Top trends in employee engagement

Today in the U.S., nearly 14 million adults — and counting — are LGBTQ+. This population continues to grow rapidly in part because Gen Z people (born between 1997 and 2012) are nearly six times more likely than their Gen X counterparts to identify as LGBTQ+. Further, Gen Z is set to make up 30% of the US workforce by 2030, bringing deeply held core values around geopolitics, identity, social equity and other key issues that often diverge sharply from the beliefs of older generations. 

These statistics highlight a major generational and societal shift that has the potential to create a significant disconnect for companies that don’t engage the growing a Gen Z LGBTQ+ workforce. Failing to address the needs of LGBTQ+ populations could mean missing out on a talent pool of millions workers. 

As such, it’s clear that prioritizing LGBTQ+ engagement and retention is more than just a moral imperative; it’s also a strategic business necessity. But when it comes to companies’ collective progress on LGBTQ+ inclusion, employers are barely passing the mark. The 2024 EY US LGBTQ+ Workplace Barometer, a survey of 500 full-time LGBTQ+ corporate employees, revealed that Gen Z LGBTQ+ workers give their organizations’ inclusion efforts an average of C+, compared to a B grade among older generations — and these younger professionals are three times more likely than their older counterparts to say that they are “unsure” about their organization’s LGBTQ+ initiatives. 

It’s crucial for companies to better understand the sentiments and aspirations of this critical segment of the workforce, or risk losing out on top talent. Below are some key strategies that can help HR leadership teams truly move the needle on deepening their focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion, visibility and engagement.   

Build a culture of inclusion and belonging. 

EY’s survey shows inclusive workplace environments are a baseline expectation for young LGBTQ+ workers — a whopping 97% of LGBTQ+ workers who rated their organization’s inclusion efforts favorably intend to remain with their employer for another year. By contrast, just 38% of those who rated these experiences poorly expect to stay with their employer for the next year. 

And amid growing focus on intersectionality (the recognition that multiple forms of discrimination can exist simultaneously and often overlap) within the LGBTQ+ community, HR leaders must also consider the perspectives of racially and ethnically diverse LGBTQ+ people.

As an out gay man, the topic of inclusion is very important to me both professionally and personally. Since joining my firm and rising through the ranks of the organization as a proudly out professional, I knew that I didn’t want to have to manage two identities. I was determined to live authentically as an out professional and demonstrate that you can bring your entire self to work and still be recognized and rewarded for a job well done.

All LGBTQ+ employees are entitled to psychological safety (i.e., the ability to speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation for raising ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes). And it requires HR leaders to take a proactive approach and set the tone at the top by actively listening, learning, offering support and taking decisive action.  

Create or amplify LGBTQ+ business resource groups.

In my experience as the executive sponsor of our firm’s LGBTQ+ BRG, Unity, these groups provide a powerful community that enables members to pursue impactful networking and mentorship opportunities that enhance their sense of belonging and psychological safety. 

Establish LGBTQ+ allyship programs for the broader workforce.

These initiatives engage and educate everyone on truly seeing and supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues across intersectional identities. 

Offer inclusive benefits that attract and retain top LGBTQ+ talent.

Domestic partner benefits, stipends for adoption and other pathways to parenthood, and health care plans that provide competent care for the transgender workforce are a few leading strategies. 

Enhance reporting and accountability practices.

Establish LGBTQ+ self-identification to enable reporting and analyzing employee data in comparison with non-LGBTQ+ data for trends or gaps. Codifying organizational protocols that address harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ workers while also ensuring anonymity, protection from retaliation and clear procedures for addressing claims will be essential. 

Develop more inclusive recruitment strategies.

Key actions include providing statements on your organization’s commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion in job postings and leveraging more diverse interview panels. 

Engage with LGBTQ+ organizations.

Supporting communities strengthens your company’s visibility, networking and opportunities for engaging candidates and business.

The imperative for greater inclusion in the workplace has never been greater. HR leaders have both a responsibility and an opportunity to rise to this challenge and lead the way in shaping a more inclusive future for their LGBTQ+ workforce. By cultivating an environment where everyone feels comfortable to be their authentic selves and offering the right resources to help them thrive, leaders aren’t just embracing and living their organizations’ values; they’re also harnessing top talent, reducing millions in turnover costs and building a more resilient, innovative and competitive business for years to come.  

