Hybrid workers’ loyalty proves that listening to employees pays off

File this under “Things that shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

Recent surveys – one from Prudential, the other conducted by Women in Banking and Finance and the London School of Economics – found overwhelming support for hybrid work among respondents. The latter survey, of people working in the finance industry, turned up 95 percent support for hybrid work (but, somewhat surprisingly, no support at all for completely remote working arrangements).

The Prudential survey, meanwhile, found hybrid employees to be the most loyal – about 70 percent – with fully remote workers at 59 percent and in-office workers at 64 percent. Hybrid employees also had more favorable opinions of their benefits and compensation, compared to the other two groups.

Companies that listened when their employees said “We like the combination of in-office connection and at-home flexibility” – to care for children or other family members, to save on commuting time and expenses, or just to clear a few chores during the week – are reaping the rewards of paying attention.

Meanwhile, those who issued, “Come back to the office or you’re gone” ultimatums are finding that their workers are pushing back – and often doing the bare minimum to get by while they look for other positions. Even with recent rounds of layoffs in the tech sector, other fields – especially the finance industry – face staffing shortages made even worse by demanding working arrangements.

How can you boost loyalty by listening to employee concerns in other areas?

With these survey results in mind, expand the picture. In what other areas could your business improve loyalty by listening to what employees want and, wherever possible, making that happen?

• Pay transparency: The younger your workers, the more pay transparency matters to them. They want to know that they’re getting paid fairly, both within your company and in the larger market, and the old adage that “It’s nobody else’s business who’s making what” doesn’t hold water with them.
• Inclusion efforts: Real inclusion is, perhaps, the least-understood aspect of “DEI” – diversity, equity and inclusion. Scheduling social events and making sure everyone is invited is all well and good, but inclusion needs to go far beyond that. Instead of company leaders and managers making one-sided decisions about what inclusion should look like, why not involve the workforce members most at risk of exclusion and ask them what it would take to make them feel included?
• Meaningful benefits: Workers’ needs, especially hybrid and remote workers’ needs, have changed. Every generation of workers has different priorities, and an effectively comprehensive benefits package has to take those needs and priorities into account.

For more on how to keep your top performers, check out Inspiring Loyalty: The Secrets of Employee Retention

The simplest way to find out what employees want and need? Ask them. Conduct surveys. Have one-on-one sessions. Keep an open channel for suggestions and requests. If you don’t ask, you can’t know – and if you don’t ask, employees might assume you don’t care, which will have a devastating effect on retention and productivity.

Show them that you do. Ask. Listen. Act. That’s how you build loyalty.