LIVE! Employee engagement in times of crisis (why bother?), with Jeffrey Fermin and Kristien Turner

Welcome back to a special live edition of Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. This episode is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

In this panel discussion, hosts Leanne Elliott (Chartered Occupational Psychologist) and Al Elliott (Business Owner) are joined by two industry titans to discuss the "doom and gloom" currently permeating the global workforce.

Joining the conversation are:

• Christian Turner: CEO of TK Talent Group, HR veteran with over 100,000 hires under his belt, and Harvard-educated organizational psychologist.

• Jeffrey Fermin: Employee engagement expert, founding member of Officevibe, and current lead at All Voices.

🔥 Topics Covered

1. The "Job Hugging" Phenomenon Low turnover doesn't always equal high engagement. We explore why employees are "hugging" their current roles out of fear rather than loyalty. Christian explains why disengaged employees might give high survey scores just to "not rock the boat" while secretly planning their exit.

2. Redefining Engagement Metrics Is your expensive employee survey actually telling you anything? The panel discusses why leaders should focus on two "acid test" metrics:

• Hiring Metrics: If you can’t attract talent easily, your organization may no longer be attractive.

• Glassdoor: Why ignoring your "TripAdvisor for work" is a fatal mistake for HR teams.

3. The Commercial Case for Culture Investing in people is a commercial necessity. Research shows organizations in the top 25% of engagement scores enjoy 22% higher profitability and 21% higher productivity during economic recoveries compared to those at the bottom.

4. AI: Amplifier or Replacer? We tackle AI anxiety head-on. Jeffrey argues that AI should be a tool to automate manual tasks so humans can get back to "human skills" like empathy and critical thinking. Christian warns that in a world of "AI gobbledygook," your "super skill" is what keeps you relevant.

🧠 Key Takeaways for Leaders

• The "Canceller" Habit: One of the fastest ways to trigger "quiet quitting" is for managers to consistently cancel weekly one-on-ones.

• HR is Marketing: Your employees are an extension of your consumer brand. If your internal culture is toxic, your external product will eventually suffer.

• Open the Gags: 90% of companies over 50,000 people lack an employee advocacy program. Trusting your people to use their own voice on LinkedIn pays dividends.

🎙️ Guest Connections

Christian Turner – Website: https://tktalentgroup.com/ – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristienturner/

Jeffrey Fermin – Website: https://www.allvoices.co – Socials: @fermintalkswork (IG, TikTok, YouTube) – LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jfermin

🤝 Credits

A special thanks to our Associate Producer, Georgia Hodkinson. – Connect with Georgia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-hodkinson-gmbpss/

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com

– Find out how we can support you: https://oblonghq.com/ – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

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