The New Work Exchange: Embracing the Future by Putting Employees First

“To build profitable, resilient, innovative organizations, we must nurture the people who bring our businesses alive,” according to this helpful manual on how companies can take a more personable approach to managing employees. WorldatWork CEO Cawood (Destination Profit), whose organization offers training for human resources professionals, argues that businesses that don’t live up to their stated values risk causing employees to disengage from their work; for instance, he describes his visit to an unspecified organization that undercut the message of their Employee Appreciation Day by charging workers $15 to attend the mandatory event. A more positive example is Pixar, which sets aside one day every year for soliciting formal feedback from workers and then charges task forces with implementing the most feasible suggestions. Recommendations for better serving employees include being flexible about dress codes, work schedules, and where work gets done, as well as offering “growth opportunities” for learning new skills. Cawood’s assertion that “embracing a new approach to work will look a little different in every organization” means that the guidance is sometimes short on specifics (“Visualize what an ideal employee experience would look like at your organization”), but it nonetheless provides a solid starting point for envisioning change. Business leaders will want to take a look. (July)