“The genesis of conversation and interventions around organisational ‘culture’ and ‘engagement’ is the acknowledgment and understanding of human nature – how we think, feel, and behave.
“To extend this further, we need to understand that culture is a manifestation and the net effect of a particular people’s ideas, customs, and social behaviour.
“To engage people successfully and consistently, we, therefore, need to have an appreciation for human nature in general (how we think, feel, and behave) and how we project who we are (culture).
“Rethinking culture offers us an opportunity to reflect on the origin story of how workplaces were created in the industrial age and how that has influenced the way most workplaces function today, the way we play and behave.
“Since the advent of the industrial revolution and to a decreasing but large extent in current business practice, the products produced/the services rendered, and the profit generated is the biggest focus.
“The agenda of a human-centric business culture, and organisations with a social and environmental conscience and consciousness, is however increasingly and refreshingly receiving the attention it deserves globally. It is therefore not enough to humanise internal organisational culture alone but to humanise business practice so that beyond profit, sustainable impact on society and the planet become the modus operandi.
“With this changing order, the focus has to equally shift towards leadership for sustainability. This means that leaders are called upon to respond by humanising organisations, the focus can no longer be only financial outcomes but rather how those outcomes are achieved through the people.
“As leaders, we need to question where our time and energy is spent and what the impact is. Leaders are responsible for the vision, providing clarity and direction, and ensuring stability in a volatile environment to ensure sustainability. When there is leadership that is focussed on strategy, culture and engagement, then direct reports are empowered to be autonomous, to grow strong teams and ensure that the skills and tools for excellence are in place.
“One of the main tasks of leaders is considering the succession plan, looking at how young leaders can step up not only into the current challenges but also equipped to face the future. It is not only about remuneration but also about paying attention to the needs, dreams and visions of our young leaders. Our current talent pool is highly educated and eager to carve out a career for themselves. They are also willing to consider the global environment.
“Action needs to be taken to retain these young leaders in very different ways to the traditional models. Human nature is such that our people want clarity and honesty around issues of career development, supporting further education, autonomy in the workplace, mentoring and coaching. This entails engaging in open feedback channels and meaningful conversations in order to engage people successfully.
“As the greatest differentiator between organisations in the future is the people they employ, leaders have to consider how they are empowering and inspiring their people in order to retain them.
“Organisational culture and leadership are often stated as factors that contribute to the great resignation or the big resignation as it is referred to in international studies. Is South Africa, with its high levels of unemployment, experiencing high volumes of resignations as countries such as the VSA and Europe? No, but is it a trend that we can ignore? Although the so-called great resignation is not eminent across all industries and all levels of organisations in South Africa, concerns are expressed about the retention of executive talent, specialist skills such as IT professionals, and those with the financial means to seek alternative employment overseas.
“Organisations are finding it more difficult to retain their sought-after talent and are putting plans in place to address this risk. Having market-related remuneration practices in place, remains top of mind. Retention initiatives also include a renewed focus on the unique value proposition offered to employees such as development and career advancement opportunities, flexibility, work-life balance, and creating a sense of purpose and meaning that spans broader than one’s job. The effective onboarding of new recruits is also an area of focus given the impact of effective onboarding processes on the retention of talent. Creative ways of measuring the engagement of talent are being observed to address the challenge of quiet quitters becoming disengaged. Organisations are applauded for developing their current and future leaders to create engaging, trusting, and inspiring working environments. Policies that make provision for “semigration” opportunities are becoming increasingly attractive to prevent talent from rejecting burnout as the price for success.
“Other than these retention strategies, organisations realise the importance of having talent pools in place to mitigate the risk of losing key talent in critical and scarce skills roles, hence the emphasis on robust succession plans. In the past, some organisation’s had policies in place that were punitive for employees to be re-employed. Progressive organisations are “allowing” talented individuals to broaden their skills set in other companies whilst using them as brand ambassadors to promote their brand and hopefully they will return one day. Successful retention strategies will certainly become a competitive advantage going forward, with a deeper focus on young leadership for sustainability and humanising organisations.
