Hybrid working has impacted staff motivation

With fears of a ‘great resignation’ on the way, it seems that employers are more concerned about staff motivation than whether they choose to leave or not.

Research from Omnipresent has found that four in 10 employers feel that Covid-19 has positively or extremely positively impacted employee retention. In contrast, 24% feel that it has negatively or extremely negatively impacted this area.

While employers are feeling confident, the same data has discovered that organisations are at odds when it comes to keeping talent satisfied.

In fact, 59% of employers feel that their staff are struggling to stay motivated and engaged as part of a distributed workforce, yet just two in 10 agree that investing in a strong workplace culture could support a low employee turnover.

Irene van der Werf, people manager at Omnipresent, shared that employers should not underestimate the importance of a strong cultural strategy and how it can help to connect staff to a business.

Werf explained: “After all, satisfying remote or hybrid teams is about much more than providing the logistical means for employees to complete their work.

“To truly tap into the cultural requirements of a distributed workforce, employers must understand the environments and locations their employees are working from in order to tailor their people strategies appropriately.”

The data, which quizzed the views of 250 HR managers and c-suite professionals, also revealed that more than half of organisations are putting in place regular catch-ups to socialise, while 46% are providing support for the physical, emotional and mental health of staff.

Despite these promising moves, only 16% are offering training to managers, while 28% are running regular company-wide meetings to keep everyone informed.

Similarly, only a third are increasing the amount of communication between managers and team members.

“It’s important to remember that whether employees are working from the office, remotely in the UK or abroad, these settings will affect employees’ day to day needs,” Werf continued.

“There’s a lot to consider – the most accessible methods of communication and networking, best benefits offerings, necessary learning and development opportunities as well as fair salary benchmarking. These are all components that have a huge impact on company culture and employee wellbeing and can greatly reduce employee satisfaction if they aren’t adjusted appropriately.”

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