Over the past years, the standards for excellence in many arenas have been raised.
When it comes to pitching a service, idea, or product, a technically competent presentation is not enough to close the deal. Today, you need to focus also on the audience’s receptiveness as much as the message: how will they emotionally react to the content, format, and delivery by the presenter. As we’ve been saying for decades, it takes an ADAP presentation to win the deal: Audience-Driven, Authentically-Presented.
The same applies for the workplace. The Great Resignation, brought on by the awareness of the fragility of life, and our ability to use technology to replace tasks that can be done as well if not better by technology has changed how people judge work. Increasingly, workers, especially GenZ and Millennials, realize that living separate “Work and Personal” lives and trying to somehow balance them – doesn’t make sense. Today, people want to lead integrated, holistic lives where they can bring their whole-selves to all aspects of life.
Being engaged in your work – being passionate about some aspects of the activities you do – is no longer enough. People want the work to have meaning for them – ranging from having today’s work aligned with the future work you want to do and/or having the work you do aligned with a larger sense of purpose in the world. That may mean contributing to societal goods, or feeling that you’re using your time best, and allowing technology to free you from work digital labor can do cheaper and faster) while you address more meaningful issues. If you need to put in eight hours of work, there’s no reason it always has to be done in the same location; nor in a consecutive mode. Why not get the work done between 8Am and 8PM, and use four of those 12 hours for personal/other care issues (e.g, family) as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s life? Thus the new standard is Employee Experience.
How do we achieve it? As the article 6 Steps to an Ideal Employee Experience suggests, it starts with asking employees what they want most from work, and listening. The “future of work” – a multigenerational workplace with older workers continuing to contribute when they can add value to the enterprise, with RPA AI and other technologies freeing employees from “grunt” work so they can focus on higher valued work and make a bigger difference in their lives – has started.
We can empower ourselves for a fulfilling 100-year life best by anticipating and preparing for all aspects of Employee Excellence at work – wherever and whenever it takes place! Join the movement!