The 10th annual study reveals that HR departments apparently underestimated
employee concerns about racial equity and social unrest. Was the pandemic, or lack of company buy-in, to blame?
Today, WeSpire, the award-winning employee-engagement
platform specializing in purpose-driven initiatives, released its 2021 State of
Employee Engagement
report. Now in its tenth year, the research represents a unique opportunity to
assess the widespread impact on employees of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift
for many to fully remote work; as well as rising racial justice and equity
concerns, political divisions and social unrest on US companies and their
workforces.
Key findings from the report include:
-
Purpose is still
paramount:
Employees who feel their company is strongly making a positive impact in
this world are 50 percent less likely to be open to leaving their job
-
Employees are significantly more concerned about social isolation and social
unrest than HR team members seem to believe
-
Defying Online Algorithms with Authentic, Impactful Storytelling
Join us as representatives from BarkleyOKRP lead a thought-provoking discussion with two brands that care deeply about their workers' rights and wellbeing, Tony's Chocolonely and Driscoll's, about how to successfully involve consumers in social-justice issues with authentic storytelling that defies online algorithms — Friday, May 10, at Brand-Led Culture Change.
Despite rising corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
commitments,
the number of employees indicating that their company offers DEI programs
fell 35 percent versus 2019
“This trend research is always fascinating, but particularly this year — given
the unprecedented challenges that the pandemic presents,” said WeSpire founder
and CEO Susan Hunt Stevens. “The data prove once again that being a
purpose-driven business is critically important for resilience and successful
workforce outcomes.”
This year, the data surprisingly show that — despite the groundswell of
corporate support of Black Lives
Matter in
2020, and the need for companies to thoroughly embed and walk their talk around
anti-racist
policies
— the percentage of companies that provide DEI programs has fallen. 2019 saw the
biggest increase in any program — from 29 percent to 37 percent — indicating
that employers recognized the need to do more to ensure a culture of
inclusivity. But 2020 saw an alarming drop — according to WeSpire’s research,
only 24 percent of employees now report that their company has formal DEI
programs in place. The research also shows a significant gap between employees'
interest in having access to various engagement programs and the availability of
those programs.
“The biggest, and most disheartening, surprise is that fewer employees now have
access to DEI programs,” Stevens added. “Our hypothesis is that many of these
programs were relatively new, often volunteer-led, and just haven’t effectively
survived the transition to remote work. We hope this serves as a wake-up call to
leaders that effective, universally accessible programs are required to turn
commitments into culture change.”
In the report, WeSpire cites research from
RedThread, which points to the business
imperative to address and rethink their DEI practices that arose in 2020.
RedThread expects to see technology drive greater ownership for DEI strategies
over the next several years.
“As orgs feel the pressure to take a stand, and act against systemic racism and
gender discrimination, they’ll no longer be satisfied with technologies that
only go so far as providing data,” said Stacia Garr, co-founder & Principal
Analyst at RedThread. “Tech must be able to: 1) make recommendations, and
highlight and prioritize specific actions for leaders; 2) connect these actions
to business outcomes; and 3) Offer scenarios for how it may impact the org if
those actions aren’t implemented.”
WeSpire believes that — as greater tools are available to support DEI efforts,
and as companies begin to more thoughtfully approach integrating racial justice
and equity into the workplace — we will see a rebound in the number of quality
programs in the future.
WeSpire surveyed 1,843 US adults across four generations, giving these results a
confidence interval of 95 percent. 40 percent of respondents work for companies
with more than 1,000 employees.
Published Mar 4, 2021 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET
Sustainable Brands Staff