See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me
One of the greatest songs to come out of the 1960s was “See Me, Feel Me” (aka. See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You) by The Who. It was taken from the studio album “Tommy” which was released in May 1969, and it was part of the album’s final song “We’re Not Going to Take It.” In 1970 It was released as a single.
If you are not familiar with it, you can listen here.
It came on the radio recently and it said something to me it had not before, “This is what employees are demanding today and most employers are not listening.”
See me
Feel me
Touch me
Heal me
See me
Employees want to be seen regardless of where they are working. They want to have a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging and to feel valued and appreciated.
Jackie Wiles writing for Gartner in January this year summed up the situation in an article called “Employees Seek Personal Value and Purpose at Work. Be Prepared to Deliver.”
“Forget Great Resignation; think “Great Reflection.” We’re in a liminal moment for people and work — and our assumptions as employers must change.
This echoed the sentiment of an article I wrote back in November 2021 called “The Great Resignation Tsunami: Ready for the Ride?”
“The great wave of resignations is being driven by what I have called The Great Realisation. The Great Realisation is the time for reflection employees have had whilst being bunkered down and adjusting to the changes and uncertainties foisted upon them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They have reflected on what they want from life and work, and many have realised that they deserve more from their employer. The numbers speak for themselves.”
Results from PWC's “Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022” states that The Great Resignation shows no signs of slowing down. A key finding of the survey of more than 52,000 workers in 44 countries and territories found that 1 in 5 workers globally plan to quit in 2022.
Gartner’s Jackie Wiles talked with Gartner Chief of Research Chris Howard who said:
“People are asking themselves questions like, What makes me happy and whole? What truly satisfies me? Where have I given away too much of myself for little return?
The pandemic has been a catalyst to elevate personal purpose and values. Gartner surveyed more than 3,500 employees around the world in October 2021, and 65% said the pandemic had made them rethink the place that work should have in their life.”
A statement in a McKinsey article summed up the need for a sense of purpose:
“Employees expect their jobs to bring a significant sense of purpose to their lives. Employers need to help meet this need or be prepared to lose talent to companies that will.”
Employees need a sense of belonging. The McKinsey Great Attrition survey (September 2021) found that more than half of employees who left their jobs in the previous six months did not feel valued by their organisation (54%) or manager (52%), or they lacked a sense of belonging (51%). Can you afford to lose over half of your workforce because you don’t show them that you value them and their contribution?
Employees must feel valued and appreciated. When they do, they are motivated. They want to be appreciated, recognised, and rewarded. Employees who do not feel valued, are disengaged, and less productive, and their well-being will be impacted. They are likely to experience burnout if the situation prevails and will search for an employee that will give them the appreciation they deserve.
See me.
Feel me
When leaders listen to employees, they get a sense of what is occurring with the individual, the team, and their relationship with the organisation. They can feel what is happening.
Leaders will not know how to stem the attrition of talent or how to attract it unless they listen to their employees. Employees have plenty to say right now and they also know they are in the driving seat. The talent shortage is at an all-time high on a global scale. If employees do not feel heard, they will walk out the door and to an employer who will listen.
Everyone has been through so much because of the pandemic and each employee’s story will be different. Leaders must keep a close eye on what employees are experiencing - feeling - both mentally and physically
This is not a time for executives to sit in their virtual ivory towers and make plans for 2023 and beyond. If they want to limit talent loss to see them remain competitive and relevant, then they need to listen to what employees are saying and feeling. This is not achieved with the annual employee-engagement survey. Things are changing far too quickly both to the individual employee and the entire workforce, and actions based on data over 3 months old, will be a waste of time.
What employees may have said to you in March could be very different to what they say to you in June. Many organisations are now looking to implement continuous listening programs, and each is doing it in a different way. There is no single, clear, and agreed-upon definition of “continuous listening” right now.
Some organisations tie the listening program to the employee lifecycle taking pulse checks at various stages of the lifecycle - attraction; recruitment; onboarding; retention; learning and development; rewards, recognition, and benefits; progression and performance; and separation.
Others use organisational wide-surveys and crowdsourcing such as asking specific questions and using suggestion boxes or internal social media channels.
The biggest challenge facing organisations taking this approach is implementing appropriate follow-up action based on the results of the listening. We all know that if there is no evidence that action has been taken on the back of listening to employees, employees will stop contributing. If you are not able to act, don't ask the question!
In addition to all these approaches, I believe that the continuous listening program needs to invest in the development of the listening skills of leaders. Leaders must be enabled to practice “active listening.”
Active listening means being present, really hearing what people are saying, validating your understanding by repeating what was said, encouraging people to share more by asking them questions, and encouraging those not participating to speak up and be involved.
Active listening means you avoid distractions, you watch for verbal and physical cues regarding how the other person is feeling. Leaders need to be able to recognise facial expressions. You can take a test to see how well you can read facial expressions here.