As leaders address employee experience as a critical factor for organizational success, they should consider employees’ workload, according to a May 23 report from McLean & Co.

At companies that struggle with ineffective workload distribution, employees report higher rates of disengagement and turnover. In contrast, employees who report a reasonable workload are two times more likely to be engaged at work.

“Workload optimization requires more than a band-aid solution. For meaningful change to happen, organizations must address underlying causes rather than treat the symptoms of workload challenges,” Grace Ewles, director of HR research and advisory services at McLean & Co., said in a statement.

“It may seem like a daunting task, but achieving optimal workload isn’t always about eliminating work,” Ewles said. “Rather, it’s about striking a balance and finding the right amount of workload for each employee at a given time.”

Notably, being intentional about achieving an optimal workload across teams and functions can avoid the risks of boredom and burnout, and in turn, disengagement and attrition, Ewles said. Since workload is dynamic by nature, achieving optimal workload requires ongoing action to identify challenges and implement interventions.

In fact, HR leaders play a strategic role in guiding their organizations on efforts around employee experience, according to the report, and they can help optimize workload through intentional measurement and targeted interventions.

McLean & Co. suggests employers define workload and factors that influence workload in an organization, measure workload with intention, and implement interventions at the organizational, team and individual levels. When leaders focus on underlying causes and what’s really driving workload challenges at their organization, they can better allocate effort and resources, according to the report.

Heavy workloads can interfere with employees’ plans to use paid time off and vacation as well, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. Although most employees said they were satisfied with their employer’s PTO and vacation policies, 3 in 4 said they didn’t use it all due to heavy workloads and pressure to be available and responsive.

That lack of time off is leading to burnout. About 65% of employees said they experienced burnout in 2023, according to an isolved report. Although burnout has decreased slightly since 2022, most workers said it’s still negatively affecting their job performance and productivity.

As more workers report burnout, fewer believe their employer cares about them and their well-being, according to an Aflac report. Offering mental health tools and resources, as well as work-life balance perks such as flexible work schedules, could boost employee satisfaction, retention and recruitment, Aflac’s CHRO said.

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By Achievers

Is your recognition program a checkbox exercise or is it driving strategic business results? The 2024 state of employee recognition report from Achievers Workforce Institute shows that two-thirds of HR leaders aren’t seeing measurable business results from their recognition efforts. The good news is that that means there’s lots of opportunity for improvement. The bad news is that there’s some work to do to get there.

Just 40% of HR leaders say their program drives results, but 63% will increase recognition spend in 2024. This means one-third of companies increasing spend aren’t seeing the ROI to justify that decision. We know from five years of data that recognition correlates strongly with employee, team, and organizational outcomes. So, what is driving this disconnect?

Is an online recognition platform better than an offline, in-house program?

Online recognition platforms drive better outcomes than offline, in-house programs. Just 30% of HR leaders with an internal recognition program say it’s driving business results, compared with 60% of those with an online solution. Employees with access to a recognition platform are twice as likely to say they’re productive and not thinking about job hunting, compared to those with an internal program.

What makes an online employee recognition platform effective?

An effective online recognition platform has five specific traits: frequent meaningful recognition, flow-of-work integration, continual promotion, metrics that matter, and scaleable personalized rewards. HR leaders who say their program drives business results are more likely to say it includes at least some of these elements, and when all five are in place then a program is much more likely to have high impact.

Five traits of an effective online employee recognition platform

1. High quantity, high quality, low cost

HR leaders who say their program drives business results 26% more likely to focus on high frequency, low-monetary recognition. Having points in your program will increase usage, but a social-first recognition culture helps control costs and will still impact business results.

2. Recognition in the flow of work

Programs that drive results are 45% more likely to be accessible in many ways, including desktop, mobile, and flow-of-work. From increasing employee access mobile apps and kiosks for frontline workers, to HRIS integrations connecting recognition data to employee information and business results, the best programs have infiltrated every corner of your business.

3. No rest for the well-recognized

Have you heard the old dentist’s joke? Ignore your teeth and they’ll go away. Your culture of recognition is the same. Companies with impactful programs are 69% more likely to promote their program in multiple ways, including regular campaigns and managers education.

4. Metrics that matter

Programs that drive business results are 68% more likely to be measuring specific outcomes, such as employee wellbeing, belonging, and engagement. But they’re also more likely to be focused on specific industry or company metrics such as sales productivity and CSAT scores or safety KPIs.

