KEY POINTS:
Better industrial relations is part of the reason why many staff feel more able to talk to their managers about what they want from their job. That's the view of Russell Ness, a workplace performance coach.
Ness says companies and managers have had to adopt a more collaborative approach to staff relations in recent years. He believes this is partly because of the severe skills and people shortage in New Zealand and also because of changes brought about by the Employment Relations Act.
"There has been a strong push in the last 10-15 years during which time employers decided they wanted to bypass unions and develop a relationship with their staff," says Ness. "This has happened mainly as a result of the introduction of individual employment contracts. In addition, layers of middle management have disappeared during company reorganisations, meaning managers have to have closer contact with staff."
Ness says the skills shortage is a key reason why companies are increasingly listening to staff. Today, managers need to do all they can to retain staff, he says. "But it's not just money they [staff] want."
"Now you have employers saying: 'Crikey, what is important to my employees? I need to tap into that so I can retain them'," says Ness. "We are not on a big wage spiral here because we all keep hearing that New Zealand is paying below what everyone else is paying.
"The reason wages are not rising is because smart organisations have figured out what people want, and they've figured it out by getting to know them.
"Employees want a sense of achievement, they want recognition - and that doesn't always mean money, and good workplace relationships with their boss."
And it is that last point that appears to be making the difference to workers.
Ness points to an Otago University survey he says was carried out in 2001 that asked people: 'Who is the most important person you would like to have a good relationship with?'. Eighty per cent said their boss, says Ness.
"We can live with a crappy office, crappy view, a broken down air-conditioning system and poor workplace processes and systems," he says. "But if our boss is great, and we are recognised for what we do and get a sense of achievement from our work, then we are pretty happy."
Ness says companies should be working on that relationship with their employees and helping to make it happen.
"Managers need to have meaningful one-on-one conversations with their staff on a regular basis. They should talk to each member of staff about how the company is going, how they are doing in the company and where their career is headed. Because if you want to retain them, you have to show an interest in them," he says.
But what if your company doesn't actively build relationships with staff? What then, for the employee who wants to talk to their manager about career goals, training opportunities and taking on more responsibility to show what they are capable of?
Jon Winder of Sephira, an executive and leadership-coaching firm, says an employee needs to trust the leadership and they need to know they are part of a collaborative venture .
"When staff's talent is recognised as being part of the mix and that what they say to their manager is valued and respected, then a lot of good will come out of it," says Winder.
"My feeling is that quite often a lot of the stress within organisations is because staff do not feel heard, recognised or valued. So the more a company values its staff and the more it upholds and honours its employees, the better it becomes," he says. "If employees feel honoured, respected and at ease - and that's not common - then they understand where they are , where they want to be and how to get there."
A manager faced with an employee looking for change should do everything they can to help them and to stop good talent from walking, says Winder.
"An employee needs to know they are heard. If a person feels heard by their manager then they go away feeling quite uplifted and feeling good about it. But there has to be action so the employee sees the change - and that action needs collaboration, so both parties have to buy in to it.
"When an employee goes to their manager it is an opportunity for the manager to ask 'How is it going?' and to really listen, to ask what's going well, what's not going well. And it could be that there is another factor under the surface that needs to be attended to, and this would come out in a meaningful conversation."
Winder is seeing a change in how companies are run with more collaboration between staff at all levels and different departments.
"It is all about sincere collaboration," he says. "Where employers that are acting as true leaders should see the worth and talent within their staff and call that forth. And similarly, the employee can say to their manager: 'You may not be fully seeing me, I can actually do this, this and this. Let me show you what I can do'.
"I think there was quite a few blind spots in the past where leaders thought they knew all the answers. But I think now, organisations have all the answers, not individuals. People need to work together more."
Someone who has been quite close, if not a part of the transformation in the workplace, is Stuart Burgess, a director of Investors in People in New Zealand. The organisation helps companies meet an international standard in people management. The system is made up of 10 key indicators and is used around the world.
"We go into firms, speak with their staff about their role within the company and then chart the company against the standard. We show our results to the CEO, for example, and explain how their company compares against the standard. We show them what needs to be done by them and their company to meet the Investors in People standard," says Burgess.
Part of the standard looks at how a company involves its staff in its decision-making.
"We say to a company's staff, 'How do you get involved in setting the goals or the objectives for your company, team or division?'," says Burgess. "Then we ask if they have the opportunity to make decisions and have the autonomy to be accountable for what they are doing."
He says the biggest change in the workplace recently has been the need for managers to keep their staff due to the skills shortage.
This fosters better relationships between managers and staff and has allowed employees to be more open with managers.
"The skills shortage means companies have to care about how they look after their people," he says.
"Nowadays, the respect for staff and the working culture is what is retaining staff - not money," he says. "Quirky things like team building days or free use of a mountain bike at lunchtime are gimmicks that do not help retain staff.
"A company may hold a special team-building day on the Friday and by the Monday everyone's forgotten about it. They just know they are back doing the same thing again and nothing has changed."
It seems the power is now in the hands of employees, many of which are in a position to take control of their careers knowing their employer is ready to listen.
Perhaps now is the time to ask about those training schemes you've always wanted to go on, that free gym membership or have your creche fees paid.
