Does resilience really exist? That was the question weighing on my mind a few years ago when I embarked on my PhD research exploring resilience in palliative care workers. More to the point, is resilience something we are born with, learned, or simply the latest craze in pop-psychobabble?

I’ll cut to the chase. Ultimately, my research led me to conclude that resilience is a set of resources that can be learned or developed over time. We can draw upon these resources in times of stress or adversity to build our psychological armour. I don’t believe we are born “resilient” nor do I believe resilience is a trait we possess across all situations. It is probably more accurate to think of resilience as a vast set of psychological resources we access when encountered with different challenges in our lives.

Leaders who want to provide resources for their employees should know, however, that there is no magic set of “resilience resources.” But taking care of employees and investing in their needs will pay dividends for organizational resilience and the ability to adapt to new and changing market opportunities.

In 2020, resilience has been highlighted as many have battled crises in work and personal lives. In Qualtrics’ 2020 Global Workforce Resilience study, we found that employees’ levels of resilience tended to be associated with  their intention to stay with an organisation. Specifically, we noted that lower resilience resulted in higher turnover intentions. In fact, there was a 20-plus point difference in resilience in those that intend to stay with the organisation over the longer term (over 4-plus years) compared with those that report an intent to depart the organisation in the short term (less than one year).

The study included 1,400 participants in Australia and New Zealand, all of whom were full time employees, from all levels within their organisations. There was broad industry representation, excluding the healthcare industry.

So, if resilience is linked to a fundamental component of engagement such as turnover intention, what can organisations do to help build employees’ psychological armour and contribute positively to  employee resilience?

The power of leaders listening – and acting – on employee feedback can’t be underestimated as a driver of employee resilience. In fact, 92 per cent of those surveyed said employee listening is either important or very important during this crisis.

Listen. Understand. Act.
In our research, we’ve found that employees must measure and emphasise the availability of resources associated with resilience that are available to their employees. These include:

Social support: In the workplace, social support may come in the form of peers, managers, or other organisational support. Access to this support plays a key role in helping employees cope with workplace stressors, avoid withdrawal, and discover better outcomes.

In fact, employees who report manager support are three times more likely to be engaged at work and almost twice as likely to have the ingredients for resilience as those who do not have support from their managers: 89 per cent versus 47 per cent.

In this sense, empowering managers creates a waterfall effect. The more support each person feels from their direct manager, the more resilient and engaged they’ll be.

Listening and acting on feedback: The power of leaders listening – and acting – on employee feedback can’t be underestimated as a driver of employee resilience. In fact, 92 per cent of those surveyed said employee listening is either important or very important during this crisis.

Unfortunately, only half (51 per cent) of employees say they actually get the opportunity to provide feedback to their organisation. Of those who do get the chance to feedback, only eight per cent say their company is “extremely good” at turning that feedback into action.

Action fuels engagement
Resilience may seem like a cloudy concept to many. But the impact it has in the workplace is very real. Organisations that place focus on ensuring their employees have access to the resources that build resilience will be rewarded with higher engagement, less turnover and a stronger organisation for when the next crisis strikes.

This requires us to improve how we listen and support people, ensuring we understand our diverse workforces, and act on the needs of our teams using data.

Leaders who want to provide resources for their employees should know, however, that there is no magic set of “resilience resources.” But taking care of employees and investing in their needs will pay dividends for organizational resilience and the ability to adapt to new and changing market opportunities.

In the workplace, social support may come in the form of peers, managers, or other organisational support. Access to this support plays a key role in helping employees cope with workplace stressors, avoid withdrawal, and discover better outcomes.

5 ways to build resilience
For individuals, here are a few of the different areas that individuals can focus on when thinking about building their resilience resources:

1. Values – Think about how to help employees align values with those of the organisation
2. Social support – Whether it’s one person or many, support is effective when the quality of that support is perceived to be genuine and truly helpful. This is not about being extroverted, rather a matter of accessing genuine social relationship
3. Emotion management – Not letting things overwhelm us is key. We cannot change the world, but we can change our emotions by changing the way we respond to events
4. Persistence – We should trust ourselves to problem solve and persist through issues that arise. Don’t give up when the going gets tough
5. Locus of control – Focus and act on what can be controlled, rather than worrying about things that cannot. The key is to accept what’s out of our control and work like crazy to control the things we can

The ability to adapt to life’s challenges is inherent in us all. The challenge now is to identify and develop the resources that will help us build resiliency — individually and as a team — so that when the next crisis strikes, we are even stronger.

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Financial stress negatively impacts productivity and work performance. Conversely, a financially healthy workforce can have a positive impact on a business’ bottom line. So why aren’t employee financial wellbeing programs more common with Australian employers? And how should employers be investing in employee financial wellbeing in a post pandemic era?

The most inspiring leaders will be those that have, and continue to, put their employers and communities first.

Nick Gower, co-founder at strategic design company, Future Friendly, has worked with some of Australia’s largest employers and corporate regulators designing better ways of working and strongly believes improving and protecting the financial wellbeing of Australians is as important as any other aspect of health and wellbeing; it is a critical and overlooked factor in improving the resilience and productivity of our workforce.

