Engage and Retain your Entire Workforce Through Inclusive Practices and Programs

Employee engagement and retention are at the heart of the concerns of leaders and human resource management specialists, being essential to organizational success.

Generational differences are often among the top challenges in mobilizing the workforce. Thus, how can we demonstrate that beyond the challenge of intergenerational management, the workforce has evolved and diversified, forcing organizations to adapt to this new reality?

In fact, the richness of organizations lies in the diversity of profiles: personality, age, language, religion, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity, family situation, varied aspirations and needs, convictions, etc.

In this article, we will explore inclusive management, varied career paths, and continuous performance and development management to broaden perspectives on possible ways to engage and retain the diverse workforce of contemporary organizations.

Adapting and providing a work environment where diversity is recognized and valued, and where each individual feels respected, involved and listened to is no longer an option.

Inclusive management is the adoption of inclusive practices on a daily basis to support diversity in all its forms. How? To the promotion of equal chances through opportunities for development and career progression. Equally through open and transparent communication to foster the creation of a “safe space” as well as agile, high-impact performance and development management.

Adapting your leadership style to meet this diversity of team members’ profiles and thus ensuring their mobilization is becoming essential.

Situational management is an interesting approach to achieve this. It consists of adapting one’s management style according to the specific situations and needs of the team members. This method is based on the principle that different individuals may require different management approaches depending on their skills, motivation and the degree of autonomy required to accomplish a task or to achieve a goal.

The management styles described in the Hersey and Blanchard Leadership Model (directive, persuasive, participatory, delegative) represent different approaches that managers can adopt in order to adapt to various situations. In other words, these management styles are concrete tools of situational management. A manager chooses the appropriate style according to the circumstances and needs of his team members in order to maximize their mobilization and retention. 

The four leadership styles according to Hersey and Blanchard¹:

• Directive: the manager makes unilateral decisions, clearly states what needs to be done, and supervises closely;
• Persuasive: the manager guides and explains his or her decisions, encourages participation while remaining involved in the decision-making process;
• Participatory: the manager consults with team members in the decision-making process, but retains final control;
• Delegative: The manager delegates responsibility for decision-making and control of action to team members.

Hersey and Blanchard identified four levels of maturity that are established based on the need for personal accomplishment, skills, and the level of motivation needed to achieve goals and ensure the overall success of the company. These levels are not value judgments about the person themselves, but are specifically tailored to a specific task or project.

These four maturity levels (M) are:

• M1: a motivated employee with insufficient knowledge and a lack of qualifications to be autonomous;
• M2: a motivated employee with basic knowledge who is motivated, but has a lack of skills to successfully complete a project or task;
• M3: a motivated employee with sufficient knowledge, but who lacks confidence;
• M4: a motivated and qualified employee with the confidence to work independently, take initiative and make decisions.

What leadership style should you adopt for each situation?

Situation 1

Situation 2

Situation 3

Situation 4

• Background: employee with a very high level of skills and maturity (M4) in whom you have full confidence.
• Leadership Style: Delegative
• Posture to adopt: empower, transmit, delegate, remain available and trust.

Several actions can be taken by managers to mobilize their team and meet its diversified needs, including:

• Include more introverted profiles in team discussions by adapting the way these meetings are facilitated. For example: offering a space dedicated to written comments and sharing rather than oral, offering time for individual reflection before responding in large groups, etc.;
• Know your employees, particularly through psychometric tests, so that you can adapt your leadership style according to their strengths, preferences and skill levels;
• Measure the degree of continuous mobilization of the teams through an engagement survey in order to adapt interventions in real time;
• Plan short quality moments throughout the year to discuss the contribution, performance, development and burden of the individual, in order to encourage continuous performance and development management;
• Formalize various career paths that can allow different profiles of individuals (specialists vs. managers) to progress within the organization.

More than ever, we believe that every employee should be able to project himself or herself within his or her organization, otherwise he or she will be attracted by the opportunities offered within another organizations!

The Importance of Being Able to Project Yourself

We know that knowing about and having access to opportunities for advancement is one of the main drivers of employee retention², while only a third of organizations develop personalized career paths³. The observation is clear: allowing your employees to project themselves into your organization through formalized and varied career paths will not only promote their loyalty but will also distinguish you as an employer of choice.

Different Employee Needs

In the context of inclusive and meaningful management, it would be a mistake to believe that all staff aspire to the same career development. We believe that it is essential to define several career paths, in particular by valuing both the career of a specialist (individual contributors) and that of a manager. We have all known managers who have evolved by default to this role, due to a lack of appreciation for an evolution in a specialist role, and who, in spite of themselves, have had a negative impact on the mobilization and performance of the supervised team.

Solertia’s consultants have extensive expertise in developing and implementing HR strategies that have a major impact on talent engagement and retention.

By working on the career and skills management strategy, in line with compensation and performance management, we enable organizations to distinguish themselves and their diverse workforce to project themselves within their organization.

Engagement surveys

In order to measure the impact of the initiatives you implement in your organization on the mobilization of your employees, we believe that engagement surveys are an essential management tool. We can help you implement and use this tool to its fullest potential to ensure its success.

Thus, an inclusive management culture, diverse career paths, and continuous performance and development management are of paramount importance for mobilizing and retaining today’s workforce.

Know that the investments your organization is making to engage and retain your employees are part of an emerging trend: sustainable human resource management, a critical practice for the future.

By analyzing the social, environmental and economic impact of your initiatives and practices, you ensure a sustainable future for all.

Do not hesitate to contact us to learn more about inclusive management and to benefit from our expertise in this field.

1. Source: modèle de Leadership Hersey et Blanchard : les techniques de management.
2. Solertia’s 2022 Total Rewards Survey.
3. Solertia’s 2022 Total Rewards Survey.