benchmark Report 2016, Culture Amp, 2016, p Corporate Leadership Council, Corporate Executive Board. Driving Performance and Retention through Employee Engagement: a quantitative analysis of effective engagement strategies Cited in MacLeod 2009, p aspx, accessed 13 July Gallup, How to Tackle U.S. Employees Stagnating Engagement, Available online at Accessed 1 August MacLeod, 2009, p Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F. L., Kilham, E. A., Asplund, J.W., (2006), Gallup Q12 Meta-Analysis. Cited in MacLeod, 2009, p Crabtree S., Engagement Keeps the Doctor Away, Gallup Management Journal, 2005; and Gallup Study; Feeling Good Matters in the Workplace, Gallup Management Journal Cited in MacLeod, 2009, p. 30. What retail employees want 19