PwC recently conducted a survey that uncovered a huge disconnect between the focus most companies have on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and the actual priorities of employees. PwC is a multinational professional services brand of companies, operating as partnerships under its brand. It is one of the largest global professional-services networks globally and is considered one of the major accounting companies, along with KPMG, EY and Deloitte.
The survey determined that while businesses place a lot of importance on sustainability, employees prioritize personal benefits such as career advancement and fair pay more.
The survey, which focused on the Middle East, also found that 92% of employees in the region would probably stay with their employers if their rewards were improved. This is in comparison to the 77% who admitted that they would stay if ESG practices were enhanced.
The disconnect above highlights the challenge companies experience when trying to align employee priorities with their sustainability goals, possibly impacting their long-term business growth and viability.
Despite the gap, the survey also found that improving current policies and practices on ESG could also improve retention of employees significantly. According to the survey results, when ESG policies are improved, the proportion of employees who are unlikely to stay decreased from 6% to 3%, while those who are likely to stay goes up from 77% to 82%.
This finding is important because it suggests that even though equitable practices and competitive pay are necessary to retain top talent, incorporating elements of ESG into organizational culture and the employee lifecycle can create a more motivated, engaged and conscious workforce. This may, in turn, give rise to better ESG outcomes for the company and society as a whole.
PwC Middle East consulting partner and emiratization leader, Khaled Bin Braik, stated that employees responded to ESG differently and engaged with it at different levels. He explained that understanding this and coming up with personalized approaches will help ensure that employees play an active role in achieving sustainability goals. This, Braik noted, mainly centered on creating a work environment where employees felt connected to a company’s mission as well as feeling valued. By integrating ESG into an organization’s culture, employees could view themselves as important to the sustainability agenda and be more empowered to contribute.
The survey also recommended that employers alter their personalized approaches to make ESG a priority and involve their workforce more. In addition, it introduced a quartet of employee personas under ESG, offering insights into how companies can adapt their ESG strategies to engage the personas more productively.
These survey findings could give entities that are operating in other regions of the world, such as Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX.V: BAY) (OTCQB: ATBHF), some food for thought regarding the best ways to increase employee buy-in for ESG efforts.
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