With Australia’s workforce largely relocated to homes across the country during COVID-19, the relationship between employee and employer has changed, boundaries have been pushed and employees are expecting more from their employers.

Playing a proactive role in protecting and improving the financial wellbeing of employees beyond just remuneration is increasingly becoming an expectation of Australian employees and research reveals that it can have a positive impact on everyone’s bottom line.

New starts and younger employees are also likely to have lower levels of financial capability, and therefore, would benefit more from financial wellbeing programs at work.

Financial stress has increased for many Australians, including those lucky enough to still have employment. Despite being more engaged with their finances, financial worry affects most Australian employees and in the last 12 months alone, 73 per cent of Australians experienced financial worry. For 29 per cent of these people, these worries are either daily or weekly.

Increased financial stress in context of a global pandemic is not surprising, but what is not being talked about as much is the impact this worry has on people’s productivity at work, with more than two thirds (62 per cent) of Australian employees admitted to spending an hour a week on personal finances on company time. This is costing Australian businesses a staggering $31.1 billion in lost annual revenue and will continue to negatively affect employee productivity and absenteeism rates, which in turn will impact the businesses bottom line.

Our new ways of working have forced many businesses to adjust how they engage with employees and demanded leaders to communicate on a more personal level, with more empathy, and more regularly than ever before. Engaging with employees to help them to improve their financial literacy and wellbeing is another step forward in this evolution.

Tackling employee financial wellbeing not a one size fits all approach
The incentive for employers to support employees’ financial wellbeing is high, improved financial wellbeing and resilience can mitigate against lost productivity and deliver benefits in the form of more engaged employees and improved connections with colleagues.

Employee appetite for support is high with 70 per cent of workers comfortable receiving information and support from their employer on one or more financial topics according to our research. Australians are most open to receiving information and support from their employer on financial topics associated with the workplace. Information relating to superannuation, understanding tax and planning for retirement are all key focus areas for employees, and there is an opportunity to design workplace financial wellbeing programs that align with these topics.

Young people are more open to and feel they would benefit more from employer support, with 54 per cent of respondents from 18 to 34 citing an interest in a financial wellbeing program, compared to 45 per cent across all ages.

However, it is important for employers to take the time to understand what their employees want and need as financial wellbeing support needs to be flexible to meet different needs depending on the employee’s financial situation.

Some employees want one-on-one support, while others prefer online resources, financial learning that is self-directed or access to workplace seminars. New starts and younger employees are also likely to have lower levels of financial capability, and therefore, would benefit more from financial wellbeing programs at work.

Playing a proactive role in protecting and improving the financial wellbeing of employees beyond just remuneration is increasingly becoming an expectation of Australian employees and research reveals that it can have a positive impact on everyone’s bottom line.

However, an understanding of employees and their needs does not come without first establishing trust, as employees are less likely to share personal financial worries and seek support from their employees and managers without this. Ensuring that frameworks exist to protect the privacy of employees and that the actions and behaviours of workplace leaders build a respectful and trusting culture is key to understanding what support systems employees need.

Conclusion
Now more than ever, businesses and leaders are being increasingly judged on how they have responded to and prioritised their employees and the communities they operate in during this pandemic.

The most inspiring leaders will be those that have, and continue to, put their employers and communities first. There are opportunities to focus on work related topics, building trust and younger staff, but there is still much to explore if we want to rewrite the employer-employee contract of care.

Top tips for employers looking to encourage financial wellbeing:

Be flexible: Understand every employee has different needs and concerns based on their career and life stage, encourage open and honest conversations between managers and employees about what information and support they are looking for and provide information across a mix of channels and formats such as online resources for self-directed learning, workplace seminars, and one-on-one support

Tailor information for employee segments: Support new starters and younger employees – who generally have lower levels of financial capability – by introducing programs in the workplace that build financial capability in these segments.

Establish and engage trust to effectively engage employees: Trust is foundational in all relationships, the employer/employee one being no exception. Employees who have close relationships with their manager or co-workers are more likely to trust them to treat their personal and financial information with respect and care.

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“I am a human being, not a human doing. Don’t equate your self-worth with how well you do things in life. You aren’t what you do. If you are what you do, then when you don’t…you aren’t.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

How can you now embrace the human element that has helped your business survive through a very challenging time?  Going back to business as usual is no longer an option. You must think of it now and forever as business unusual.

What if I told you there was a way to be human, to throw the transactional KPI’s out for a period of time and focus on human behaviour as the driver of business success? Would you laugh at me like many did and say that what I was talking about was all Kumbuyah and Unicorns?

Replacing KPI’s
I want to let you in on a little experiment I ran when in the corporate environment that proved to me and others that the craziness of totally focussing on weekly KPI’s can be replaced by building awareness on four human behaviours:

1. Thankfulness
2. Helpfulness
3. Care
4. Fun

I called it Humannovation.

The idea that we are human beings before human doings and by creating an awareness on how we choose to be our “doing” will be more powerful and productive. If we focus on this over a period of three months then magic will happen as humans are allowed to be human in the workplace.

