Securing C-suite buy-in for workplace wellbeing and employee experience initiatives requires a strategic approach that resonates with their priorities and speaks their language. Here’s a ‘how-to’ guide to get you started.
Understand your audience
Understanding the individual characteristics of your C-suite – their leadership style, concerns, and motivations – is crucial. Are they data-driven or intuitive? Are they focused on immediate results or long-term vision? Tailoring your message to their specific perspective is key.
Align with business strategy
Align your concerns and proposed solutions with the organisation’s overarching business strategy and goals. Quote specific strategic objectives where possible. Demonstrate the impact of current challenges using key metrics, ideally with quantifiable financial implications. For example,
“Employee turnover costs the company an average of X dollars per employee, and our current turnover rate is Y%, resulting in a cost of Z dollars annually.”
Demonstrate commitment
Acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers, but express a strong commitment (if granted the opportunity) to strengthening the organisation by understanding and addressing these challenges strategically. If applicable, emphasize the potential for an existential threat if current challenges persist.
Paint a realistic picture of the consequences if this continues to be unresolved:
- lost productivity and innovation
- decreased morale, engagement, and satisfaction
- reduced retention
- difficulty attracting and retaining top talent
- inability to effectively manage change
- damaged employer brand (cite Glassdoor etc reviews if available)
- diminished competitive advantage (reference relevant case studies, such as those found in resources like those available in this whitepaper).
Propose a way forward
There’s many places you could begin, but we recommend starting by establishing exactly where you are now. Initiating a comprehensive assessment of the current state of employee wellbeing, employee experience, and corproate culture is a wise first step.
An “MRI Scan” of the organisation will:
- Identify risks: Highlight areas where employee wellbeing, performance, or retention are strained and uncover root causes.
- At-risk groups: Determine which employee segments are most at-risk and why.
- Inform strategy: Provide a data-driven foundation for developing a targeted and effective people strategy, that can be measured and drive accountability.
- Build trust and cooperation: Signal to employees that the organisation is committed to giving them a voice, addressing their concerns, thereby enhancing engagement.
- Enable you to set a budget: Using this data you can begin to estimate the cost of the challenges exposed through the diagnostic, and then develop a realistic but justifiable investment strategy for tackling them.
Request and justify an investment
Requesting a budget allocation for this investigative phase is an investment in the organisation’s future. The upfront costs are anticipated to be recouped through:
- Improved people strategy: Aligning resources more effectively to support employee needs and business goals.
- Resource optimization: Redeploying existing resources to areas with the greatest opportunity to create impact.
- Enhanced performance: Boosting employee morale and productivity, leading to better business outcomes.
For instance, companies like SAP have successfully measured, designed and tracked their employee experience for well over a decade, and now know that for every 1% increase in their measurement scale yields EURO 90k – 100k in operating profit. Impressive on many levels!
Try something like this – Sample Email
Subject: Proposal for Enhancing Employee Experience and Organisational Performance
Dear [CEO’s Name],
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express concerns regarding the varying levels of strain and associated business impact observed among various employee groups most notably warehouse operatives, middle managers, and the corporate services support team. We have been experiencing challenges for over 2-years and these are now creating significant impedements to our operational efficiency and overall organisational health.
I believe we are currently ‘flying blind’ in this space causing us to waste energy and resources, which is why I propose initiating a comprehensive workplace diagnostic to identify current and emerging risks, at-risk groups, and root causes. This assessment will serve as the foundation for developing a strategic people plan that directly serves the overall business strategy.
Companies have been taking this approach with signficant returns. For instance, SAP have successfully measured, designed and tracked their employee experience for well over a decade, and now know that for every 1% increase in their measurement scale yields EURO 90k – 100k in operating profit.
The estimated investment for this diagnostic phase is approximately $20 to $45 per employee [$40,000 – $90,000], depending on the chosen supplier, the depth of exploration and analysis, and other specific requirements/customisations. This prudent investment will enable us to develop a more effective people strategy, optimize resource allocation, and drive significant improvements in employee morale and performance, ultimately contributing to our bottom line.
I’d be happy to discuss this further at your convenience.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]