2022 CONFERENCE
P : So the challenge for leaders is to make sure that their organizations have internalized that shift and that its policies and practices reflect those expectations employees have ? W : 100 percent . And I ’ ll tell you , it ’ s not even a new thing that we ’ re talking about . The best-in-class organizations — organizations that are renowned for having a great culture — have always done that . They ’ ve always put a premium on the employee experience and making sure that people felt involved and valued and appreciated . Now , it can be easy for leaders to hide behind the organization , but it ’ s really a leadership thing . Individually , leaders have to do all these things that have been talked about as best practices for decades . They have to involve people and value them and recognize them and invest in learning and invest in their goals . Otherwise , you will have this revolving door of talent because people are just much , much less tolerant of being unhappy at work — that ’ s the point .
P : Is that the main ingredient in what we ’ ve seen during the Great Resignation ? W : That ’ s exactly it . What it comes down to is valuing people . People know when they ’ re not valued , and what ’ s been revealed , as evidenced by the Great Resignation , is that deep down , there have been a lot of leaders who genuinely don ’ t value the people who they are fortunate to lead . It ’ s obvious . So , those people decided to leave and not come back or go and do something else or start their own businesses . So , the real root of the equation is that leaders , more than anything else , need to value their people .
And on one hand , it ’ s gratifying to see the world at large waking up to the fact that these things are no longer “ nice to have .” You need to really have a great place to work , right ? That ’ s awesome . But I ’ ve been talking about strong workplace cultures for 21 years ! It ’ s not new !
P : How can leaders ensure that those priorities remain in place at a time when staffing challenges and high consumer demand seem to have created new levels of “ busyness ?” W : We always make time for whatever we perceive to be important . That ’ s number one . Number two is to have employee engagement pro-
“… millennials and Generation Z … saw their parents unhappy at work under the grind of the nine-to-five , and these entire generations of people said , ‘ I ’ m not going to let that be me .’”
APRIL 2022 • PULSE 23