Originally published in Credit Union Times.
ActivTrak report finds that in the financial sector specifically, employee disengagement has increased by 157%.
The Great Resignation, an aging workforce and workplace cultural shifts driven by Gen Z have added pressure to the war for talent among credit unions. According to a recent study, turnover remains high for both frontline workers and management, and retaining employees is a top strategic priority for credit unions this year.
While many credit unions focus on culture, training and flexibility as a retention strategy, our research suggests there is still work to be done. According to ActivTrak’s 2024 State of the Workplace report, disengagement among employees is growing. Across multiple industries, 20% of employees are disengaged due to ongoing underutilization, up 67% since 2021. At the same time, 7% of employees risk burnout due to overutilization. In the financial sector specifically, disengagement increased by an overwhelming 157%.
This spike in disengagement is likely due to previously burned out employees increasingly checking out. According to ActivTrak's Productivity Lab findings, the financial sector has one of the highest levels of weekend work, with 9% of employees working on the weekend at some point.
Disengagement and burnout that goes unmanaged can be costly for organizations. Employees who are disengaged or burned out are much more likely to leave their employer, and replacing an individual employee can cost one-half to two times an employee's annual salary. If we assume an average voluntary turnover of 20%, a 1,000-employee organization with 27% attrition could lose an additional 70 employees – equal to more than $2 million in replacement costs.
While remote work offers many benefits, not having visibility into daily work activity makes it difficult for managers to detect employee disengagement and burnout. Many credit unions want to offer flexible, remote and/or hybrid work arrangements as part of their retention strategies, but determining the best approach can take trial and error. Productivity Lab data reveals that employees who work remotely 100% of the time are the most overutilized, while those who spend more than 60% of their time in the office are the most balanced, with 68% of their time spent in a healthy state.
These findings are important for credit unions to consider if they want to foster a healthy work culture and retain their top talent. The following recommendations can help credit union leaders reduce burnout, improve employee engagement, balance workloads and make better use of untapped workforce capacity to improve productivity and performance outcomes.
1. Communicate Regularly
Encourage open dialogue to understand the root causes of disengagement. Managers should initiate regular team meetings and one-on-one discussions to pinpoint specific issues and identify which employees feel overburdened, stressed or lack enthusiasm. This can also help determine if there are other contributing factors, such as workplace culture or personal circumstances that impact engagement levels.
2. Leverage Workforce Analytics
Implementing workforce analytics can significantly boost performance management. These tools provide valuable insights into productivity patterns for remote, in-office and hybrid employees. They help leaders and managers make informed decisions about resource allocation, training or coaching needs and return-to-office policies. Most importantly, workforce analytics make it easy to identify high performers who may be at risk of burnout due to excessive workloads, and identify the employees who have more capacity.
3. Balance Workloads
Workload imbalance is a common challenge that can lead to burnout and high attrition. Signs of overutilization include long work days, weekend work and reduced performance. Signs of underutilization and disengagement include frequent breaks, low productive time and focus, and recurring absenteeism.
4. Link Work to Wider Goals
Employees often feel more engaged and motivated when they understand how their work connects to the bigger picture. Therefore, it’s important to share how individual work patterns align with an organization's overall goals and benchmarks. This creates opportunities for coaching conversations and to proactively address where teams may need more training and/or resources.
Communicating regularly, leveraging workforce analytics, balancing workloads and demonstrating how work impacts a company’s broader goals can help credit unions improve engagement, reduce burnout and achieve sustainable productivity that drives better customer and business outcomes.