5. Meaningful rewards at scale

Disconnecting recognition and reward is crucial for getting to the high frequency of recognition that drives results. However, rewards still matter.

Employees want choice in rewards and the data shows that those who feel they have a broad range of options are more likely to feel recognized and to have a strong sense of belonging. Employees who say they have access to this type of comprehensive marketplace are 61% more likely to feel a strong sense of belonging and 60% more likely to say they feel meaningfully recognized at work.

Learn more about driving measurable results with your recognition program. Download the 2024 state of employee recognition report and reach out today to speak to an expert about how Achievers helps companies like yours create a best-in-class recognition culture.

New workers coming out of high school or college are perhaps dealing with a different set of concerns than the generations before. The class of 2024 had college experiences disrupted by the pandemic. They’re struggling to find jobs. They are coming into work with worries about what their professional lives will look like — if they can even start them.

But they’re also craving mentorship to make up for those gaps, experts told HR Dive, which may keep them engaged with their work — and stop them from looking for greener pastures. 

Understanding the class of 2024

Mentorships can help address new workers’ concerns, and this new batch has a lot of them.

According to Handshake’s “Catching Up with the Class of 2024” report, 67% of the class of 2024 is optimistic about finding a job that builds their career, but more than half are concerned about making ends meet. The report also found that 34% are worried about feeling lonely and isolated at work, 61% about burnout, 54% about not enjoying their work and 53% about struggling to advance.

This generation of emerging adults is looking for “somebody that can give them feedback and thoughts and directions about how to be successful in their professional lives,” said Kelly Fair, founder of Polished Pebbles, a nonprofit that has helped more than 10,000 Black and Brown girls and emerging adults develop career readiness skills. 

What they’re looking for on the job is not unlike the kind of guidance they’re looking for in their personal lives. This generation needs this guidance “especially after the pandemic, considering so much of their time was cut and they were being forced to be inside,” she said. They have “social and emotional needs” and they want “support for who they are as a full person.” 

These new graduates are also looking to “find their place within a company, whether it’s that work-life balance or how to be the best employee,” she said. 

New workers from traditionally marginalized communities also need extra support, especially as some companies have been pressured to fold DEI programs. They still need help and mentorship to “know how to work that journey of being a person of color in their workplace,” Fair said. 

Engaging new workers through mentorship

To start, HR professionals should evangelize the need for keeping employees engaged, and mentorships are part of that work, said David Satterwhite, CEO of Chronus, a mentorship software platform. That also means making sure that the ROI on such programs is made clear, so that they keep being funded. 

While mentorships programs might seem extraneous, they help employees stay engaged, more productive and, in the case of new workers, at the company for what will hopefully be long careers, he said. Like with diversity programs, “we are trying to do our part to help them understand that this is not just the right thing to do…but the science shows it’s a profitable thing to do,” Satterwhite said.

Employee resource groups can also help people find mentors within groups with the same interests as theirs, he added. That also allows people to self-designate who they are and their interests, which they of course know best. “It’s a way for people to connect and feel part of something,” he said, which can especially help new workers.

Fair said it’s important to reinforce mentorships when introducing people to careers and jobs that may not have been open to them previously. It would be impossible, for example, to pair every new female worker with a female mentor in building trades, which have long been dominated by men. For example, Polished Pebbles runs a program called Pink Hard Hats Project which shows girls and young adults what such careers look like. 

“The likelihood of women agreeing even to become and study a trade and to be successful and sustained and keep a place in the workplace is heavily based on mentorships,” she said. “If they really want to sustain diversity in the workplace, particularly when it comes to male-dominated fields, that level of mentorship has to be in place for girls and women.”

Emotions at work are inevitable, global HR consulting firm McLean & Co. underscored in a resource released July 16.

With ongoing economic uncertainty, a charged political landscape, heightened exposure to world crises, concerns about AI, and blurred boundaries between their jobs and home, employees can no long separate emotions from work, the firm explained in a media release.

Yet, instead of avoiding emotions altogether, “organizations need to be proactive about how emotions and work can coexist to enable workplaces where everyone can thrive,” McLean advised.

As a starting point, organizations need to acknowledge that all workplaces have an emotional culture, the resource noted; leaders should also understand where their organization’s emotional culture fits along a spectrum of three main scenarios.

On one extreme are what McLean calls “emotionally suppressive” environments. These are marked by “retributive behaviors, toxic positivity, burnout and avoidance,” the report pointed out.

