JUNE 2022 • Vol.09 • No.06 (ISSN 2564-1999)
5 WAYS TO CREATE A CULTURE OF CONNECTION AND BELONGING WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK - Jessica Grossmeier,
CEO, Jessica Grossmeier Consulting
Themed Edition on
Building a Sense of Belonging in the Workplace
16
How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace - Anjan Pathak, Vantage Circle
23
30
How Building Equality In The Workplace Makes Employees Happier
How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose
Clever Real Estate
Brownie Points
- Luke Babich,
- Tony Delaney,
35
How To Connect At Work - Lisa Reinhardt, The CCS Companies
INDEX
Themed Edition on
Building a Sense of Belonging in the Workplace
Human Experience Excellence - Engagement, Performance, Rewards & Recognition JUNE 2022
Vol.09
No.06
(ISSN 2564-1999)
07
5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Without Breaking The Bank Increase employee engagement by fostering stronger employee connections
On the Cover
- Jessica Grossmeier,
CEO, Jessica Grossmeier Consulting
Articles 10 Are You A Fault Finder Or A Strength Finder Manager? How to know and what to do about it – Dr. Rick Brandon, President, Brandon Partners
19 How To Create A Green Culture In The Workplace Green pearls of wisdom from the world’s most sustainable countries - David Taylor, Commercial Director, Flogas
25 Disgruntled Employees? Changes You Can Make Right Now How to improve low staff morale and retain employees amid the Great Resignation and Covid-19 - Jason Greer, Founder and CEO, Greer Consulting, LLC
33 Does Your Organization Need To Improve Its Culture? Questions and answers that will create a positive and productive culture - Jeff Gero, President, SUCCESS OVER STRESS
38 How To Keep The Best Of The Hybrid Culture Alive In Your Organization The future of work is fluid and always changing - Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO, GrowthSpace
Top Picks
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How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace True inclusivity produces a sense of belonging - Anjan Pathak, Co-Founder &
CTO, Vantage Circle
23
How Building Equality In The Workplace Makes Employees Happier Why equality and paid parental leave matter - Luke Babich,
Co-Founder and CEO, Clever Real Estate
30
How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose Don’t let a single opportunity for celebration or recognition go unheeded - Tony Delaney, CEO, Brownie Points
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How To Connect At Work Battling feelings of isolation - Lisa Reinhardt, Senior Manager,
Learning and Organizational Development, The CCS Companies
INDEX
How are our Human Experience Products and Services helping to make you smarter? JANUARY 2021 � Vol.08 � No.01 SEP 2017 • Vol. 5 • No. 09
HOW TO EMBRACE THE SHIFTS THAT OCCUR AS WE RETURN TO A NEW NORMAL WORKPLACE
�hemed Edition on
Agile Reward & Recognition Strategies
Key workplace trends for 2021 - David Roberts, Chief E�ecutive �fficer, �lchemer
Exclusive Articles on the U.S. Capitol Riots and Employee Well-Being Pages 14 & 21
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Digital Is All The Rage: Why Employee Rewards Must Include Digital Options In 2021 - Theresa McEndree, Blackhawk Network
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Employee Experience Trends In 2021
- Steve Sonnenberg, CEO, Awardco
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3 Tips To Increasing Your Reward And Recognition Strategies Post-Covid - Richelle Taylor,
30
How To Create A Meaningful Virtual Recognition Event - Mike Byam, Terryberry
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Human Experience Excellence - Monthly Interactive Learning Journal The future is all about going beyond the employee experience to focus on human experience. This monthly interactive learning experience showcases strategies and programs to improve employee performance and strengthen your team.
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Raksha Sanjay Nag
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Editor, Human Experience Excellence
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Foster Belongingness in the Workplace to Win DEI Initiatives Feelings of isolation in the workplace have only increased in the past couple of years, especially with employees working remotely. For the new hires, this whole process became even more difficult as most of them have never felt they were part of the team or the organization as a whole. Although organizations today place a great emphasis on diversity, equality, and inclusion, if the feeling of belonging is missing, then it can hugely affect employee productivity and success. How do you ensure your workforce feels included with a sense of purpose? What does it take to build a culture of belonging? The June issue of Human Experience Excellence includes expert articles that focus on building a sense of belonging in the workplace, nurturing a positive culture at work, employee retention strategies, and much more. Recent research by a nonprofit think tank, Coqual, found people who experience a higher sense of belonging at work are more engaged in their work and likely to stay in their job for the next two years. How can organizations foster connection and belonging at work? Jessica Grossmeier’s (CEO, Jessica Grossmeier Consulting) article, 5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Without Breaking The Bank, shares valuable insights. Clever Real Estate’s Co-Founder and CEO Luke Babich’s article, How Building Equality In The Workplace Makes Employees Happier, highlights why addressing workplace discrimination is important to foster a feeling of belonging.