All it takes is some courage to put aside the traditional transactional KPI measures for a period of time and allow humans to be human. Encourage these four simple behaviours of thankfulness, helpfulness, care and fun, and watch your humans and the business results flourish

Are you still shaking your head at the ridiculousness of my approach?

Read on. Imagine if this approach led to targets being exceeded by 200% two years running and it all started with being human and not what was on your ‘to-do’ list?

Got you interested now?

Being Human
It all comes down to the environment that you create as a manager in permitting humans to turn up with a focus on the way they behave towards each other. It doesn’t need to be about the corporate buzzwords like collaboration, co-creation and innovation that tend to turn most humans off these days.

It should be more about how humans feel when they experience a significant shot of oxytocin after they have:

• Helped someone solve a problem
• Been helped by someone to solve a problem
• Cared for someone by “checking in” and asking if they were OK
• Had some good old-fashioned fun
• Thanked someone who helped them
• Received thanks from someone they helped

Two-A’s Approach
There was no KPI sheet for this at the time, instead, we focussed on what I call the Two-A’s

Awareness and Adjustment.

By simply heightening the awareness of the importance of these four behaviours over time, what then happens is an adjustment in the way we interact with each other. Engagement becomes more meaningful and efficiency and productivity increases due to the lack of a perceived or real need to compete with each other to win on the KPI sheet.

In fact, the KPI’s looked after themselves without a need for me or my team to be constantly checking in on them.

There’s a big role that the manager plays here to allow for such a different approach to business success. Firstly, it takes courage to be different and secondly, it takes a level of resilience to hold your nerve and encourage a mindset that we are human beings before human doings.

Changing to a human environment
I guess it depended upon the environment you created before mid- March 2020.

If you create the environment of the cut and thrust for hitting your revenue numbers, reducing costs, meeting expectations of your manager, or your manager’s manager, as well as the shareholder, perhaps this environment doesn’t create space for being human.

I’d suggest more than likely you were in survival mode, hoping that each week you would meet or exceed those KPI’s so you didn’t have a target on your back. Just doing what you could to survive. After all, KPI’s are king and what you can’t measure, you can’t manage, right?

Going back to business as usual is no longer an option. You must think of it now and forever as business unusual.

Hardly human no matter how many times you heard things like “our people are our most important asset”.

You see we didn’t need a Pandemic to become more human. We were human beings before the Pandemic and we will be long after we’ve beaten it.

All it takes is some courage to put aside the traditional transactional KPI measures for a period of time and allow humans to be human. Encourage these four simple behaviours of thankfulness, helpfulness, care and fun, and watch your humans and the business results flourish.

That’s when your business can move from surviving to thriving by embracing Humannovation or #beingbeforedoing.

What are you waiting for?

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Understanding and identifying intrinsic motivation is another tool in HR’s armory to affect pillars such as culture and performance. When you learn to tap into the internal drive of individuals you unleash a secret, often hidden ingredient: discretionary effort. There is a big clue to this ‘magical fairy dust like element’ in its label: discretionary.

Meaning, the moment HR or a business feels compelled to coerce, subtly suggest or bluntly ask for that extra percentile, or a willingness to do a tad more than is required, the ingredient itself is negated. It’s no longer discretionary. The mechanics of personal effort in this regard are like the laws and mechanics of quantum physics: the moment you observe, demand to know or micro-manage, the magic is gone.

There are subtle, smart ways that we can recognise and inspire the ignition that sets each individual soul on fire. Doing so, stoking it positively, healthily, subtly helps continued drive towards both individual and business goals.

Typically, business leaders had a tendency to focus on ‘performance’ goals alone when coaching or developing their people. Yet this focus is quite narrow.

Identifying intrinsic motivators.
We know the concept of external motivation: incentive or reward programs are an example. In addition to the obvious ones: base salary and remuneration packages people are willing to trade their time and effort for.

We also know, as parents do, external motivation or rewards wane or become less powerful over time. One lollipop as a bribe for peace now becomes two candy bars next time around. People generally will not remain fulfilled on the same salary, title, position or bonuses indefinitely without other forces at play. Enter internal motivation. The starting point is recognising and knowing the individual why.

Internal motivation is also a little like travel. If you ask people where they would like to visit next, or what their trip will entail, answers may be endless. However, you may begin to bucket them into categories such as continents or even themes such as: nature, adventure, museums, shopping, idle leisure, and nightlife.

The model by Eduard Spranger, Types of Men, remains a sound starting point for clues as to the primary driving forces of an individual.

• Knowledge and learning
• ROI, return and utility
• Aesthetic and experience
• Social and community
• Individual and political
• Traditional and system of living

Generally, people will have a couple of priority areas. You’ll hear them in descriptions, especially if you learn to ask or structure internal surveys with smart, thoughtful questions underpinned by genuine interest. The clues are in their answers. All you have to do is listen with intent.

Align external rewards with their internal fire
Sales environments are easy as quick case study and lesson. Whilst sales people may well appreciate the money don’t assume it’s always the case or their primary driving force. Learn to adapt incentives and rewards.

Maybe instead of money put that towards a program of their choosing (knowledge), towards an experience of their choosing (aesthetic), a donation towards a charity (social), trade access for resources or responsibilities (individual), or ensure sound ethics (system of living).

