Gatekeeping: Analysis of the Labor Shortage & Opportunities for Organizational Leaders
A case study performed by Sarah Larson in fulfillment of the Master of Arts in Communication degree at The Johns Hopkins University, this is the overview of the case study and resulting recommendations for organizational leadership portion.
The Opportunity
Over the course of the pandemic, many organizations have been on the forefront of tackling the continued challenges brought on by unforeseen circumstances. As they have prevailed, the employee need for transparent communication and a cultivated workplace experience increases. Likewise, cultural values and organizational norms need to be displayed and espoused throughout the organization to encourage engagement.
Transparent communication plays a pivotal part in executive and employee onboarding, aligning initiatives to organizational values, and understanding the necessary governance. Additionally, it provides extensive information on the mission and vision of the organization. In sum, this information is crucial for every organizational affiliate to review to perform at their best and/or understand how their hard work or support can be utilized to propel the organization forward (Men & Stacks, 2014).
This push toward transparency is relieving and necessary for organizations to continue their success (Men & Stacks, 2014). However, most organizational leaders gatekeep this information from most of the organization. By gatekeeping this information, an organization is at risk of suffering from the growing labor shortage and lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
As diversity, equity, and inclusion are a focal point of most organizational strategies this year (2021), current media and academic literature on these topics will be reviewed in relation to hiring and cultivating an ideal employee experience. This analysis will be relevant to media professionals and organizational leaders as they react and strategize around the labor shortage (Masui & Oku, 2021; Poor et al., 2021). The labor shortage or “great resignation,” could be defined as employees leaving their employers to find a new role that supports their goals and aligns to their personal values (Cadigan, 2021). Likewise, organizations cannot take the risk employing those who are not aligned to the organizational goals as they will be difficult to retain through this epidemic (Hancock & Schaninger, 2021; Poor et al., 2021). Therefore, by performing an analysis on the labor shortage in the media through gatekeeping and framing, leadership and hiring managers will be better able to put their best foot forward with a true understanding of how to utilize this opportunity.
Recommendations for Organizational Leadership
As there are more employees than organizations on LinkedIn, we can deduce that those currently in the workforce are engaging with LinkedIn content. Therefore, based on the results, employees are more likely to engage with content that is framed as an opportunity or research on a topic they find relevant, such as internal communications from their organization’s leadership. Research suggests that communications that focus on the future should be shared in a positive light. An example of this would be utilizing an opportunistically framed subject line such as; “The Future of Organization X: Value 1, Value 2, & Value 3.”
As seen in the literature review and media content, employees are seeking transparent communication from their employers (Jain, 2021; Men & Stacks, 2014; Morgan, 2021). Employers who provide this are more likely to conquer the labor shortage through retention of employees and attraction of candidates (Cadigan, 2021; Jain, 2021; Epstein, 2021; Poor et al., 2021). Therefore, information that affects employees in any way (legally allowable) should be shared widely within the organization to boost employee engagement and retention.
Furthermore, employers who share and exemplify their values are more likely to attract the right candidates for roles and create a psychologically safe environment (Hancock & Schaninger, 2021; Long, 2021; O’Hara, 2021). Therefore, it is suggested that employers looking to succeed should have transparent communication practices and values rooted in accountability (Cadigan, 2021; Jain, 2021; Epstein, 2021; Hancock & Schaninger, 2021; Men & Stacks, 2014; O’Donnell, 2021; O’Hara, 2021). Thus, by sharing the organizational values, employees will hold both themselves and leadership accountable, in turn creating a more psychologically safe environment. Additionally, leaders should take it upon themselves to be a role model for such values. For example, one value is “Collaboration & Partnership” a departmental leader could emphasize cross-functional programs which could be utilized to influence “Diversity & Inclusion.”
Additionally, the flexibility granted by the pandemic over the last 15 months has resulted in an increase in overall productivity for most organizations. This suggests that organizations should allow their employees to choose how they work (Cadigan, 2021; Cheng & Groysberg, 2021; Hancock & Schaninger, 2021; Men & Stacks, 2014; O’Donnell, 2021; O’Hara, 2021). Therefore, internal communications, regarding flexibility and the past pivot due to the pandemic, should emphasize the accomplishments over the last year by highlighting employee productivity and satisfaction resulting in innovation.
To review the literature reviewed and references, check out the Literature Review and Media Review.
