Chief Emoji Officer Leadership and Employee Engagement

SUBMITTED BY PAYLOCITY

When it comes to employee engagement, a simple emoji (or comment) from senior leadership can make a big difference.

Though a record of more than 47 million American workers voluntarily quit their jobs last year, the “Great Resignation” was actually consistent with a growing trend pre-dating the pandemic. Employee engagement was already growing in priority among organizations, but studies show that currently just 36% of employees are engaged at work in the U.S., proving there’s still a lot of work to be done. Especially because two-thirds of actively disengaged workers are or are planning to look for new jobs. That’s in line with research saying that a toxic corporate culture is 10.4 times more powerful than compensation in predicting attrition rate.

In the midst of what’s now being called the “Great Return,” it’s critical for organizations to consider innovative ways to attract and hold on to employees amidst this “quitter’s market.” Flexible schedules, remote work and wellness programs aren’t quite enough to provide the sense of belonging that people want. With all the disruptions in work and home life these past few years, “40% of people say they feel isolated at work, and the result has been lower organizational commitment and engagement.”

At Paylocity, we wanted to test a hypothesis that a key difference-maker could be hidden in a somewhat unexpected place. Our clients told us that employees were more engaged when executives actively participated in “Community,” our social collaboration hub, and we found this to be true internally, as well. During the first few months of the pandemic, our CEO Steve Beauchamp began posting video messages that sparked massive amounts of views, reactions and comments.

So, we dove into the data to put this theory to the test.

THE DATA TELLS THE STORY: LEADERSHIP’S ROLE IN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Because Community is built right into our platform, where employees can do everything from reviewing paychecks and clocking in and out for shifts to taking training courses and pulse surveys, the data we needed was readily available.

Our data science team reviewed client utilization data on Community over a five-month period in late 2021, specifically use of announcements, posts, impressions (peer recognition), comments, reactions and groups. During that period, we recorded more than 800,000 interactions, ranging from quick reactions (nearly 350,000 smiley faces, hearts, thumbs ups and more) to company-wide announcements (more than 30,000 opportunities to centralize critical and timely information).

The team then compared executive utilization data against engagement scores, measured by our patent-pending Modern Workforce Index, which provides an overall score of an organization’s health, performance benchmarks to peers and prescriptive recommendations to improve efficiency and employee engagement.

The story was consistent: when executive leaders are active, their respective company engagement scores are higher. In fact, companies whose executives completed at least one activity (post, reaction, comment, etc.) saw MWI scores 12% higher than those companies whose executives didn’t participate at all. And, the difference between the companies’ executives that were least and most active on Community was even higher at 18%.

The significance of a higher MWI score is far more than a badge of honor. Companies with top-tier MWI scores saw results like 15% to 25% lower voluntary turnover, 24% higher headcount and 70% more ROI from their HCM tools.

Our conclusion: With just a few minutes (dare we say, a few emojis) per day, executive leaders could make a meaningful and significant impact on employee engagement which, in turn, reduces turnover.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MUST STAY TOP OF MIND

The rules of employee engagement are fluid and unique to each company, but one thing is clear — leaders in every organization must keep engagement high on their priority list.

In the last year, overall employee engagement efforts within Community using employer announcements, employee visits and posts, reactions and comments have increased by more than 56% overall, with employee comments up by more than 150%. Companies that used Community also saw 23% higher employee sentiment scores as measured by MWI.

Recognition is another key way employee experience tools can enhance engagement, considering the lack of recognition is a top reason for voluntary turnover. Among the clients with the highest utilization rates, the number of employees receiving public recognition from their peers increased on average by more than 500% in the first six months.

LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

A key takeaway is that impactful executive engagement pays off. Quick and easy activities create noticeable upticks in engagement. Executives can maximize their influence through approachable and accessible efforts such as:

1. Showcasing employee -centered culture during recruiting and onboarding. Sharing a video message from your executives during these critical early days have lasting impact and reinforce communication and connection. “Our CEO loves the ability to Leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves to work (and communicate) with those in the trenches stand to position their organization for success through increased engagement and loyalty.

get instant feedback from employees when he puts his own messages out. That’s been a big deal for him.

He wants to be heavily involved so giving him that with Community has been really impactful,” said

Becky Miratsky, chief people officer for integrated life choices. 2. Activities that count in making executives approachable and accessible.

Even a simple thumbs up can make a big difference in the day of one of your frontliners, helping him or her feel seen and heard. Employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform to the best of their abilities. 3. Broadcasting critical information to employee devices for a consumer-like experience. Announcements ensure all employees get the same information at the same time from the same source, and, better yet, video ensures better overall information retention. In a world where today’s employees want to be in the know, executive participation through announcements can help create the transparency and trust required for better engagement. 4. Groups that offer personal and professional connections across levels. Executive leadership has the chance to reinforce collaboration, approachability and accessibility by interacting with employees at all levels and across teams based on common interests, locations or employee resource groups, for example. These opportunities can be rare even when workforces are primarily in person, particularly for new hires.

STRENGTHEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT WITH EXECUTIVE ENGAGEMENT

Leaders who are willing to roll up their sleeves to work (and communicate) with those in the trenches stand to position their organization for success through increased engagement and loyalty. When executives take the time to engage via social collaboration tools, recognize the wins of their employees and encourage professional growth, it makes a huge difference in the overall employee experience – and employees’ willingness to stick around.

The business impact of employee engagement initiatives is invaluable now — with in-person and remote workers — and together with other tactics like video communication and learning, executive participation is another opportunity for companies to attract and retain.

A member of the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, Inc., Paylocity is a provider of cloud-based HR and payroll software solutions. Paylocity accompanies its clients on the journey to create great workplaces and help all employees achieve their best. For more information, visit www.paylocity.com.