Continue to adapt and align periodically as internal drive isn’t necessarily static. They may shift based on situation, circumstance, or stages of life. It’s no surprise some studies by the likes of Nielsen or engage for good find employees are more interested in the social responsibility of the businesses they’ll work for than salary alone…

The mechanics of personal effort in this regard are like the laws and mechanics of quantum physics: the moment you observe, demand to know or micro-manage, the magic is gone.

Three types of goals
Two decades ago, I built a framework for coaching that has proved successful long term. Typically, business leaders had a tendency to focus on ‘performance’ goals alone when coaching or developing their people. Yet this focus is quite narrow. When you ask people what truly drives them, a year from now, five years from now, it’s rare the answer is ‘to reduce errors by 4.6 per cent’ or ‘increase sales by 27 per cent’!

These all have merit as performance goals yet two others drive the totality of each individual. Learning goals means continually improving skills. Which by the way is frequently symbiotic with performance goals, although not necessarily so. And fulfillment goals; often the biggest motivators, are about personal achievement in all areas of life

Continue to adapt and align periodically as internal drive isn’t necessarily static. They may shift based on situation, circumstance, or stages of life.

When you learn to help people navigate and achieve all three types of goals there’s a good chance you are also tapping into some of that internal drive and they are better in all they do, including performance.

We could run separate features on deeper dive coaching or these extended goals yet in the context here three things are practical to tap internal fire. Learn to ask better questions, be contemporary with your constructs for reward and recognition and perhaps leverage solid dynamic surveys (specialist organisations like Qualtrics are great here) to keep your finger on the pulse.

Chances are when you quicken the heart rate tapping that individual internal drive, discretionary effort will be set, positively, subtly on fire.

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“These new Millennial candidates are very different from those we have interviewed in the past. They don’t care about climbing the corporate ladder; they want a good salary, but don’t seem obsessed with having the top salary; they want to be part of a meaningful project and work with the right team. …and they want everything right now!”

These are some comments I have heard from clients and colleagues in recent years. Each of these individuals has expressed to me their companies are trying to rise to “The Millennial Challenge.”

They don’t have much time to rise to the challenge. An EY Global Study in 2015 on Work-Life Challenges predicted that “by 2025, Millennials will comprise three-quarters of the global workforce.”

Their drive for meaningful work that provides a sense of accomplishment is much stronger than many of their predecessors. Create early opportunities for them to learn and contribute. Millennials quickly learn from and share with other team members.

Each Generation Reflects Its Dominant Culture
It occurs to me that the expression “The Millennial Challenge,” is 180° backwards. It isn’t that young Millennials are strange and the veterans are normal. Each is the product of how they have been acculturated into the world of work.

Baby Boomers and Gen Xers have been raised in bureaucratic work cultures:

• Those in authority call the shots.
• Break down work into its smallest possible parts and then train each person to do his/her part well.
• Don’t deviate from policies or other permitted scripts.

Small wonder today’s research finds these people characterized by command and control managerial styles, individual jobs and rewards tools, structures upon structures, “need to know only” information systems, and income tied to job security. This is the “normal” culture with which Millennials are expected to align themselves.

But Millennials have been acculturated very differently in their life experiences. They have grown up with technology: from computers, the internet, search engines, social media, endless entertainment avenues, and innumerable apps. They can dip into news sources, research materials, scholarly works, and foreign cultures faster than their predecessors could find one technical book in a library. They not only move very fast, but they also collaborate in teams, seek out coaches, and text each other rather than sit in meetings or talk on the phone. Most importantly, they want to have meaningful work and a sense of real accomplishment in what they do.

The millennials offer the opportunity for work cultures to be more competitive in today’s global marketplace. Think about it – moving faster, collaborating more, increasing practical coaching, and aiming for meaningful accomplishments. All of this in today’s marketplace where these very attributes are beginning to separate the dominant companies from their competitors.

I believe the real challenge is “The Bureaucracy Challenge,” to nudge those accustomed to bureaucracy into adopting faster and more flexible ways of working together. I see many of my clients and scores of other companies seeking the very attributes of the Millennial Generation.

What Millennials Expect From Their Employers
So, to you managers of “The Millennial Challenge,” here are a few suggestions to reshape your company’s competitive market culture instead of enduring culture shock on both sides:

1. Be a coach, not a boss. Younger associates have matured under a system where peers come together and coach each other in schoolwork, business work, and a plethora of other activities. Coaching is in short bursts, not long lectures. A text or brief chat probably gets more attention day-to-day than formal sit-down meetings or lengthy memos. Most importantly, coaching in the Millennial sense embodies a tone of helpful guidance rather than job evaluation.
2. Collaboration: help your Millennials understand the purpose and goals to be achieved; the important deadlines and business boundaries; and looking beyond their own team to optimize their contribution to the company.
3. Connections: let them know the big picture so they understand their roles and how they connect with others. Expect them to develop trust and alignment with others for the greater good. Then let the team get going and be prepared to coach as needed.
4. Critical Data: define clear and consistent performance criteria up front.
5. Leaders: Millennials value highly those leaders who consistently demonstrate honesty, integrity, and treating others with respect. This should be nothing new, even to those raised in a bureaucratic culture.
6. Job flexibility: Remember, their drive for meaningful work that provides a sense of accomplishment is much stronger than many of their predecessors. Create early opportunities for them to learn and contribute. Millennials quickly learn from and share with other team members.

