September: Exclusive BCG report and the secrets of successful HR teams. 💡

Because life's too short to read boring HR & Comms newsletters ⏩ 

After a quick summer break, we’re back with another rapid-fire round-up of the best HR & Comms news, precision-picked guides & resources, and a peek behind the scenes at Flip HQ.  

In this month's edition: The secrets of successful HR teams, the key to performance management, and an exclusive new report from Flip and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) .

Hot off the press

The news & the numbers for HR & Internal Comms this month.

HR success depends on open, honest feedback (and doing something about it!)  💝

A recent SurveyMonkey report brings some great insights into the perception of the HR function amongst employees. It highlights feedback as a key lever to increase employee trust and satisfaction, finding that employees at companies with a culture of open, honest feedback are two to four times as likely to view HR positively. A word to the wise, however: Welcoming feedback is only valuable if you intend to take action. Nearly half of employees who do not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts cite doubts that feedback will lead to meaningful change.

Frontline workers are not just undervalued, they’re frequently underpaid 😭

As if the comparatively low salaries weren’t bad enough, 2 in 5 frontline shift workers in the UK report being paid late, and the majority believe they are missing earned pay. Even worse, many can’t check what they’re owed, with a quarter not even receiving payslips. 

Lack of visibility seems to be partially to blame, with changing shift patterns, difficulty keeping track of hours, and struggling to get hold of HR all cited as barriers. 

Giving workers the right to switch off 🙅♀️

September brings news that the UK government’s autumn legislation is likely to include guidance around a ‘right to disconnect’ (i.e. to not be contacted by their employers outside of working hours). While it’s unclear at this point whether this ‘right’ would be enshrined in law (following the examples of nations like Australia), the acceleration in legislation of this type uncovers a growing cultural focus on work-life balance and employees’ boundaries. 

With the vast majority of workers at risk of burnout this year, any ‘right to disconnect’ – even as an accepted ‘code of practice’ similar to Ireland and many EU nations – is likely to be welcomed.

‘Managers simply are not showing up for their employees’ 🫣

We’ve spoken before about the importance of managers for keeping employees engaged and productive, with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finding that great managers are associated with a 13.9x increase in job satisfaction. Gallup ’s 2024 edition of its State of the Global Workplace report adds further confirmation, finding that managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement between teams. 

Worryingly, however, they have  the highest ‘looking to leave’ sentiment of all employees, suggesting businesses need to focus their engagement efforts in the ranks of middle management in order to prevent widespread disenchantment from worsening. 

The key to an employee performance boost? Clarity 👓

Whether it’s ‘quiet quitting’ or ‘The Great Disengagement’, employers are on the hunt for the most effective ways to improve engagement and performance. Recent research from McKinsey & Company suggests that providing clarity is key. Exact performance management framework notwithstanding, employee motivation was improved when workers felt that the system was clear, consistently applied (read: fair!), and directly related to company performance. 

Another considerable boost in motivation when the manager providing feedback had sufficient capabilities to do so effectively. Sadly, a quarter of respondents said their manager lacks those skills. 

Flip perspectives

Meanwhile, we've been cooking up some insights of our own. Here's a taster.

Flip x BCG: Face the deskless labour shortage with tech 📱

Faced with unique challenges, the globe’s billions of deskless employees are overburdened and disengaged – causing high costs to their employers. To explore how businesses can lighten the load, Flip has teamed up with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for our newest report. In it, you’ll learn how to optimise the employee experience for deskless workers, getting exclusive BCG insights on using the right tech to reach and engage the frontline.

Get your copy of this exclusive report and your 5-point deskless employee experience checklist here.

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We'll be back next month as usual with more news, insights, and resources. 

Until then, take care! 

Team Flip