4 Things Which the Employees want in 2013

A new year is knocking at the doors. There is something about January. We all feel fresh and rejuvenated. Our hearts are filled with a new hope, some new beginnings , a sense of freedom from the old ways and looking forward to newer things and meaningful changes. 

The following are my take on what changes the employees of any organization might be looking forward to :

• Transparency and communication :  The new generation values transparency. They want more and more communication so that they can understand the actual status of the organization / project. They are adequately prepared to mould  themselves accordingly so that they remain in the thick of things and are a part of making things happen. Sugar-coating the situations and vagueness of the communication puts them off. 

• Instant feedback : This is the age of  instant "everything".  The employees want instant feedback. Instead of waiting for the half-yearly or annual appraisal discussion, the Gen Y wants to get immediate feedback. And the managers should understand that their teams are capable of dealing with it.The   feedback will be appreciated more if they get time and chance to improve upon it rather that looking at it in retrospect. 

• Empathetic bosses :  The stick should be replaced by a pat-on-the-back.  The employees expect their managers to be empathetic.  Technology has made things easy and the team expects their managers to be more supportive and friendly rather than being too technical.  Employees needs nurturing. They want their bosses to be more of mentors than supervisors. 

• Flexi work hours :  I have seen many organizations trying to adopt flexi-timings . But sadly, they put in too many checks and balances which sometimes become quite cumbersome and not at all employee friendly. I think full ownership of the work should be given to the employees and after that total flexibility in timings. The employees do understand that there will be some project/organizational bindings - example, weekly team meetings , all-employee ,get togethers etc. The culture of the organization itself should make the employee "adapt" to these bindings.  Once the sense of ownership is developed in the team and when they get the adequate flexibility to balance the work and life, the employees will give their 100% to the organization !

I look forward to see these changes in 2013 ! 

A very happy and prosperous new year to all the readers . Welcome 2013 !