Gartner HR Survey Finds Australian Organizations Are Lacking Employee-Centered Innovation

Australian Employees Are No Longer Inspired or Motivated by Their Leaders

Australian employees report feeling uninspired by their leaders, as organizations prioritize growth and productivity over creating purposeful opportunities for their workforce to innovate, according to Gartner, Inc.

Gartner’s latest Global Talent Monitor survey data, collected between April and June 2024, reveals Australian employee perceptions about how innovative their work environment is reached an all-time low of 14% this quarter. This represents a decline of nearly 10% from a high of 24.5% in 3Q21.

“The pandemic fueled workplace innovation and inspired employees to excel in a changed work environment, but employees now feel less encouraged to try new approaches to improve business results, or to challenge the status quo,” said Aaron McEwan, Vice President, Research & Advisory in the Gartner HR practice. "When organizations fail to motivate employees to innovate, it’s a fast-track to poor business performance.”

Employee views towards organizational agility in Australia also fell to just 18.8% in 2Q24 from a peak of 30.2% in 3Q21. This is based on whether they believe their company is making changes to compete effectively, if the business adapts well to operational changes and whether teams can easily adopt new ways of working.

Approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are also limiting innovation. Organizations that do it well are known to consistently produce superior business outcomes including innovation, according to Gartner. However, the overall confidence of Australian employees in their organization’s DEI initiatives is at the lowest point recorded by Gartner in 2Q24 at 61.9%.

“To better support and inspire employees, leaders must focus on balancing the need for operational excellence with introducing products, strategic business partnerships and digital innovations that enable employees to thrive,” said McEwan.

Uninspired employees a risk to growth and productivity

According to Gartner’s latest survey data, discretionary effort remained virtually unchanged from 1Q24 (18.4%) to 2Q24 (18.2%). While Australian employees are turning up to work, they are not going above and beyond for their employer. The number of employees who consider themselves to be ‘highly’ engaged also remained flat from 1Q24 (22%) to 2Q24 (22.8%).

"Employees feel like they're operating in an environment where there is no room to test new ideas or stretch themselves,” said McEwan. "Leaders need to get back to basics, reconnect with their people and inspire them. This can be achieved through the quality of work on offer and by creating opportunities for purpose-led tasks."

Despite frustrations at a lack of workplace innovation, few employees have the confidence to find a new role in the current environment. Gartner’s survey found intent to stay increased from 36.1% to 36.8% in 2Q24. In addition, overall employee wellness continued to fall for the second consecutive quarter from 31.1% in 4Q23 to 29.3% in 2Q24.

"This data serves as a valuable reference point to a workforce that is worn out and lacking motivation,” said McEwan. “Unless leaders take action now and offer more opportunities for all employees to get involved and innovate, their engagement and discretionary effort will continue to decline, impacting deliverables and ultimately bottom-line results.”

Drivers of attraction and attrition

Gartner’s 2Q24 survey data shows the top three drivers of attraction in Australia are location, work-life balance and compensation for the third consecutive quarter, as employees seek to retain personal control of their working conditions.

While active job-seeking behavior decreased slightly from 22.6% in 1Q24 to 21.8%, the opportunity to work for an organization where employees are recognized for their skills and innovation is becoming more attractive, rising four places in 2Q24 (see Table 1).

Table 1: Top 10 Drivers of Employee Attraction and Attrition, Australia, 2Q24