When you know how employees are feeling you can then take the appropriate action needed to rectify a situation that is causing bad feelings or amplify a situation that is causing good feelings.
Listening to employees, understanding how they are feeling and acting upon that feedback has benefits. According to employee listening leader Perceptyx, organisations that regularly listen and act on employee feedback are 3X as likely to meet their financial targets as those who don’t. They are also 10X as likely to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.
Feel me.
Touch me
Employees must feel touched by their leaders, colleagues, and peers. They need a sense of connection. Leaders must regularly reach out to each one of their employees with a human touch.
Never has the human touch been more important. We know that most employees who can work remotely want both the flexibility and autonomy to decide where they work, when they work, and how they work. It is the technology that has made this possible.
But no technology can automate and replace empathy, engagement, and loyalty in an organisation. It is only the human touch that can detect pain and convey senses of safety and love. It also can lead to trust and productivity between employees.
The distributed workforce is not going away. It is here to stay and whilst technology may enable that, leaders must ensure that their employees do not feel isolated, disconnected, and alone. If employees experience these feelings, it can impact their mental health and they could end up leaving the organisation.
Leaders and their teams must decide when it makes sense to physically co-locate and ensure the human touch remains. For some employees, striking up friendships with colleagues has become harder due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. Leaders and their teams will have to find a balance between utilising technology to enable remote work and enhancing the employees’ work lives and maintaining the human touch.
Leaders must ask their employees which activities and tasks they would prefer to be conducted digitally versus in person.
In research by PWC, they found that 40 to 45% of employees prefer face-to-face interactions for tasks like performance reviews and getting help with difficult problems. They also found that similar numbers preferred those same tasks to be partially or fully digitised.
Therefore, it is going to be a matter of choice and subject to experimentation to find the right balance.
Touch me.
Heal me
As I wrote in last week’s newsletter:
“Leaders as carers have employee well-being as the priority. They deliberately check-in on a regular basis to find out how their employees are faring. They check in they do not check-up. They know the questions to ask and the signs to watch for that indicate an employee may be struggling. They know the appropriate actions to take if it is needed.
Leaders as carers check-in, have the conversation and then leave. The check-in on employee well-being is not a preamble to another agenda item nor is it something tagged on at the end of a 1:1 meeting. Leaders as carers do not say, “Oh, and by the way, before we close, how are you doing?” The check-in is wholly and solely a check-in on well-being.”
Mark C. Perna described this in his Forbes article “Why A Lack of Human Connection Is Crippling Your Work Culture.”
“When you check in, check in and then walk away. Do not add anything else to the conversation. Do not bring up an assignment you need them to complete, don’t talk shop, don’t let it turn into anything else except a sincere conversation about them and their needs at that moment in time. Check in, and then walk away.
If you do ask someone to do something immediately after checking in with them, you’ve just invalidated the check-in. They see it as you simply making small talk, with your ulterior motive being what you need from them.”
Leaders must reach out to determine if employees need help. Many do not do this as they fear they will not know how to respond if an employee says that they are struggling. Leaders must realise that they are not expected to be medical practitioners, but that their role is to help the employee find the right assistance they need.
If you are a leader and have a concern about the mental well-being of an employee you must reach out and ask, “How are you going? or “What’s been happening?”
Mention what you have noticed that has raised your concern. If they don’t want to talk, don’t force them but let them know you are there for them and you care for them.
If they do talk, listen with an open mind. Do not judge and do not interrupt. Give them all the time they need to think and convey how they are feeling. Repeat back to them what you think you have heard them say to ensure you have understood correctly.
You now need to encourage action. Have they been in this situation before and what did they do about it then? Ask how you can support them. Encourage them to seek out the professional help they may need and offer to help find the right person.
It is important that you check back in. Put a reminder in your calendar. The timing may depend on how much they are struggling. You may want to check in sooner than later. Find out what action they have taken and the impact it is having. Be prepared to listen. Keep in touch and always be there for them. Showing genuine care and concern can make a real difference.
Heal me.
Listening to you
When leaders see their employees, feel what they are experiencing, provide a human touch and connection, and care for their well-being, they will be able to finish off the song.
Listening to you, I get the music
Gazing at you I get the heat
Following you, I climb a mountain
I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you, I see the millions
On you, I see the glory
From you, I get opinion
From you, I get the story
This is not the interpretation intended by the songwriter Pete Townsend. This is my interpretation when a leader finishes the song.
Listening to you, I get the music
I hear what you say, and I understand
Gazing at you I get the heat
I comprehend what you are experiencing
Following you, I climb a mountain
I utilise your knowledge, skills, and abilities to make things better for all
I get excitement at your feet
I am inspired by our opportunities
Right behind you, I see the millions
You are the future I will nurture
On you, I see the glory
I will provide you with the growth opportunities that you wish for
From you, I get opinion
I actively seek your feedback and act on it
From you, I get the story
I ask and I get the truth