79% of Frontline Workers Who Feel a Sense of
Belonging at Work Have No Plans to Leave Their Employer
Frontline Workers Cite Belonging, Technology,
and Supportive Managers as Critical Retention Factors; Highlights
Need for Organizations to Prioritize Employee Experiences
NEW
YORK, Jan. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NRF 2023
(Booth #5957) -- Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leader
in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human
resources, today published the results of its latest survey, which
defines the critical areas and elements of the employee experience
through the eyes of frontline workers.
Workday surveyed 3,000 global workers in frontline positions –
across industries including construction, energy, healthcare,
hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and transportation – to
understand the sentiment, needs, and priorities of today's
frontline workforce and to uncover how employers can support,
empower, and retain these workers. This is especially critical, as
a majority (56%) of senior executives are facing frontline employee
turnover that is higher than the historical average.
Keys to Engaging and Retaining Today's Frontline
Workers
The findings revealed that employee experience
plays a critical role in frontline worker retention – across all
industries surveyed. Today's frontline workers want access to the
right tools and technology, to feel a sense of belonging, and to be
supported by their managers. It also found that despite 20% of
frontline workers planning to leave their jobs within the next
three to six months, 79% of workers who feel a sense of belonging
at work have no plans to leave their employer, underlining the need
for employers to better engage with and retain this essential
segment of the workforce.
The survey identified three key factors to delivering positive,
connected, and supportive experiences for frontline workers:
- Workplace Belonging is Critical for Frontline Worker
Wellbeing and Retention.
When frontline workers feel
connected with their managers, it significantly impacts their sense
of belonging, intent to stay, and sentiment towards the
organization. Workers who feel a sense of belonging at
work are nine times more likely to have a supportive manager,
and 79% of them have no plans to leave their employer. Conversely,
those workers who do not feel a sense of workplace belonging are
four times more likely to say their mental health and wellbeing has
declined in the last year, and just 33% intend to stay with their
current employer.
- The Role of Technology on Employer Perception.
Having
the right tools and technology play a critical part in how
frontline workers experience and perceive work overall. According
to the survey, workers who have flexible scheduling tools – i.e.,
tools that enable them to manage their schedules and adjust and add
shifts – are 71% more likely to say their company is open and
transparent. However, if frontline workers don't have access to the
right technologies to do their work, they are 20 times more likely
to say their employer is not open and transparent.
- Supportive People Leaders and Opportunities to
Share.
To deliver experiences that matter, people leaders
need to understand the evolving preferences and needs of employees,
and make sure their voices are heard. The findings show that 80% of
workers who say their manager understands and regularly supports
them indicate they are happy in their job with no plans to leave.
Yet, for workers who say their manager doesn't consistently support
them, only 20% say they are happy in their current role. In fact, a
supportive manager can improve a frontline worker's likelihood of
retention by 300%.
Additionally, frontline workers want to be recognized for their
work and have opportunities to share feedback. According to the
survey, 79% of workers want to share feedback with their
organization monthly or more frequently, yet only 55% of employers
give them a chance to. This directly impacts retention, as only 15%
of frontline workers who want – and receive – daily or weekly
feedback have plans to quit their job.
The Path Forward for Employee Experiences for the New Front
Line
To keep frontline workers engaged and empowered during
changing workforce dynamics, organizations need a unified view of
their workforce in order to understand and respond to their unique
needs. Workday helps organizations support frontline workers and
managers with Workday Scheduling and Labor Optimization, a
worker-first scheduling solution that leverages artificial
intelligence (AI) to match labor demands with worker preferences
and enables workers to manage their schedules, adjust and add
shifts, and more on a mobile device.
As the survey revealed, frontline workers want a voice, and they
want to be heard. Organizations are using Workday Peakon Employee
Voice to give employees a confidential platform to share honest
feedback about their experience, expectations, and health and
wellbeing. With real time visibility into employee sentiment,
Workday enables organizations to turn these insights into action
and elevate the voice of their employees.
Comments on the News
"Frontline workers are doing the
hard – yet essential – work that doesn't always get noticed or
appreciated like it should," said Ben
Eubanks, chief research officer, Lighthouse Research &
Advisory. "This research uncovered how positively frontline workers
respond to having the right tools and resources in their hands to
better manage their work life. It's my hope that employers take
note and use these findings as an opportunity to build a stronger
support system for their critical frontline staff."
"The last few years have placed a significant amount of pressure
and demand on frontline workers, yet organizations continue to face
challenges in supporting and retaining this critical segment of the
workforce," said Mariana Santiago,
GM workforce and payroll, Workday. "The survey uncovered that
experience is at the very core of frontline worker engagement and
retention. Organizations that listen to the evolving needs and
preferences of frontline workers, empower them with the tools to do
their jobs, and support them when it matters most will flip the
script and dramatically increase their ability to recruit and
retain this workforce."
About the Survey
The "Frontline Workers: How to
Connect, Enable, and Support Them in the Modern Workplace" was
conducted by Lighthouse Research & Advisory and commissioned by
Workday. It is based on a survey of 3,000 global respondents in
Australia, Canada, China, India,
Ireland, New Zealand, U.K., and U.S. and across
industries including construction, energy, healthcare, hospitality,
manufacturing, retail, and transportation – to understand the
sentiment, needs, and priorities of today's frontline
workforce.
For More Information
- Download the report, "Frontline Workers: How to Connect,
Enable, and Support Them in the Modern Workplace."
- Read the blog, "Frontline Workplaces: Experiencing High
Turnover? The Cause May Be Your Manager."
- Stop by the Workday booth (#5957) at NRF 2023 (January 15–17,
2023) to hear from Workday customers, connect with Workday
executives, and see demos of Workday Financial Management, Workday
Human Capital Management, Workday Scheduling and Labor
Optimization, Workday Peakon Employee Voice, and more.
About Workday
Workday is a leading provider of
enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources,
helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday
applications for financial management, human resources, planning,
spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of
organizations around the world and across industries – from
medium-sized businesses to more than 50% of the Fortune 500.
For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
© 2023 Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the
Workday logo are registered trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other
brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective holders.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements including, among other things,
statements regarding the impacts of the co-CEO transition, the
timing and impact of Workday's future leadership structure, and
Workday's fourth quarter fiscal 2023 and full year fiscal 2024
financial guidance, growth, innovation, momentum, and
opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based only on
currently available information and our current beliefs,
expectations, and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements
relate to the future, they are subject to risks, uncertainties,
assumptions, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to
predict and many of which are outside of our control. If the risks
materialize, assumptions prove incorrect, or we experience
unexpected changes in circumstances, actual results could differ
materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements, and therefore you should not rely on any
forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to,
risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), including our Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter
ended October 31, 2022, and our
future reports that we may file with the SEC from time to time,
which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday
assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update
any such forward-looking statements after the date of this
release.
Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in
this document, our website, or other press releases or public
statements that are not currently available are subject to change
at Workday's discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at
all. Customers who purchase Workday services should make their
purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions
that are currently available.
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SOURCE Workday Inc.