Forget HR policies, it's time to develop some philosophies

"Creating a balanced and shared employee experience will be the most important initiative for HR executives in 2022."

This is according to Neal Woolrich, Director HR Advisory at Gartner Inc., as employers face the challenge of maintaining fairness in workplaces hit by the pandemic. Woolrich said that in order to achieve a balanced employee experience, organisations need to "go beyond policies and develop philosophies."

But what exactly do workplaces with high fairness environments look like? Gartner said it’s demonstrated when employees believe their manager and organisation treat them fairly. A lot of employers seem to miss this, however, as only 19% of Australian employees said they work in such high fairness environment. The survey revealed that only 37% of Australian organisations practice "true transparency," with most companies disseminating information unevenly among staff. According to the report, this encourages back-channel conversations among staff and generate distrust among employees. It also revealed that only 21% of qualified employees feel that they are considered for a next opportunity in their organisation, while only 19% feel that they feel acknowledged from their contributions.

Read more: Fairness test frustrates HR

Four areas to work on

From these findings, Woolrich is urging employers to develop strategies around these four areas to improve employees' perception on fairness:

1. Being informed. Organisations should clearly and consistently communicate concerns such as the future of work, workload planning, and opportunities for career progression.
2. Feeling supported. Employees feel that they in a high fairness environment if they feel support from their managers.
3. Feeling considered. Referral programmes always give access to opportunities for qualified external candidates, but never for internal employees.
4. Receiving acknowledgement. Accurate employee evaluation and recognition can boost employee perceptions on fairness.

"Organisations that employ strategies to address these four factors can create a significant shift in the number of employees who feel like they have a fair experience at work – from fewer than in one in five employees to more than four in five employees," said Woolrich.

To develop these four factors, the Gartner official suggested the implementation of the following actions:

• Dramatically increase the amount of information given to all employees and candidates and provide guidance on what actions they can take if they have concerns or questions.
• Expand support programmes to all employees. Frame assistance as an effort to create a more successful organisation with a better work environment and employee experience for everyone; help employees understand why different people are getting different support.
• Use peer networks to provide more equitable access to opportunities between those outside the organisation and those within.
• Use technology to acknowledge the employees making the most important contributions. This includes ensuring employees are comfortable and consulted with the privacy implications of these technologies and, helping employees understand what behaviour changes will result in changes to their performance.