Are these expectations radically different from what you consider sound leadership?

One Final Note on Millennials and the Current Worldwide Pandemic
The worldwide chaos created by the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Millennials particularly hard. Statistics show many Millennials have lost their jobs and had great difficulty landing on their feet. One study reported 37 per cent of Millennials don’t trust big business. Some Millennials admit taking less-than-desirable jobs out of desperation. And many indicate they are hoping to find a better employment match as soon as things approach normalcy.

Here is one case example that might provide some hints on how to creatively handle the economic hardships imposed by the pandemic.

Millennials have been acculturated very differently in their life experiences. They have grown up with technology: from computers, the internet, search engines, social media, endless entertainment avenues, and innumerable apps.

A German manufacturing company with 900 associates was hit hard during the 2008 economic recession. It lost 40 per cent of its sales overnight. Rather than lay off any associates, the company instituted a plan (backed by its Works Council) wherein all employees went on a weekly schedule with reduced work hours and pay. Full healthcare benefits remained in force for everyone. The cost savings enabled this company to stay in business. When the recession ended in 2010, everyone went back to full work and pay. The company realized a 50 per cent production increase in one year, while all its competitors were hiring and training new employees and slowly ramping up their output.

Whatever you might find as a solution, consider carefully how not to lose the unique abilities Millennials bring to you, balanced with the loyalty to your long-term associates.

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When the global financial crisis struck back in 2008, it quickly became clear that there were two types of companies. The first were quick to act, slashing jobs and putting talent strategies in the bin to save on cash; while the second looked to see if these ‘challenges’ could be converted into opportunities.

According to a Harvard Business Review study of 4,700 publicly listed companies, the 9 per cent of organisations who flourished following the last GFC were the ones that avoided knee-jerk labour reductions. These companies took a strategic approach to identify growth opportunities and invested in workforce planning to ensure they had the skills needed to succeed.

Armed with this knowledge, it has been hard to shake the sense of déjà vu watching hundreds of organisations across Australia implementing hiring freezes or letting employees go as they grapple with the economic impacts of COVID-19.

While some cost-cutting is inevitable, we know organisations that see their people as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, will be better placed to survive and thrive in a post-COVID world.

Also, with more than 992,000 Aussies unemployed or underemployed, organisations have the opportunity to reshape their approach to people and find the best candidates to help the company grow and evolve.

This isn’t a time to sit back and wait for events to unfold. To be prepared for the future, HR leaders must understand what their workforce needs and how to get there.

Identifying future skills to support the business
With the pandemic accelerating the future of work through digitisation, disruption and automation, many organisations have little foresight into what skills they need to succeed and evolve in a post-COVID world.

According to a new McKinsey Global Survey on future workforce needs, nearly nine in ten executives and managers say their organisations either face skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop within the next five years.

Similarly, in Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends Survey, 53 per cent of respondents said that between half to all their workforce will need to alter skills and capabilities in the next three years.

‘Talent’ no longer means the same as it did ten years ago; many of the roles, skills and job titles of tomorrow are unknown to us today. Today, success increasingly depends on innovation, entrepreneurship, and other forms of creativity. Capabilities such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence and collaboration are key, and organisations who are not thinking about these talent pipeline needs are at risk.

Custom made candidates
With the demand for skills to grow and transform businesses ever-evolving, HR leaders must also be ready to adapt recruitment and hiring processes.

Traditional hiring processes have inbuilt biases that organisations may not be aware of, that can filter candidates out of the recruitment system before they’ve had a genuine opportunity to demonstrate how well-matched they are.

And in a rapidly changing economic and digital environment, it’s crucial for organisations to find the best-fit candidate to drive the business outcomes and transformation needed.

By understanding an employer’s needs, Generation Australia is working with organisations to create their own recruitment programs to train and place candidates. In-depth research is conducted to identify in-demand skills to develop tailored training programs around. Each program is developed in consultation with industry.

For example, it was identified that demand for skills in the software and applications sector were predicted to increase by 23 per cent by 2024, which led Generation Australia to develop its junior web developer program.

The first cohort of the program recently graduated the 12-week course with two more programs scheduled to start before the end of the year.

This demand-led approach ensures the workforce is agile in adapting to the rapid digital changes and ‘skills of the moment’.

Removing bias
Unemployed Australians are also having to pivot their skills into new sectors to find work during COVID-19. For example, thousands of employees in the aviation sector are currently reshaping their skills for new roles in different industries, such as retail and health.

From reskilling for a new role to joining the gig economy, it’s safe to say that the average CV is going to look a little different in a post-COVID world. And the skills and experiences gained during this time should be recognised and valued.

Organisations looking to enhance their hiring practices will need to actively combat unconscious bias from the recruitment process to ensure they find the best person for the job.

