A recent survey from the employer review site Glassdoor, sampled in the US, UK and Europe found that 77 per cent of respondents would “consider a company’s culture” before seeking a job there. Fifty six per cent claimed that good workplace culture was “more important than salary” for job satisfaction. And, more tellingly, 73 percent said they “would not apply to a company unless its values align with their own personal values.”
African employee attitudes are no different. There’s a pronounced shift away from employees accepting an uninspiring workplace culture even if their compensation is adequate. If you want to attract and retain good employees, culture merits your attention.
Central to that culture should be the offer of a career, not just a job. We’re still struggling with the reality of casual employment in Africa - the idea that workers are plentiful and disposable. This influences our attitude to employees in general, so we hire to fill a job slot, without much thought for the future. That is now bringing employers head to head with younger workforce generations.
HR consultancy Lever, in their 2022 Report titled ‘The Great Resignation’ revealed that 65% percent of Gen Z employees (now in their late 20’s) are likely to stay at their jobs for less than a year. They’re more than twice as likely to leave their jobs next month and they’ll take a pay cut if a new employer seems more worthwhile.
Again this is not something that is happening in a distant land. Recently I’ve worked with staff of this age to define an Employer Value Proposition for one company and a Brand Promise for another. They are all talking the same language. They want to work for companies they believe in, and are highly sceptical about the language many companies use to describe their purpose, mission and values.
That doesn’t mean you have to change your business strategy, but you might want to adjust the way it is expressed. In particular, take a look at the value words you use to define behavioural expectations.
Now wouldn’t that be a great project to give to some of your younger workers? Which brings me to my final thought on building better cultures in 2023. Let’s all work harder at trusting employees. If our default position is that employees will lie, cheat, steal and leave, then that prophecy will continue to fulfil itself.
Chris Harrison leads The Brand Inside
www.thebrandinsideafrica.com
