– Despite the uncertainty of the current economic climate, a surprising 46% of all employees surveyed plan to change jobs within the next six months, citing their compensation and benefits (76%) and work-life balance (74%) among reasons to leave.
– While 95% of HR leaders believe employees are engaged at work, only 37% of employees report being engaged, citing “opportunities to take ownership and develop my skills” and “transparent performance review processes” as primary engagement drivers.
– No longer an “HR-only” topic, 79% of HR leaders say their C-suite regards people enablement as important, and 57% report the matter is owned internally by the C-suite.
– Despite one in two employees believing that their company is planning layoffs (54%), both HR leaders (91%) and employees (85%) largely report their companies are positioned to weather the challenging macroeconomic environment.
Leapsome, the all-in-one intelligent people enablement platform used by CEOs and HR teams in forward-thinking companies to drive employee development, productivity, and engagement, today released its inaugural State of People Enablement Report 2023. The global survey of professionals aims to deliver insights into HR leaders’ and employees’ experiences and perceptions on employee engagement, retention, readiness to face the challenging macroeconomic climate, and the impact of people enablement software in tackling the above.
“The way we work has already undergone a fundamental shift and is further shaped by a turbulent market landscape. High levels of resignation, layoffs, and market stagnation cast a shadow of uncertainty over both business leaders and employees. We conducted this survey to explore the factors driving employee engagement, turnover, and HR decision-making and to unearth how business leaders can improve retention, build resilience and drive productivity in times of change,” said Jenny Podewils, co-CEO and co-founder of Leapsome.
Leapsome surveyed global professionals, split equally between HR leaders and full-time employees not in the HR function, at companies in the US, Germany, and throughout Europe.
Key insights derived from the survey include:
The majority of employees plan to change jobs within the next year
Four in five employees say they have plans to change jobs within the next year, with almost half claiming they plan to do so within the next six months. Among their top reasons for considering leaving their companies, employees list their compensation and benefits package, and their work-life balance. For the 20% of employees who don’t plan to change jobs, a positive work-life balance and workplace culture are the main reasons for staying with their current employer.
HR leaders and employees believe their companies are positioned to weather the down market
Four in five employees report that their company has either conducted layoffs in the past six months (27%) or is planning layoffs (54%). Despite this, most employees (85%) largely believe their companies are set up to weather the challenging macroeconomic environment. HR leaders are even more confident with 91% sharing this view. Perhaps the proximity to the C-suite gives HR greater insight into readiness.
Stark disconnect between HR and employee perspectives
The survey revealed a gap in perception between HR leaders and employees regarding employee engagement and the state of layoffs at their companies. While 95% of HR leaders believe employees are at least somewhat engaged, 64% of employees say they are at least somewhat disengaged. Adding to the disconnect, almost half of HR leaders said their company has “not done any layoffs over the past six months nor is planning any,” while only 20% of employees agreed.
Both HR leaders and employees agree: People enablement software drives positive change
Most HR leaders (84%) and employees (87%) report using people enablement software at their companies. Both groups (97% and 89%, respectively) agree on the benefits of the software in place. However, other issues suggest a software solution is not a panacea — it needs to be underpinned by a strong culture and well-designed internal processes to unlock its full potential.
People enablement is becoming a strategic C-suite function that influences employee turnover
There is a correlation between companies where the C-suite sees the value in people enablement software and companies with less than 10% annual employee turnover. In fact, not a single HR leader at companies with the lowest turnover rate says their C-suite does not see the value in people enablement. In at least 50% of all cases, people enablement is owned internally by the C-suite — a sign that decision-makers consider it a strategic business priority.
Kajetan Armansperg, co-CEO and co-founder of Leapsome commented: “High levels of employee disengagement and the surprising fact that most employees plan to change jobs within the next 12 months will be a worrying sign for many decision makers. After years of abundance, the current phase of change is a new challenge for business leaders. Managing that change is difficult: It requires a careful balance of renewed focus on productivity, performance and resilience while fostering engagement at times of uncertainty. We believe companies that value their employees and do prioritize these topics will be the most resilient and best suited to outperform the competition in an economic downturn.”
ENDS
Methodology
Leapsome commissioned a survey of 750 professionals – 375 full-time employees and 375 HR leaders – in company sizes of between 100-5,000 employees. The survey is based on the tech, IT and professional services industries, with respondents split equally between the United States, Germany, and other countries in Europe. The survey was completed by Global Surveyz, an independent survey company, and took place in November 2022.
Discover the full potential of your Hrtech strategy with our comprehensive Hrtech News and Hrtech Interviews.
