Dry promotions—when employees receive a title change without a corresponding increase in compensation or responsibilities—can lead to dissatisfaction and decreased morale. In this episode of Research Revealed, Sara explores effective strategies leaders can implement to tackle the issue of dry promotions and foster a more positive and motivating work environment.

This week, Sara examines recent research from Checkr, which highlights a significant gap between management and employee perceptions of workplace communication. 71% of management reports having great relationships and open communication with employees – and yet 58% of employees agree. Sara outlines actionable steps leaders can take to address this misalignment, bridge the perception gap, and create a more cohesive work environment.

Sara highlights how employee engagement vastly increases when consistent feedback is provided – as research from Clutch that reveals 82% of employees value all types of feedback. Consistent feedback reinforces desired behaviors, identifies areas for improvement, and makes employees feel noticed and valued in their workplace. Sara shares key strategies for building consistent feedback into your organization.

Sara examines a survey by Enboarder, where 71% of employees agree that they need to have discussions with others to learn something new or change their thinking. Sara explains how collaborative learning can provide clarity, validation, and changes in perspective that leads to deeper understanding and more effective change implementation. Sara shares actionable steps for leaders to leverage this finding and ways to implement it in their organizations.

On this week’s Research Revealed, Sara discusses a Harvard Business Review report which highlights that 54% of leaders believe that the CEO of an organization should be highly engaged in leadership development training programs. Active participation is not just symbolic – it greatly impacts the effectiveness and perception of the training programs within the organization. Sara shares specific steps that CEOs can take in championing current initiatives and improve their effectiveness.

In this week’s Research Revealed, Sara draws insights from a Harvard Business Review global leadership development study and discusses why empathy, active listening and emotional intelligence are becoming crucial in the current work environment. This episode has actionable steps to cultivate these human centric skills within your organization and team to foster a more collaborative, inclusive, and resilient work environment.