Want connection? Start with care  

Our research confirms the impact of executives’ ability to connect. Learn three ways to connect by showing care. 

New research conducted by Truist Leadership Institute demonstrates that when employees feel connected to executives, they are more engaged at work, more likely to stay, and more likely to engage in the organization’s purpose initiatives. Spending the time to connect with employees has a measurable impact—and one of the primary ways you can do that is to show you care. In fact, it matters so much that employees who agree that their executives care about them (vs. disagree) are 30% more likely to be engaged at work, 26% more likely to stay, and 10% more likely to pursue their company’s purpose.

Unfortunately, many employees may never have the opportunity to know that their executives care about them. The distance between executives and their managers and front-line workers may seem too big to bridge. However, making the effort has clear benefits, so take these three actions to show you care:

1. Support well-being. Stress and burnout are high risk factors for employee attrition, and the pandemic exacerbated this effect. You can support well-being by implementing policies that clarify the organization’s commitment to employee well-being and the expectation that managers should balance productivity goals with employee mental and physical health. Invest in resources to support well-being, over communicate how employees can access them, and encourage their use by speaking to your experience with them. Finally, model well-being yourself. What you do will be replicated by others, so take your vacation, turn off your email, and go for a walk!
2. Get to know employees at all levels. Set up formats to meet with individuals and small groups, including town halls, small group forums, and good old “management by walking around.” These investments of your time will allow you to form genuine connections, learn what employees are excited about as they showcase their work, and give you a direct line of sight into the larger flow and execution.  You never know what you might learn!
3. Be humble. Share with employees the stories from your own career journey and highlight both successes and failures—and what you learned. When you meet with employees, ask them what ideas they have for improving operational processes or how they’d like to see the organization support corporate responsibility initiatives.

Demonstrating that you care about your employees requires a deliberate and thoughtful approach—and we have the data to prove it is well worth your time and investment.   Caring, coupled with trustworthiness and effective communication, creates the executive connection that can increase employee engagement, retention, and commitment to the organization’s purpose. To learn more about Executive Connectedness, read the full Purple Paper^SM.