A disconnect exists between what HR teams prioritize and what employees believe is important for engagement, which can vary by generation, geography, identity and parental status, according to a Sept. 3 report from SurveyMonkey.
Notably, the gaps between HR professionals and employees were most significant among companies that lacked strong feedback, advocacy and understanding of employee needs.
“The real insight here might be that HR’s success is inextricably linked to their company’s willingness to foster an open environment that supports honesty and advocacy,” the report said. “HR teams are only as effective as their ability to collect authentic feedback from their employees.”
SurveyMonkey surveyed 304 HR pros and 2,593 U.S. workers about company culture, leadership, HR teams and the impact those teams have on the workplace. Overall, 53% of HR pros said their companies are increasing their focus on employee experience versus the bottom line.
However, 80% HR pros voiced concerns that employees weren’t providing open and honest feedback about their experiences at work. At the same time, 39% of workers said they’re uncomfortable sharing open and honest feedback with HR, and 44% said they don’t provide honest feedback because they don’t feel it will lead to change.
Although HR pros said they believe employee voices carry equal — or slightly greater — weight than leadership or management when it comes to decisions about the employee experience, most workers disagreed. Only 21% said they have a voice, and about half said leadership has the biggest say in employee decisions.
In another example of the gap, HR pros were twice as likely to believe they are proactive rather than reactive to employee needs. Conversely, employees were twice as likely to say HR was primarily an advocate for the company rather than worker needs.
Employers should be careful about requesting employee feedback if they’re not prepared to take action, which could negatively affect trust and engagement, according to a McLean & Co. report. Although many employers understand the importance of listening to workers, employees still say they don’t feel heard and that providing feedback doesn’t seem to make a difference, the report found.