For example, if someone hasn’t had a job for a long period of time, there may be an immediate bias that there is an issue with that person.

This bias not only leads to organisations overlooking people that could be well-suited to a position, it creates a self-perpetuating cycle that prevents them from securing permanent work.

Generation Australia is working on a new digital platform in partnership with Hatch, that will match-make candidates of diverse populations with employers who meet their requirements closely.

Through the process, organisations can select candidates who are shortlisted for the role without biases being in existence during the initial filtering process. Employers will receive an immediate short list of people who are brought to life through videos and relevant information about why they’re a good fit for the role.

As we look ahead, there’s one thing of which we are certain; it’s crucial organisations must start adapting to the needs of their future workforce now to build recession resilience and evolve as an organisation.

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The most powerful narcotic in the world is the promise of belonging – Kalle Lasn

Remember the last time you had a new starter?

They were a little nervous and excited at the same time when you met them on day one in the foyer. You were so pleased to have them join the team, as they had interviewed incredibly well and ticked every box you needed to walk in on day one and excel in the role. Bringing such an experienced human with a great track record in delivering exactly what you needed had you eager to get them up and running as soon as possible.

This is where most managers make a big mistake, and miss the opportunity to do something that all humans crave when starting a new job, but the majority don’t get to experience. Getting clear about their relevance and contribution, and immediately feeling a strong sense of belonging to the team, department, and organisation.

What are managers missing?
So, what do managers miss when they are eager to mobilise a new starter as soon as possible?

In my first book ‘Being Human’, I describe the missed opportunity of creating a real sense of belonging at this critical point in time.

Managers are eager to get the first win on the board for a new starter to build their confidence, and are overly focussed on looking over that PD one more time so they are clear about the role, handing over the laptop, car keys and pairing them up with a work buddy to learn the company way.

I believe that a great opportunity is missed here, and all it takes is a ten-minute investment in time and a conversation that ensures a member of your team feels a true sense of belonging from day one.

It’s all about two words; relevance and contribution.

‘Be crystal clear about every team member’s relevance and contribution’

You might be asking, what does this have to do with setting up a team member for success?

The importance of belonging
Human beings are sense-makers and are curious to understand how as an individual team member they contribute to the team, department, and overall organisation delivering on the strategy and business success. They crave a sense of belonging to a cause or something bigger than they are.

Human beings have a strong desire to belong; to be able to display their worth to others, usually through the demonstration of their ability to make things happen that will result in a successful outcome.

Tom Hayes sums this up beautifully when he said, “we have a fundamental imperative in our lives to matter to others, to serve others, and to support each other in mattering more.”

Ten minutes and a conversation about the following will not only set them up for success, but more importantly help them make sense about what it is you see in them that will benefit the team and the organisation.

Why they are relevant? How they will contribute?

This is not only about their technical skills; it includes their human skills.

Managers must talk about both in order to start building that feeling of belonging.

Still cynical – here’s how it works
Here’s an actual example of how to articulate the relevance and contribution of the human skills.

Trevor joined his team and one thing that was clear from the interview was that he has a unique ability to speak his truth and say what needed to be said. A well-intentioned ‘professional agitator’ if you like.

The conversation went a little like this:

“Trevor you are relevant because you bring something to our team that we have been missing. An ability to challenge and agitate when we are all in ‘group think’. This contribution excites me because we have lacked a voice that will challenge us all to see things a different way.”    

Immediately Trevor felt a sense of being valued not just for his technical skills (he was an amazing solution builder and negotiator), but also for what he contributed through his human and behavioural skills. It gave him permission to bring his uniqueness to the table in order to help the team be successful.

Gallup research identified that 93% of employees who feel valued and clearly understand how they are relevant say they are motivated to do their best by their employer. That’s reason enough to invest ten minutes to articulate why you value a team member.

The first step towards this is to create both self and team awareness of the relevance of being relevant.

It’s what we are hardwired to do.

It’s what being a Human Manager is all about.

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Damian Hughes has made a career building up both high-flying sporting stars and high-performance business professionals.  He combines his practical and academic background within sport, organisational development and change psychology, to help organisations and teams to create a high performing culture. He has been praised by Sir Richard Branson, Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, Jonny Wilkinson and Sir Alex Ferguson for his approach to eliciting sustained excellence from elite performers.

Here, Damian shares 5 lessons for those of us looking to lead and succeed through this time of great transition and opportunity (and one piece of advice for Michael Jordan).

Lesson 1: If you are usually a high performer but experience a blindsiding setback, there are clues to help you find your way back up again.
“I start with a simple exercise I dub: ‘Success Leaves Clues’. I ask, when you are good, why are you good? This seeks to find the evidence of previous successes and then break them down into traits and behaviours. These are the foundation stones of where you build again.”

Lesson 2: Whether you’re running back on to a sporting field or heading back to the office, anxiety and confusion about new behavioural expectations need to be alleviated with clear communication.
“In times of change, ambiguity is often the enemy and so whatever you can do to remove this ambiguity, mainly when focusing on the controllable behaviours, is a good place to start.”

