The Trusted Employer

16

Harvard Business Review

March 2022

Employee Experience:

Why It Matters

Employees have more material impact on

business than ever before

of investors say a company’s

ability to win the best talent is more

important in winning their trust

than attracting new customers or

increasing a valuation multiple

Source: Edelman Special Report: Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic + 2019 Special Report

Institutional Investors 

of consumers say brands must do

everything they can to protect the

well-being and financial security of

their employees during COVID-19,

even if it means suffering big

financial losses

agree that brands must act to

get their own house in order by

setting an example within their own

organization in the face of racial

injustice

74 % 90 % 64 %

“I’m sorry,” Prisha said. “I

don’t want to abandon you all, but

Ishan seems so much happier and

has the potential to make more

money. It’s really tempting to

follow his lead. I have to think of

my own interests.”

So much for family, Diya

thought.

“I see where you’re coming

from,” Diya said, “but let me

present the counterargument.”

She shared all the reasons to stay:

the security, the benefits, the

company’s growth potential, and

yes, the close-knit culture.

But as she was talking, Diya

realized that she wasn’t sure

those upsides were convincing

enough. Would retention bonuses

or pay increases be more compel-

ling? Or was it time to intensify

the downsides of leaving by

instituting a no-working-with-

former-employees rule and

inserting language to the same

effect and noncompetes in all

future employment contracts?

Would carrots or sticks be more

persuasive?

RAKESH BOHRA is the senior VP

and head of projects at Pioneer

Urban Land & Infrastructure Ltd. and

a doctoral student in organizational

behavior and human resources

management at the Management

Development Institute in Gurgaon,

India. JYOTSNA BHATNAGAR is a

professor of organizational behavior

and human resources manage -

ment and dean of research at the

Manage ment Development Institute

in Gurgaon, India.

It’s time for Blackbird to

lean into 21 st-century

management, embrace the

gig economy, and let more

employees go freelance.

Diya and Veer made the right decision

with Ishan, and they’ll attract more

talent, foster greater loyalty, build a bet-

ter culture, and produce more-creative

work by letting others follow suit.

To keep pace with societal and

technological change, companies today

need to be flexible with—and offer

flexibility to—their workforces. Young

people, particularly creatives, want the

autonomy and variety that gig work

offers. And companies like Blackbird

can greatly benefit—first, by reducing

the danger of having people they can’t

keep busy on the payroll and, second,

by serving clients with curated teams

designed for their specific needs. If

your employees are almost exclusively

full-time, you’re stuck with their skills;

How should Diya handle all the

employees who want to follow

Ishan? The exper ts respond.

JOHN H. CHUANG is

the cofounder, chairman,

and CEO of Aquent.

152

Harvard Business Review

March–April 2022

Experience