BOOK REVIEW

By Chris Wendel

For decades, the Gallup Corporation has been researching world-wide human and workforce behavior. Through its research, the company has created its own industry by providing useful data for gauging business success.

Gallup’s chairman Jim Clifton and Chief Workplace Scientist Jim Harter wrote “Culture Shock” to emphasize how the work landscape changed dramatically after the COVID pandemic.

Through a series of brief, but informative chapters, Clifton and Harter present a clear analysis of how employee engagement impacts a company’s customer satisfaction. The bottom line? Maintaining devoted customers is the key to thriving.

To keep customers happy, say the authors, it’s imperative to have employees that care about their roles and the company itself.

Creating and maintaining this level of employee and customer engagement has become a more difficult trick to turn, post-pandemic. Demographic factors created a shortage of workers prior the pandemic. The reset of priorities for workers during the pandemic – combined with companies prioritizing earnings over employees – resulted in the current workforce crisis.

“Culture Shock” points out that for employees to be onboard and dedicated, they need to be managed more effectively. This means that managers must identify their employees’ strengths and skills, mesh them with the organization’s needs, thus “…emphasizing the role that human nature plays in business outcomes.”

Having engaged employees also means that workers have a defined career path that they can imagine themselves growing forward with, as well as weekly check ins with a manager who recognizes that vision. The role the manager plays is the key piece of the equation for both employer and employee, and it’s this relationship that also forms the foundation for maintaining superior customer engagement (as well as sales and profits). Techniques for developing and maintaining a strong manager-employee dialogue are described in detail at the end of the book.

Unfortunately, the majority of organizations in the United States fail to provide this type of nurturing environment for employees. Similar to its primer for manager meetings, “Culture Shock” uses its research to generate basic points and ideas for what companies can do to create a strong workforce.

“Culture Shock” also addresses the ongoing issue of in-house, hybrid and virtual work. According to Gallup surveys, management must have an overall philosophy of trusting of its employees for its workforce to thrive. The trust component also includes organizations being flexible with employees with their

CULTURE SHOCK:

An unstoppable force is changing how we work and live. Gallup’s solution to the biggest leadership issue of our tim e

By Jim Clifton and Jim Harter

schedules to address family needs and with offering options to work at home or with more hybrid work arrangements. Companies that fail to do so are behind the curve and will suffer the fallout, say the authors.

Gallup’s research reveals that offering employees flexibility builds employee loyalty for the company. Employees finding that security or trust will then have pride in their work and will strive to make their customers happy. According to “Culture Shock,” it’s this intentional managing, trust, and sustained employee engagement that will help companies reduce quiet quitting and be successful going forward.

“Culture Shock” is a different kind of business book. It’s short on anecdotes and more to the point with its useful recommendations. Near the conclusion, the authors promote their StrengthsFinder program that helps employees, managers, and teams understand their members’ individual strengths. Although I personally am a strong advocate of the StrengthsFinder program, it might be off-putting to readers who get to the end of the book and see this not so subtle turn.

Chris Wendel works for Northern Initiatives, a mission-based lending organization based in Marquette, Michigan. Northern Initiatives provides funding to businesses in Michigan and know-how to organizations throughout the United States. Wendel lives and works in Traverse City.

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