Lesson 3: If you suspect your workplace culture is toxic, ask your team this question.
“There are lots of indicators of toxicity and some are more subtle than others. These range from apathy, aggression, cynicism, high absence and attrition rates. One quick question to determine the health of a culture is to ask staff: would you be happy for your children to work here? If the answer is negative, you need to explore why.”

Lesson 4: There is no single quality that leads to success but there is much to learn from our sporting icons.
“Is there an identifiable ‘IT factor’ that superstar sporting champions have in common with wildly successful business leaders? This is the million-dollar question, which I have been seeking to understand during my new podcast series – The High Performance Podcast – where we interview elite performers from sport, business and the arts. I don’t think there is one single factor but a series of them which help sustained high performance.

The neatest summary I have ever heard came from Smokin’ Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion of the world, who once said his success was down to inspiration, perspiration and dedication.”

Lesson 5: The one piece of advice I would have given Michael Jordan …
“I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix documentary, The Last Dance. I am aware that it is a documentary, which has a clear narrative and has been edited for a specific purpose: to entertain. Jordan was a great example of what I describe as a ‘cultural architect.’ These are the leaders who uphold the standards and behaviours. I would suggest that, based on the clips, there are a number of ways to do this rather than being combative or aggressive. Flexibility in communication is key.”

Damian will be appearing at the upcoming HR and L&D Virtual Innovation and Tech Fest where he will identify five aspects of the winning culture of world leading football team, Barcelona that allow them to find success through cohesion and cooperation. You can register for this free online event today.

Image Source: Pixabay

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You would quite literally need to be living on another planet right now to not realise that Covid-19 has fundamentally shifted the way in which the vast majority of people are living and working. Leaders face both a great opportunity and challenge in guiding their teams to be healthy, engaged, and performing through these times of unprecedented uncertainty and rapid change.

While it can undeniably be challenging to maintain a sense of ‘business as usual’ the more predictability and certainty we can build back into our lives the better. To the extent that it is possible, maintain the team routines you had in place before this crisis unfolded

From healthcare professionals and other essential service providers who are working daily with the very real threat Coronavirus poses to them and their families, to scores of people suddenly working from home in at times less than ideal settings, most of us find ourselves having to work differently and manage a great deal of complexity and stress. Then, of course, there are the people who have lost their jobs and face a foreseeable future of uncertainty and potential hardship.

For businesses to survive let alone thrive through these times it’s going to take every member of the team doing their part. Teams of people who are able to think clearly, trust one another, take ownership and collaborate to find the solutions to the organisation’s challenges, are those most likely to emerge from this experience stronger and more able to meet the needs of their customers in what will no doubt be a new world. The harsh reality is we are asking people to step up at a time when they are dealing with levels of stress many of them haven’t faced before.

Among the most important steps any leader can take therefore is to prioritise mental health. It’s safe to say the risk of mental illness impacting a lot of people across our community is very real. It’s especially important for leaders to understand that extended periods of isolation can be particularly damaging to the strength of our spirit and mental wellbeing.

Among the most important steps any leader can take therefore is to prioritise mental health. It’s safe to say the risk of mental illness impacting a lot of people across our community is very real.

Starting with their own and extending to the wellbeing of every member of the team, leaders are wise to take deliberate steps to ensure people feel has connected, supported and safe as possible. While fear is a natural human response to threat, allowing anxiety or depression to take hold is something as a community we can’t afford to let happen.

Provide information and support resources to help people manage their mental health. Ask every leader in your business to step firmly into a coaching role and influence how people are thinking and feeling. The truth is none of us has the power to control either Covid-19 or the impacts being felt around the world. The only real power we have is to choose our perspective and response to the circumstances we find ourselves in. Continue to express empathy for how people are naturally feeling but encourage also that they look beyond challenges to the things within their control.

Be flexible and adapt. Understand the individual circumstances people face and adapt your expectations as needed. In other words, appreciate how people are now working and what that means for their capacity to focus and deliver. For example, while in some home environments it may be easy to find a quiet space to work, in others every member of the family is working at the kitchen table. Add young children or pets to the mix and it can be extremely difficult for some people to deliver when you need them to.

Leaders face both a great opportunity and challenge in guiding their teams to be healthy, engaged, and performing through these times of unprecedented uncertainty and rapid change.

Stay connected. We are fortunate to live in times when we have the technology to connect ‘real time’ and ensure every member of the team feels not only visible and supported but also accountable.  Ensuring your team has a strong sense of purpose with a clear set of expectations is essential to optimising productivity. Trust that people will find their own ways in which to deliver but be clear on what the success of each week looks like.

Maintain routines. While it can undeniably be challenging to maintain a sense of ‘business as usual’ the more predictability and certainty we can build back into our lives the better. To the extent that it is possible, maintain the team routines you had in place before this crisis unfolded. So, for example if your team meeting is scheduled on Monday mornings stick to that time and move the meeting online. Even team social events are still possible. One organisation I work with has dubbed Friday night drinks ‘quarantinies’ and the team are more than happy to participate from home.

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As People and Culture professionals face unprecedented challenges, one skill will help them ensure their people and organisations thrive.

