Cato Syversen runs a no-nonsense business and provides credit information.
But to keep the 1,300 employees at his company Creditsafe happy and engaged during the pandemic, he showed his lighter side.
Working from home during Covid prompted the company to purchase software that allowed employees to run their own media operations.
Mr Syversen appeared as a DJ and wore a fake mustache and a suit to play Ron Burgundy, the title character from the film Anchorman.
The Norwegian financial manager has risen to these challenges. “I’m an old punk rocker. I wanted to be a rock star, that’s a good second.”
When Mr. Syversen turned to LiveTiles, software that allows employees to create their own videos and podcasts online, he knew what he didn’t want to see.
“I didn’t want a corporate intranet because in my experience they’re boring.”
According to him, Creditsafe employees took the opportunity to be creative and break the monotony of working from home by starting their own newsrooms, including Mr. Syversen’s anchorman impression, and Safe FM, an in-house radio station with studio guests and podcasts.
The videos contain footage of work Christmas parties in Italy or Sweden, tips to beat the January blues, advice and insights from colleagues. And it can get very personal when employees pay tribute to colleagues who have died.
Mr. Syversen wanted to get this type of informal network up and running before the pandemic, but he discovered that dedicated software was the missing ingredient. “We had something we made and it was rubbish!”
His first response to the pandemic, which was driving his workforce back to their homes, was to email the company a daily newsletter. But that didn’t hit the right informal note he was looking for. Giving his employees the opportunity to do their own thing has worked, he points out.
“Seeing things like people’s faces in other countries, it’s not easy to get that sense of belonging. Normally we have a big party every five years, everyone gets together, but not this time.”
Creditsafe employees jumped at the opportunity, he says. “I like the way they pay attention and share things like B. Tips on using Teams features.”
As Gothenburg-based collaborator Camilla Emring puts it, “I feel people open their hearts more than they do in the coffee machine queue.”
Bringing some lightness to the workplace is probably not a bad idea. But how does an employer know if their efforts are making a difference?
One way to test the waters is to use software that tracks employee sentiment.
Sarah Marrs is an occupational psychologist at Qualtrics. She ensures employees are asked the right questions to gauge their true feelings.
Employees at a company using Qualtrics software see a series of statements such as “I feel like I belong to this company” and rate their agreement or disagreement. These responses are fed into a dashboard that displays indicators of a workforce’s emotional state.
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The company says more companies are using tools like surveys to monitor how employee sentiment changed during the lockdown as disaffected employees voted with their feet.
This exodus has been dubbed by some as the Great Resignation, with some sections of the workforce reassessing their values and moving to entirely different careers, and others taking early retirement.
A global Qualtrics survey of 14,000 employees found that 35% plan to change jobs this year.
However, not everyone sees this online interaction as positive. Bogdan Costea left his native Romania in 1992 to attend a conference at Lancaster University in the UK and never left. He found a niche at university studying the nature of work and is now a professor of management and society.
Professor Costea believes that feedback from a workforce is not the treasure trove that some see it as. “We are fascinated by data because the more we collect, the more truth emerges. So there are so many software packages out there that measure employee sentiment and claim to allow for personalized opinions.”
However, he warns that this type of recruiting can lead individuals to feel they have to justify their own role.
“After the first three months of working from home during the pandemic, people started overworking because they wanted to prove they were doing their jobs. ” he says.
Andrew Pakes, deputy general secretary of Prospect trade union, also has concerns and believes workers may worry about being convicted.
“Is there a ranking? Can an employer use this technology to see the top 10 least engaged employees? What does that mean for you?”
Prospect isn’t opposed to this mass of opinion-seeking software, but worries that clicking icons on a screen isn’t really a substitute for human judgment.
“We want mental health to be more at the heart of management and not delegated to external products.”
Ms. Marrs, back at Qualtrics, understands these concerns, but adds that in her experience, it’s important to remember that leaders are also involved in the feedback process. “Board members and CEOs take feedback very personally.”
So, if anyone should be able to answer the question of whether your boss really cares about what you think, Ms. Marrs should. She pauses before answering. “Of course I want to say ‘yes’ but the truth is that your employer cares about the bottom line. And right now, employees have the power to stay or go.”
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