Employee engagement across Australia and New Zealand has increased over the last 12 months, as per the recent 2022 Qualtrics Employee Experience Trends report.

While engagement has risen year on year, employees' intent to stay in the same organisation for the next 12 months remains flat (55 percent in 2022 vs 57 percent in 2021). 

“The changes introduced by employers since 2020 have fundamentally changed people’s expectations of how they work, and will have long lasting impacts on the psychological contract between employees and employers into the future," said Crissa Sumner, EX Solution Strategist for Qualtrics in Australia and New Zealand.

As employers continue to evolve and innovate their employee experience, it is critical to know what's making people stay in the same organisation. The Qualtrics study outlines the top drivers helping employers increase intent to stay:

• I feel that my career goals can be met at this company (growth & development)
• I feel as if I belong at this company (inclusion)
• I feel positive about myself at work (wellbeing)
• I believe this company has an outstanding future (strategic alignment)
• I would recommend this company’s products and services (customer focus)

Crissa emphasises that for successfully navigating the current job market, organisations must invest in more growth and development opportunities for employees to ensure their career goals can be met, alongside creating a culture where all people feel like they belong and can thrive.

In the last few years, leaders have been focusing on cultures focused outcomes, and building programs that support others to develop associated leadership skills. With this approach, the survey has seen a huge improvement of 15-points in relation to manager effectiveness in Australia and New Zealand compared to 12 months previously.

Integrating well-being in the flow of work

While there has been a year-on-year increase in employee well-being, employee resilience has declined by 12 percent over the last year, indicating that the current levels of well-being may not be sustainable unless employers focus on improving resilience among their teams. 

Employers need to focus on the fundamentals. 

A key area for employers to focus on to build resilience, especially in hybrid environments, is ensuring employees feel comfortable to take a sick day, with findings revealing a quarter (23 percent) say they won’t even if they are not feeling well enough to perform their duties.

“The shift to hybrid environments is not as simple as setting a new work schedule. For it to be successful, organisations need to adopt new mindsets, define and iterate new ways of working, and continually capture feedback from their teams to ensure it is meeting their needs,” added Sumner.

Creating better digital experiences for the hybrid workforce 

As hybrid work environments become the new norm, the report suggests employees are underwhelmed by the current technology experiences provided. Only 30 percent feel that the technology provided meets their expectations.

“Beyond driving retention, the Qualtrics research shows employees’ who are satisfied with the technology available are 3x more likely to be engaged and productive at work, as well as report higher levels of wellbeing,” said Sumner.

Investing in improving technology in the hybrid workplace will pay off in many ways for employers.