If the first half of the new decade has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t predict the future. While many were prepared for disruption brought about by new technology, few could have foreseen nationwide bushfires and global pandemics.

We live and work in challenging times. Almost overnight, established brands and entire industries are looking down the barrel. There have been significant layoffs. There’s increasing talk of a global recession. There have been massive changes to the way we live, work and interact. People are understandably scared.

The primary cause of this fear is uncertainty.

No-one has answers. Who will be affected and how long will it last? Governments and experts have been vague and varied in timeframes and forecasts. In many cases, there just isn’t enough information to give definitive conclusions.

Humans aren’t well-equipped mentally to deal with these conditions. Situations outside our control tend to trigger negative emotions, like fear, anger and despair. We imagine the worst-case scenarios and outcomes.

The World Health Organisation identifies social isolation and loneliness as one of the key threats to people’s mental health over the coming decades. Making remote work effective will require leaders to mitigate isolation through effective communication.

In response, we resort to seemingly irrational behaviours, like panic buying or hoarding. We invent compelling, yet illogical narratives and arguments to reassure ourselves everything is fine. We use denial. These are all coping methods to regain a sense of control.

In these situations people look to leaders for guidance, and one skill matters above all others:

Communication.

It might sound obvious, yet it’s astounding how something as natural — and crucial — as communication is often done poorly in many organisations, even during relatively stable periods. Now, more than ever, though, good communication is absolutely essential.

Always human
Everyone responds to change and uncertainty differently. Some people work through it quickly, others more slowly. Some respond primarily with anger, others with denial. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for everyone at the same point in time.

Effective communication during challenging periods requires a high degree of empathy and a more personalised approach. It’s more than sharing what we’re doing, but also what we’re thinking and feeling.

It’s essential to give people time to process information and work through their feelings at their own pace. We can’t rush them through it. The best we can do is understand where they’re at mentally and emotionally at a given point in time, and respond accordingly.

This requires leaders to open the lines of communication, encouraging people to have real conversations. It’s ok not to have all the answers; it’s ok to not be perfect. What matters is being there for our people and teams in their time of need.

Consistent trumps comprehensive
It’s normal to feel like we need all the information before communicating with our teams, but waiting to have all our ducks in a row is the worst thing we can do when uncertainty is high.

People don’t need all the answers at once — they need regular updates. It’s about sharing what we know right now. This can be as simple as daily check-ins to share progress on evolving circumstances or crucial metrics. It means addressing people’s most pressing concerns as soon as possible, questions like: what does this mean for your job right now?

The best thing we can do to alleviate uncertainty is regular, open and transparent communication around important issues.

Balancing negative with positive
Large-scale crises gain plenty of media coverage, most of which tends to focus on the negative impact. This barrage of bad news takes a heavy mental toll.

It’s not about burying our heads or being unrealistic. But there’s a responsibility to balance the bad with the good, especially if we want to break the cycle of negative emotions and put people in the best mental state to cope with the situation.

Perpetuating only the negative aspects increases the likelihood of stress, anxiety and overwhelm. None of these emotions are productive. Survival mode shifts brain activity to the amygdala and shuts down the prefrontal cortex. This drastically reduces creativity, critical thinking and decision-making — ironically, the exact cognitive processes that help us most in difficult circumstances.

Instead, we need to search for and share moments of levity, joy and hilarity.

Humour is an incredible coping mechanism, physiologically reducing stress. Laughter releases a cocktail of chemicals in the brain, including endorphins, dopamine and serotonin. Done judiciously, giving people an opportunity to laugh isn’t making light of a serious situation, it’s crucial for their mental wellbeing. It’s why we see such a proliferation of memes during difficult times. If we didn’t laugh, we’d probably cry.

Similarly, the best way to break the cycle of fear is to provide hope. What are the possibilities; what is within our control? Keeping people focused on these aspects serves everyone better than spiralling into despair.

Better together
Fear can cause people to resort to individual behaviours, looking after themselves and close family first, at the expense of everybody else.

Obviously, this is not ideal.

At work, we have an opportunity to break the individualistic mindset and unite people in a common cause. We can share goals that are within our control, to provide a positive focus and a sense of progress.

It’s natural to adopt reactive measures and communications in times of crisis. However, maintaining a degree of stability and normality by continuing to share purpose is important for people’s mindset, reinforcing culture and ensuring we emerge from the challenge stronger.

Making remote work – work 
Despite advances in technology and a growing number of businesses incorporating remote work, recent events have highlighted the fact many organisations still aren’t prepared for large-scale changes in the way their teams operate.

Working from home or offsite comes with an entirely new set of challenges — communication foremost.

It isn’t just a matter of switching all face-to-face meetings to teleconferencing, it means rethinking all the usual touchpoints and cultural rituals to redesign people’s experience of work in a new environment. It’s about creating connection through new channels.

The World Health Organisation identifies social isolation and loneliness as one of the key threats to people’s mental health over the coming decades. Making remote work effective will require leaders to mitigate isolation through effective communication.

As brutally challenging as this period is proving, it may well serve as a zeitgeist for a new way of working — dramatically changing the employee experience in the future.

Image source: Depositphotos

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