Workday Global Survey: Employee Experience Takes Center Stage for Frontline Workers

79% of Frontline Workers Who Feel a Sense of Belonging at Work Have No Plans to Leave Their Employer

Frontline Workers Cite Belonging, Technology, and Supportive Managers as Critical Retention Factors; Highlights Need for Organizations to Prioritize Employee Experiences

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NRF 2023 (Booth #5957) -- Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, today published the results of its latest survey, which defines the critical areas and elements of the employee experience through the eyes of frontline workers.

Workday surveyed 3,000 global workers in frontline positions – across industries including construction, energy, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and transportation – to understand the sentiment, needs, and priorities of today's frontline workforce and to uncover how employers can support, empower, and retain these workers. This is especially critical, as a majority (56%) of senior executives are facing frontline employee turnover that is higher than the historical average.

Keys to Engaging and Retaining Today's Frontline Workers

The findings revealed that employee experience plays a critical role in frontline worker retention – across all industries surveyed. Today's frontline workers want access to the right tools and technology, to feel a sense of belonging, and to be supported by their managers. It also found that despite 20% of frontline workers planning to leave their jobs within the next three to six months, 79% of workers who feel a sense of belonging at work have no plans to leave their employer, underlining the need for employers to better engage with and retain this essential segment of the workforce.

The survey identified three key factors to delivering positive, connected, and supportive experiences for frontline workers:

• Workplace Belonging is Critical for Frontline Worker Wellbeing and Retention.
  
  When frontline workers feel connected with their managers, it significantly impacts their sense of belonging, intent to stay, and sentiment towards the organization. Workers who feel a sense of belonging at work are nine times more likely to have a supportive manager, and 79% of them have no plans to leave their employer. Conversely, those workers who do not feel a sense of workplace belonging are four times more likely to say their mental health and wellbeing has declined in the last year, and just 33% intend to stay with their current employer.

• The Role of Technology on Employer Perception.
  
  Having the right tools and technology play a critical part in how frontline workers experience and perceive work overall. According to the survey, workers who have flexible scheduling tools – i.e., tools that enable them to manage their schedules and adjust and add shifts – are 71% more likely to say their company is open and transparent. However, if frontline workers don't have access to the right technologies to do their work, they are 20 times more likely to say their employer is not open and transparent.

• Supportive People Leaders and Opportunities to Share.
  
  To deliver experiences that matter, people leaders need to understand the evolving preferences and needs of employees, and make sure their voices are heard. The findings show that 80% of workers who say their manager understands and regularly supports them indicate they are happy in their job with no plans to leave. Yet, for workers who say their manager doesn't consistently support them, only 20% say they are happy in their current role. In fact, a supportive manager can improve a frontline worker's likelihood of retention by 300%.
  
  
  
  Additionally, frontline workers want to be recognized for their work and have opportunities to share feedback. According to the survey, 79% of workers want to share feedback with their organization monthly or more frequently, yet only 55% of employers give them a chance to. This directly impacts retention, as only 15% of frontline workers who want – and receive – daily or weekly feedback have plans to quit their job.

The Path Forward for Employee Experiences for the New Front Line

To keep frontline workers engaged and empowered during changing workforce dynamics, organizations need a unified view of their workforce in order to understand and respond to their unique needs. Workday helps organizations support frontline workers and managers with Workday Scheduling and Labor Optimization, a worker-first scheduling solution that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to match labor demands with worker preferences and enables workers to manage their schedules, adjust and add shifts, and more on a mobile device.

As the survey revealed, frontline workers want a voice, and they want to be heard. Organizations are using Workday Peakon Employee Voice to give employees a confidential platform to share honest feedback about their experience, expectations, and health and wellbeing. With real time visibility into employee sentiment, Workday enables organizations to turn these insights into action and elevate the voice of their employees.

Comments on the News

"Frontline workers are doing the hard – yet essential – work that doesn't always get noticed or appreciated like it should," said Ben Eubanks, chief research officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory. "This research uncovered how positively frontline workers respond to having the right tools and resources in their hands to better manage their work life. It's my hope that employers take note and use these findings as an opportunity to build a stronger support system for their critical frontline staff."

"The last few years have placed a significant amount of pressure and demand on frontline workers, yet organizations continue to face challenges in supporting and retaining this critical segment of the workforce," said Mariana Santiago, GM workforce and payroll, Workday. "The survey uncovered that experience is at the very core of frontline worker engagement and retention. Organizations that listen to the evolving needs and preferences of frontline workers, empower them with the tools to do their jobs, and support them when it matters most will flip the script and dramatically increase their ability to recruit and retain this workforce."

About the Survey

The "Frontline Workers: How to Connect, Enable, and Support Them in the Modern Workplace" was conducted by Lighthouse Research & Advisory and commissioned by Workday. It is based on a survey of 3,000 global respondents in Australia, Canada, China, India, Ireland, New Zealand, U.K., and U.S. and across industries including construction, energy, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and transportation – to understand the sentiment, needs, and priorities of today's frontline workforce.

For More Information

• Download the report, "Frontline Workers: How to Connect, Enable, and Support Them in the Modern Workplace."
• Read the blog, "Frontline Workplaces: Experiencing High Turnover? The Cause May Be Your Manager."
• Stop by the Workday booth (#5957) at NRF 2023 (January 15–17, 2023) to hear from Workday customers, connect with Workday executives, and see demos of Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management, Workday Scheduling and Labor Optimization, Workday Peakon Employee Voice, and more.

About Workday

Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics have been adopted by thousands of organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 50% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.

© 2023 Workday, Inc. All rights reserved. Workday and the Workday logo are registered trademarks of Workday, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the impacts of the co-CEO transition, the timing and impact of Workday's future leadership structure, and Workday's fourth quarter fiscal 2023 and full year fiscal 2024 financial guidance, growth, innovation, momentum, and opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based only on currently available information and our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. If the risks materialize, assumptions prove incorrect, or we experience unexpected changes in circumstances, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely on any forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to, risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including our Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2022, and our future reports that we may file with the SEC from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Workday assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

Any unreleased services, features, or functions referenced in this document, our website, or other press releases or public statements that are not currently available are subject to change at Workday's discretion and may not be delivered as planned or at all. Customers who purchase Workday services should make their purchase decisions based upon services, features, and functions that are currently available.

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SOURCE Workday Inc.