The CIPD’s 2023 Manifesto for Good work looks at new ways of working. They believe we need to focus on improving job quality to support employee wellbeing, productivity and labour market participation.
What constitutes ‘good work’ may be debatable, many employers don’t concern themselves too much with instituting employee-centred HR policies and procedures. This is short-sighted, since sourcing and retaining talent is, and is likely to remain, a major challenge for the near future.
The CIPD focus on skilled work, fair work and healthy work. At 10Eighty we believe there are three important factors for an effective and productive workplace culture:
- Employees want to be recognised and valued for good work.
- They want a positive relationship with fair pay and a measure of control over work-life balance and autonomy around job performance in an inclusive environment.
- They want to be able to develop skills and knowledge to enhance employability and maintain learning to the benefit of a viable career path.
Meet the needs of workers
First and foremost, suggests the CIPD, we need a skills system and policies that meet the varied needs of employers, and their staff, a revitalised approach to strategy to boost productivity across all sectors of the economy.
10Eighty maintain that leaders need clarity of vision and purpose around a business model fit for the post-pandemic world of work, alongside self-directed learning and robust digital skills training for employees to thrive in the new business environment.
We believe that employers should concentrate on developing talent internally. The future-proofed organisation needs to develop innovative employees who understand the requirements of the new environment. Employees who can solve problems, plan and adapt to change, communicate effectively and make decisions on the wing.
Invest in employees
Employers need to invest in policies and programmes that encourage a learning mindset. This is probably the most important thing a leader can do for his employees, as to achieve breakthrough ideas and brilliant innovation organisations need to develop and enable a culture that encourages pushing boundaries and testing limits.
At 10Eighty we think it is important to offer opportunities to the whole workforce for learning, development and feedback. Creating a learning culture at work is a crucial part of HR management strategy which enables the organisation to be competitive and attractive to high performance individuals.
A culture of learning indicates to potential employees that there are opportunities for skills development and sustainable employability; and that’s what the best candidates seek out. It needs to be “scalable learning”, enabling workers to adapt rapidly to new information and deploy the skills to act upon it.
Fair and heathy work
Leaders and HR professionals need tools and processes to build trust and support fairness. If you want loyal and committed employees the quid pro quo is that the organisation is a real model of integrity – the quality of the relationship between the employee and the employer, is crucial.
CIPD research shows that ‘organisations that treat their employees with fairness, integrity and sensitivity are more likely to find that those employees respond with increased commitment and productivity.’ A fair and healthy workplace matters because research shows how perceptions of fairness and health relate to each other over time. The findings suggest that employees who feel unfairly treated are more likely to develop health problems.
In short, if people are your greatest asset try treating them like assets that you value as an investment rather than as resources that you will use up and replace. It will pay dividends to support employees, and ensure that they have meaningful, healthy, and productive working lives.
