People-centric leadership can improve resilience, report finds

EY's 2023 Work Reimagined Survey found a clash between the priorities, pressures, and prospects of employers and employees, and it said that more leaders need to move towards fostering collaboration and driving consensus so they build a culture underpinned by trust.

"To successfully bridge the perception gap, leaders should consider this a moment for a great rebalance that results in organisations benefitting from the latest tools and technology while encouraging a people-centric, agile, and resilient organisational culture," the report said.

The global survey showed that many employees are driven by a better total rewards package and continued work flexibility, two areas that are not a high priority for leaders. That disconnect may result in more employees leaving to pursue new opportunities that meet their compensation expectations.

The number of employees who say they are willing to leave their jobs in the next 12 months is still relatively high (34%), though lower than in 2022 (43%), the report said. While employees place more value on pay and compensation than employers, 79% of employers (versus 80% of employees) agree there is a need for moderate to extensive changes to total rewards programs (encompassing time off, recognition, well-being, health and retirement).

"Employees cite compensation levels and increases as their main concern, followed by talent retention, and addressing burnout and well-being," the report said. "Navigating the way forward will rely on leaders … to re-energise their workforce strategy to be technologically evolved yet inherently people-centric, agile, and resilient,"

Organisations that prioritise people in their workforce decisions report seeing markedly better outcomes and have these indicators of success in common, according to the report:

• Employees who trust leaders and feel trusted, empowered;
• Leadership that cares about employees as people;
• Employees who feel connected and inspired at work;
• Employees who feel well-informed;
• A diverse workforce;
• Efforts to build skills for the future, and;
• A leadership team aligned on new ways of working.

"These organisations reported … being 2.5 times more likely to have employees who feel connected to their teams and who are four times more likely to report having a balanced workload," the report said. "As a sign of how these organisations are able to build resilience, their employees are five times more likely to agree their organisation can adapt and build future skills, and twice as likely to be optimistic that the organisation can attract the talent it needs."

Organisations need to find a balance between cyclical market challenges and employee priorities, the report noted, and "leaders should not underestimate the importance of trust and empathy to driving better outcomes".

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.