Along the other extreme are “emotionally unregulated” cultures, identified by impulsive behaviors, gossip, disrespect and a lack of boundaries, McLean said.

By contrast, in a healthy emotional culture, “employees acknowledge, cope and express emotions appropriately based on organizational norms and values,” according to the resource.

“Creating an emotionally healthy culture founded on inclusion, psychological safety and conflict resolution is critical to organizational performance and fostering employee engagement,” Grace Ewles, McLean’s director of HR research and advisory services, stated in the media release.

Importantly, HR is not the be-all and end-all for getting to and maintaining this environment, McLean said.

Rather, improving and sustaining a balanced and healthy culture “is a shared accountability and requires a collective effort from individuals, teams and organizational leaders,” the resource stressed. Every person contributes, from executives to front-line employees, it said.

While emotionally healthy work cultures are critical to employee well-being, according to the resource, in a broader sense, they may also be key to attracting and retaining workers, a September 2023 report based on HP’s Work Relationship Index found.

Employees want to work for an employer with empathetic and emotionally intelligent leaders, and they would be willing to take a pay cut for such a job, according to the report.

The HP findings align with a report released a few months earlier showing that the shifting dynamics of employee attraction and retention require employees to prioritize employee well-being and satisfaction.

The report, by health and productivity research non-profit Integrated Benefits Institute, found that employers improved retention by showing emotional intelligence and implementing tangible strategies, such as flexible work options, increased communication, employee development programs and a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Leaders who show emotional intelligence and address their organization’s emotional culture may also be necessary to counter a concerning trend: Employee and HR perceptions of CEO empathy have steadily declined since 2016, reaching an all-time low in 2023, a report from HR benefits and technology services company Businessolver found.

The report defined workplace empathy as “the ability to understand and experience the feelings of another.”

“When we understand what emotions are and what they are not, we’re less likely to misinterpret our own emotions and reinforce negative thoughts around them or mislabel and stereotype others based on their emotions,” McLean’s Ewles explained.

“For example, feeling sad doesn’t have to mean someone is in a bad mood, while having a bad day doesn’t necessarily mean someone is a negative person,” Ewles said.

Nearly half of CHROs surveyed for The Conference Board’s CHRO Confidence Index said their organizations plan to offer new well-being benefits this year as engagement levels declined year over year in 2024’s first quarter.

The vast majority of respondents said businesses are at least somewhat responsible for employee well-being. Budgetary plans appear to reflect this, with only 5% of CHROs saying their organizations decreased spending on well-being this year, while 1 in 4 said their well-being budgets increased.

Mental health initiatives were the most common category of new benefits on the docket for 2024, The Conference Board found, followed by physical health and fitness initiatives, financial well-being initiatives and work-life balance initiatives.

Workers, contending with cascading crises in the broader world, want more support from their employers in the form of well-being benefits, according to MetLife survey data published earlier this month. Financial well-being support and mental health support are particularly needed, MetLife found.

This may not surprise employers given a number of warning signs that have cropped up since the pandemic. Last year, most large employers reported an increase in mental health issues among their workforces. And in a 2023 survey by Indeed and Forrester Consulting, fewer than one-third of employees said they were thriving in their current jobs.

Despite those signs — and employer efforts — utilization of mental health benefits may be stunningly low. Sources who previously spoke to HR Dive attribute this to a variety of factors, from confusion about how to access mental health benefits to a lack of time to take advantage of needed services.

On top of these issues, there may be cultural considerations for benefits teams. Black workers, for example, face particularly long-running prejudices and stereotypes when confronted with mental health issues that their organizations may fail to acknowledge.

Employers might seek to take a holistic view of employee well-being as part of their talent retention strategies, Diana Scott, leader of The Conference Board’s U.S. human capital center, said in a press release. Well-being strategies can encompass a wide range of initiatives; flexible work options, work-life balance policies and recognition are just a few of the areas for which employers have sought improvement as they seek to address well-being.

Workers who say they don’t feel valued by their employers are twice as likely to report that their mental health negatively affects their productivity, according to a Telus Health report.

Employees also may be scared to speak out about their concerns; 33% of 3,000 U.S. respondents said they don’t believe or aren’t sure that their workplace is committed to ensuring workers can talk about problems without fear of retaliation.

Workers under 40 were also less likely to report having trusted relationships at work, which can lead to feelings of isolation and problems with productivity, the report said.

