By Ashley Brooks
The past year has been a period we haven’t experienced in over a century. COVID has caused significant disruption to our work environments, forcing employees to isolate from one another for extended periods of time. The pandemic caused most organizations to shift focus from employee engagement to pure survival mode.
The good thing is this transition doesn’t have to define our culture going forward. Returning to work post-COVID gives us the opportunity to do a cultural reset in our businesses. Every organization is facing the same challenge and now is the time to develop intentional strategies that push employee engagement to the next level.
Employee-centered
When your company meets on strategic initiatives, what’s the first thing they discuss? Many focus on profitability, output, and growth before their biggest asset — their people! The key to meeting financial objectives is ensuring that employees feel you value and care about them as individuals. Programs focused on work-life balance, employee development, or employee well-being demonstrates a company’s commitment to people.
Common vision
Employees want to know how the company plans to get back on track and grow the business. Be clear about your mission and goals by ensuring all employees understand how they contribute to the mission and through regular communication. Transparency and communication are two of the most impactful characteristics of a corporation.
Shared experiences
“I am because you are” is the concept behind the South African word “ubuntu.” It’s used to define that we are what we are because of what we do together. I recently attended a webinar that highlighted the feeling of belonging as the most important influence on employee engagement. It’s important that we focus on team synergy through collaboration, diversity and inclusion, and a culture of healthy accountability.
Inspiration
Empower employees, use their skills cross-departmentally, and share ideas. Inspire them to take on challenges and trust them to lead; even if that means allowing them to make mistakes. We all perform better when we feel those around us trust in our ability to do great things. Inspired employees feel they contribute to the company mission, not just in performance of mundane tasks, but through continuously innovating.
Recognition
To sustain performance, you must recognize performance. Creating a culture of recognition should focus on specific behaviors, not generic qualities. Your culture should make employees feel like they own the responsibility of sharing in recognition, appreciation, and praise. This can be done through both formal and informal programs reinforced by training and cultural commitment.
The bottom line is, companies that strategically focus on developing the best work environments and show that they truly value employees as their greatest asset outperform their competitors. There’s no better time than now to establish the collaborative spirit needed to propel your business forward.
Ashley Brooks is the Director of Workplace Strategies at HTI. She’s been helping clients improve their workplace with HTI for more than 16 years.
