On Aon

On Aon Insights: Workforce Resilience as a Concept

Episode Notes

The new “On Aon Insights” podcast series aims to take a deep dive into the issues that matter to the world’s business leaders. From traditional areas like managing volatility, retirement and health to new challenges like Environmental, Social and Governance factors and technological and digital disruption, this series will bring together Aon thought leaders, industry subject matter experts and senior business professionals to offer clarity and confidence to make better decisions. 

Sheena Singh, senior vice president in Aon’s healthcare industry vertical, offers a first look at what to expect in season one and upcoming episodes, including insights into workforce resilience and the challenges of helping employees reach their full potential. She highlights the expertise of Stephanie DeLorm, new solutions development leader for Aon’s Health Solutions for multinationals segment, regarding workforce resilience, including holistic tactics and strategies for a more successful long-term approach. 

Additional Resources:
Mental Health Plays a Crucial Role in Building a Resilient Workforce

Quiet Quitting and Burnout: Why it’s Essential to Focus on Wellbeing in a Recession

COVID-19 Has Permanently Changed the Way We Think About Wellbeing

ESG Data: How Businesses can use Data to Gain an Edge

DE&I in Benefits Plans: A Global Perspective

Aon Insights: Workforce Resilience

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Tweetables:

Episode Transcription

Sheena Singh:

Welcome to the On Aon Insights Podcast, a new podcast from Aon where we explore the hot topics surrounding the issues that matter to you. Today, our world is more volatile than ever, overloaded by data and compounded by complexity and uncertainty. Important decisions are often being made without the right information, the right insight and more importantly the right advice. This is where we come in. From traditional areas like managing volatility, retirement and health, to new challenges like environmental, social and governance factors, technological and digital disruption, we'll bring together Aon thought leaders, industry subject matter experts and senior business professionals to give you the clarity and confidence to make better decisions.

I'm Sheena Singh, senior vice president in our healthcare industry vertical, and it's great to be with you for this. The first season of On Aon Insights where we take a deep dive into the issues that matter to the world's business leaders. In the coming weeks, we'll explore workforce resilience. The challenge for organizations to help their employees achieve their full potential.

Let's think about it for a second. A business is only as resilient as its people. And over the last few years, there's been a fundamental shift in where, how and when work gets done. Employers therefore are having to make vital decisions on how to enable an agile and high-performing workforce. Each of our episodes will feature insights from Aon experts about the new world of work and the ways organizations can take action now to create an empowering work culture.

After the tumult of the last few years with COVID-19, hybrid work environments and financial volatility, employees are balancing new demands and facing new stressors. So, companies are prioritizing workforce resilience more than ever. But what is workforce resilience really? Definitions vary. Stephanie DeLorm, solutions development leader for Health Solutions at Aon says it goes beyond physical and mental health. It's about supporting the whole person, helping them feel supported at work and outside work, which then helps the company thrive.

Stephanie DeLorm:

It's really defined within three pillars of resiliency, agility and belonging. And so, when we think about resiliency, it's really around bouncing back. And when we think about agility, it's bouncing forward. And the belonging piece is really about being able to sustain that bounce back, bounce forward process by feeling a sense of belonging to the organization. And if you can create high performing teams that are happy and healthy and engaged, then that's going to drive business performance.

Sheena Singh:

Helping employees be resilient makes an organization resilient, a great thing to be. But it's easy to be overwhelmed by the idea of building workforce resilience especially since it covers so many areas. Companies can set themselves up for success by remembering that workforce resilience is not a set destination, rather it's a journey. Plus, building the framework for a holistic approach will make any plans and strategies work much better, Stephanie explains.

Stephanie DeLorm:

When we think about HR organizations and how they're structured today, they are structured within vertical specialties, if you will, and segregation of duties. But when we think about people issues today, they're complex and they cut across those verticals. It's organizations that are able to connect to those vertical pillars to really solve their business problems across from horizontal view. And looking at it more holistically will help address some of the workforce issues that are there today.

Sheena Singh:

Taking steps towards a resilient workforce and company starts with thinking about how the organization is currently running. Diagnostic tools can help companies determine how employees really feel and what they want, what helps them feel supported at work and at home, what can the company do to help. From this starting point, organizations can then figure out what things they can add and what things they can change, plus they can define what success looks like. Ultimately, focusing on workforce resilience is about evaluating what works now and what will work in the future. Stephanie says this means taking a hard look at what value a company offers.

Stephanie DeLorm:

So, thinking about the overall employee value proposition, and that could encompass both health and wellbeing programs, but also some of the things around the skills pathway and career development. But I think employers are realizing that there isn't this one-size-fits-all approach anymore. Individuals want personalization, and so focusing in on what matters most to them and investing in transparent employee communications, I think is really important.

Sheena Singh:

So, what have we learned over the last few minutes? Workforce resilience is about supporting the whole employee at work and at home. Resilient, healthy employees are more likely to be engaged, which drives company performance. Workforce resilience is an ongoing journey. A holistic approach to workforce resilience across business units will set a company up for success. And finally, assessing and improving the employee value proposition works to create workforce resilience.

Thanks for joining us at On Aon Insights. And thanks to Aon's Stephanie DeLorm for her expert take on the topic. We'll be back in two weeks with another episode exploring workforce resilience. Remember to check our show notes for recommended reading and places to learn more. And don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast. Until next time.