Mental health has become a pillar of engagement and benefits discussions in recent years, especially as younger workers increasingly demand or expect support from employers in this area.

An Aflac survey found that 2 out of 3 Generation Z workers surveyed said they faced moderate to high levels of burnout, triggered largely by financial instability. An Aflac exec also pointed to ongoing, polarized discourse on social media and in the news exacerbating the mental health troubles of this cohort.

Telus Health similarly noted in its report that younger workers bore the brunt of mental health issues worsened by isolation.“The Index findings reflect a concerning reality, in particular for our younger workers. It also impacts businesses as loneliness and social isolation negatively impact both health and workplace productivity,” Paula Allen, global leader, research & client insights at Telus Health, said in a statement. “Rapid societal changes, alongside diminishing social support, are taking their toll.”

To help employees, organizations should build a culture of trust, Telus Health said, which can counter isolation in tandem with solid benefit offerings.

Younger employees are also more likely to expect or desire benefits to support well-being overall, an Opinium survey published last year said. Gym memberships, mindfulness sessions and wellness stipends attracted the most attention.

With building owners and workplace operators assessing the impact of return-to-office and hybrid work models on their organizations and portfolios, there is a growing emphasis on optimizing workspaces and operations to best serve the needs of organizations and employees. While the concept of workplace experience is not new, it is becoming increasingly important as operators seek to improve utilization and create better places to work.

Amy O’Neil is an executive at the forefront of that charge. Appointed late last year and announced in January as Sodexo’s president of workplace experience for corporate services in the U.S., O’Neil is responsible for elevating the company’s integrated workplace experience solutions and helping the company to grow its leadership in the field. 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for grammar, length and clarity.

Can you explain your new role at Sodexo and what “workplace experience” means to you? 

My role as president of workplace in the U.S. includes our integrated facilities management business and it includes standing up and formalizing our go-to-market approach for workplace experience. Part of that is food. It's my belief that food was ... the first workplace experience program, if you will. [If] you go back to how Sodexo was founded ... [it] grew up principally as a food company. It is known as a food company in many places, but [it is] also a facilities management enterprise. 

And when we think about food and the workplace, since [Sodexo was founded], there's been a massive evolution of both of those things. To me, Sodexo was really well positioned because of its DNA to be in the workplace experience business. That's what I would consider broad tent, if you will, in terms of what workplace experience means, what my remit is and what I think workplace experience is today.

It's important to point out that employee experience and workplace experience are nearly one and the same. They are words that mean a lot [of things] to a lot of people, and not necessarily the same thing. Oftentimes, it depends on where you sit in an organization. 

Employee experience started off years ago, in the purview of the chief people officer or the chief human resources officer, but workplace experience has been or become somewhat in the remit of the real estate function in a lot of organizations. And now, those things are really starting to blur to be a strategy around people. To me, it's the offices, the physical space where work takes place. You can think of that in terms of a brand for a retail business. It is [also] the digital space, the in-digital life aspect of where employees work as a part of being within an organization. It's the people within the organization that process the systems, and how that really comes together.

What are organizations looking for to improve their workplace experience, help employees and reorganize their operations?

That answer depends on the client [and] the employer. And [it] can depend on how a client thinks about this today. They may be on a journey, where they don't think about it per se as strategically as maybe a different client. But the opposite is also true. We have many clients that are extremely strategic about this because they think about their people as the most important part of their business. I think COVID probably accelerated some things that would have happened anyway. We already had this evolution taking place that started many years ago — in some cases, led by technology firms. The U.S. economy has moved from more production and labor-oriented to more of a service-oriented and knowledge-worker based economy. I think that that's really what underpins much of the evolution taking place.

Some of what I hear clients talking about ... is how they need to be thinking about designing, whether it's space, technology tools or ways of working [to find] that increased level of engagement and increased effectiveness. COVID was just a watershed moment. I think it disconnected us from the idea that “what I do every day needs to happen in a certain place.” That process is going to continue, because there's clearly an awareness and a commitment, by employers but also by employees, to want to be back in shared spaces together. It's meaningful, effective, productive [and] generates better outcomes when people are working together in shared spaces. 

What are the best ways to determine and inform those design decisions, whether it be technology or through employee engagement? 

