Guest Post by Bill Pomfret (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
The last few years have proven the risk landscape is dynamic and evolving. And while an organization focuses on responding to one crisis, another is almost always lurking in the shadows—from COVID variants and severe weather to supply chain, and civil unrest and cybercrime. In fact, you could even find yourself in the dark – literally.
A dark day is a time when some or all an organization’s systems or functions are down, impacting regular operations. Fortunately, you can drive organizational resilience by learning lessons from every situation to empower stronger responses for the future.
For any successful business to prosper, there must be an open dialog between leadership and the workforce. Without it, it can spell disaster in the long-term. Workers must feel valued and heard. On the other hand, business leaders need to recognize the request for change and provide feedback on the value proposition. A good exchange of ideas can lead to better morale, improved human performance, improve profitability and prosperity for the enterprise while poor communication will lead to attrition and loss of human retention which impacts the delivery of services and products. Our changing society and economy dictate an open and free discussion of workplace issues that matter most.
Workers are talking, but it seems that management isn’t listening as closely as it should. In a new survey of our North American clients ,” 66% of frontline workers said they are rarely, never, or only occasionally listened to by management on these important topics.
As a leader your job is to create an environment where people work together in service of a shared goal – a high achievement environment where people wake up in the morning excited about going to work and hanging out with others equally excited by the opportunity to learn, experiment and solve complex problems.
And it’s a proven way to get results – highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability. But not only that, employees who love their job and feel valued improve society. They go home happy which means they treat their family members, friends, strangers, and pets better. And they are healthier. All in all, It creates a powerful ripple effect on society.
Another study found that most American, Canadian, Australian, and British frontline workers (67%) say that they are never, rarely, or only sometimes listened to on topics that matter to them the most – operations (54%), safety (46%), and health/wellbeing (49%).
The research is comprised of the views from American, Canadian, British, and Australian “frontline workers” – defined as individuals who must “physically show up to their job” including the likes of hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and logistics workers.
When it comes to acting, just over one in four American and Australian frontline workers (27% each) feel empowered to act and solve an issue themselves. In the UK, just over one in five frontline workers feel empowered to tackle issues (22%).
Frontline workers fear job loss when reporting COVID-19 adherence issues
Job loss because of reporting a safety or quality issue to management, including adherence to COVID-19 protocols, is a real concern for many frontline workers. Almost half of Australian frontline workers (48%), more than a third of American frontline workers (36%), and more than one in five British frontline workers (22%) agreed this is a potential scenario.
When our boss gives us a grumpy greeting in the morning, we assume we have done something wrong. We second guess what it meant, running through all sorts of negative scenarios as to what we could possibly have done wrong.
Lack of action prevents frontline feedback
Fears aside, over one in three frontline workers (34%) agree their willingness to provide workplace feedback is impacted by a belief that “nothing will be done” once reported. More than one in four said they lacked confidence management would address safety issues they raise.
Bob Butler, global general manager of “While frontline workers have kept our nations running over the past 18 months, many don’t feel that their voices are valued. It’s clear that these critical workers want a say in the operations and running of their workplace. Two-way communication between frontline workers and management is no longer a ‘nice to have, it is a business imperative.”
Training beats a competitive holiday allowance
As many organizations navigate The Great Resignation of 2022, research also reveals that quality training is of key importance to frontline jobseekers when considering a new role. Seven in ten frontline workers (70%) describe training as either very important or a top priority ahead of a competitive holiday allowance (40%).
Feeling confident they have a valued voice was also important for frontline workers when considering new roles, according to 72% of Australian, 60% of American, and almost half of British (48%) frontline workers.
That’s where leaders make a difference – through their energy and focus to create a healthy, high trust, positive team culture. A great team leader helps those around them make sense of their lives through goals, purpose, and action. They foster a thriving, connected, accepting workplace that gently coaxes people out of their protective shells to gleefully join in with others, leaving their fears and self-doubt behind.
A team that trusts one another, and their leader, creates magical team coherence. That wonderful space where you are all in flow, moving as one, reading each other’s intent and body language. Just like a group of professional dancers effortlessly moving in harmony, in tune to the rhythm of a song.
In my belief, creating a trusted environment enables everyone to be accountable for achieving results together as a team. Everyone can rely on each other to deliver and be treated respectfully even when they make a mistake.
Bio:
Dr. Bill Pomfret of Safety Projects International Inc who has a training platform, said, “It’s important to clarify that deskless workers aren’t after any old training. Summoning teams to a white-walled room to digest endless slides no longer cuts it. Mobile learning is quickly becoming the most accessible way to get training out to those in the field or working remotely. For training to be a successful retention and recruitment tool, it needs to be an experience learner will enjoy and be in sync with today’s digital habits.”
Every relationship is a social contract between one or more people. Each person is responsible for the functioning of the team. In our society, the onus is on the leader. It is time that employees learnt to be responsible for their actions or inaction, as well. And this takes a leader to encourage them to work and behave at a higher level. Helping employees understand that they also need to be accountable, visible and communicate what’s going on
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