We're still in that process. I think we'll continue to be in that space of discovery for a while. Sensors...have been in work environments for quite some time now. What is changing is how data is being utilized. The orientation of our clients to understand how people use physical space has been there and will continue to be there, and I think will become more nuanced. Part of that nuance is understanding that vis-à-vis and digital [connection] as well. But again, this will continue to evolve as it relates to solutioning. And you mentioned employee engagement. The listening piece is huge. That has to be part of the equation. [For] many organizations, that is a significant part of how they are thinking about their workforce and workplace experience.

They do that in different ways. Some organizations are doing employee surveys, robust employee engagement and surveys on a regular basis, including annually, and complimenting that with pulse surveys as well. I think other parts of that are about actually listening.

In organizations that I've been with in the past, you might do focus groups on a retail product, as an example. I think the same is true with employers — doing employee focus groups and listening sessions to better understand and get the nuance of what people are looking for. And then you [have] got to test. You have to deploy things and see what people actually do and what the sentiment really is. Because you can think that you want something. It might sound or look good on paper, but in practice, it might not be everything that people expect it to be. That’s where the evolutionary part of this will continue.

The big “A-ha” is that workplaces are not fixed. They're dynamic, in part, because people are constantly coming in and out of those spaces, including digital spaces. What is also clear is that [in] the built environment, we're going to have to rethink that as well. There are organizations that are already doing this and changing what have been traditionally fixed assets in the built space.

As it relates to workplaces being more dynamic today than the past, how does that influence facilities management and the actual maintenance and operations of a space? 

On multiple levels, how we manage facilities has to become even more agile than [we’ve] been in the past, and that is an area where data and sensors can play a role.

Another part of that is when you start to think about what a facility is, and what build space we are talking about. We have some amazing clients in any number of sectors, [including] life sciences, pharma, energy and consumer packaged goods. What is true of all those clients is that they have what they do really well, which defines their value stream. And along that value stream, they have people doing different things.

Typically, you've got a lot of knowledge workers placed in headquarters or regional offices. But, as you move through the value stream of a client, they have different areas where different types of work happen and different job families that are found where that work happens.

We have our ideas around a facility and what people in a facility need or how we can actually help to improve the workplace experience that needs to change. We need to have a growth mindset around it and move away from a fixed mindset of what it means to be at a certain place in the value stream.

You’re a few months into your new role. What are your early thoughts on Sodexo’s operations and your plans, moving forward?

I'm wrapping up month five, but I am really excited about where Sodexo is and the fact that Sodexo is committing to [elevate its workplace solutions]. Sodexo has the DNA and the legacy as a food business to legitimately be in the workplace experience business. It already has much of what typifies the foundation of workplace experience insofar as it self performs much of the client solutions that we offer.

From that lens, I think we're starting from a good spot. It's clear that workplace experience and its relevance will continue to evolve. What that really means for the next 10, 20 and 30 odd years will be a substantial event. The challenge for all of us, not just for Sodexo ... is the dimensionality of this. You've got build space, and you’ve got digital space, and how is that going to change? It isn’t just the office space. It might be a third place where people are coming together to actually do work. It’s a different opportunity than what we’ve had in the past. 

What are your thoughts about sustainable operations? How can that improve going forward? 

Sodexo has established itself as a leader in sustainable practices, as a Fortune 500 company that has legitimate sustainability initiatives that are generating real results. What we need to do, and what we want to be a part of in that regard for facilities management [and] for workplaces is to take that same commitment and intensity and apply it to other areas of our business. Clients want that.

What we hear from clients we have talked to over the last several months is that it's really about three things. First and foremost, it is about the people in their business. It's about sustainability. And it's about technology — the use of technology as well as the insights you can get from data to continually evolve. In some cases, that might be incremental evolution. In other cases, it might be a step change. 

How do you find the right talent to run buildings and make sure that everything is going well? 

What is important to recognize is that this was happening prior to COVID, when you think about the kind of semi-skilled and skilled labor that would would typify facilities management. That workforce has been graying and retiring at an accelerating pace. The workforce and the new generations coming into the labor market are moving into those types of roles in insufficient numbers. That is a challenge for all of us.

First and foremost, for us, it starts with looking at the candidate individually and qualifying their skill set for certain. It also includes taking approaches with our workforce that we might suggest others take as well. It's about employee engagement from a facilities perspective. I'm a huge believer in leadership and the leaders’ role in driving employee engagement and a sense of belonging. That's inescapable. We have to have a great leader in every physical site where we're operating.