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It’s said that diversity is like being invited to a party, inclusion is like being asked to dance, and belonging is dancing like no one’s watching. That is, belonging comes with psychological safety that allows employees to be themselves without fear of being judged. Can organizations foster true inclusivity that creates a sense of total belonging in the workplace? Read Vantage Circle Co-Founder & CTO, Anjan Pathak’s article, How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace, to learn about that and more. Whether you are a new hire trying to fit in, a long-term employee struggling with recent feelings of isolation, or a leader hoping to re-establish feelings of belonging among a dispersed team – it’s time to CONNECT, according to Lisa Reinhardt (Senior Manager, Learning and Organizational Development, The CCS Companies) in her article, How To Connect At Work. Unhappy employees are fueling the Great Resignation that’s spreading throughout American workplaces, and inequality and a feeling of non-belonging are at the heart of the problem. We hope this edition of the magazine offers some helpful tips and leads that can help you plan DEIB strategies in your workplace. As always, please don’t forget to get back to us with your valuable feedback. Happy Reading! Write to the Editor at ePubEditors@hr.com
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COVER ARTICLE
5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Without Breaking The Bank Increase employee engagement by fostering stronger employee connections By Jessica Grossmeier, Jessica Grossmeier Consulting
and social well-being. But there are also bottom-line business implications. Recent research, by a nonprofit think tank called Coqual found, people who experience a higher sense of belonging at work are more engaged in their work and likely to stay in their job for the next two years. As employers continue to grapple with high voluntary quit rates, employee social connection and engagement are elevated to the level of a strategic business priority. So, how can employers foster an organizational culture where employees feel a deeper sense of connection? Researcher and business professor, Dr. Brene’ Brown, defines connection as:
F
ull-time employees spend more than half of their waking hours engaged in the workplace environment, including meetings and communications with co-workers. It’s no surprise, then, that the nature of our interactions with co-workers and customers has a significant influence on our mental, emotional,
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●● the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued ●● when they can give and receive without judgment ●● when they derive sustenance and strength from a relationship
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5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Without Breaking The Bank
The global pandemic significantly disrupted the nature of worker relationships and many organizations pivoted to offer virtual or outdoor “physically distanced” socializing opportunities for coworkers. This is a start in the right direction, but insufficient to foster deeper levels of connection and belonging.
Create opportunities to connect that go beyond transactional, tactical conversations.
According to social psychologist and researcher, Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a comprehensive approach to social connection addresses three key types of social support:
●● Incorporate digital or virtual opportunities that emphasize peer-led, informal, personal conversations that are not work- or task-oriented.
●● Configure physical workplace settings that foster informal, casual conversations (e.g., with centralized, inviting, comfortable gathering spaces).
●● Structural support, by providing opportunities to interact meaningfully with one another as part of their working lives.
●● Incorporate small-group interactions into larger gatherings to encourage authenticity and personal storytelling.
●● Functional support, by increasing employee perceptions that support is available to them and deepening the level of interactions to go beyond task-oriented work conversations.
●● Embed more personal times of sharing into regular meetings, which allow team members to develop deeper connections and relationships with one another.
●● Quality support, by helping employees develop ways of interacting that increase perception of trust, inclusion, collaboration, and a spirit of positivity.
Name and reinforce the behaviors that cultivate trust, inclusion, and collaboration.
How do organizations deliberately foster a culture of connection and belonging without breaking the bank? Much of this comes down to how we treat one another in the workplace and much of the work of fostering a culture of connection and belonging can be embedded into the way that work gets done in an organization.
●● Encourage the use of enabling and affirming language, reminding employees to practice compassion and kindness towards one another. ●● Encourage team members to reach out to one another for support and help teams overcome disappointments, grievances, and frustration. ●● Measure employee perceptions about feeling seen, valued, heard, and included. ●● Provide relational skills training to individuals and teams.
Here are 5 ways that organizations can foster connection and belonging at work:
Incorporate guidance into existing leadership development and training.
Identify organizational and team values that foster social connection and belonging. ●● (e.g., trust, respect, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, inclusion). Incorporate these values into policies, practices, and expectations for individual, team, and corporate performance.
●● Help leaders understand how their language and behaviors influence a broader culture of trust, inclusion, and psychological safety. ●● Identify specific actions leaders can take to role model authenticity, respect, compassion, inclusion, and curiosity. ●● Provide training to leaders at all levels to build skills in the areas of psychological safety, authentic relating, appreciative inquiry, and emotional intelligence.
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5 Ways To Create A Culture Of Connection And Belonging Without Breaking The Bank
Incorporate appreciation, recognition, and kindness into the team and corporate initiatives. ●● Create recognition programs that emphasize the behaviors that foster a culture of connection, belonging, and care for one another. ●● Guide employees on how to express appreciation for co-workers that goes beyond transactional work responsibilities to emphasize strengths, skills, and diverse perspectives. ●● Develop campaigns that encourage employees to practice acts of kindness, express gratitude, and serve one another. Some may feel these practices are "nice-to-have" and not essential to the real business of meeting organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, employers must develop mechanisms that give how work gets done equal weight and attention as what work gets done. Key performance indicators and organizational scorecards can include objective measures of how people perceive they are treated within their work interactions. Such employee
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perception measures should be given equal priority to measures of business performance. Attending to the balance can reinforce a people-centric approach to work, which is necessary to address employee morale, engagement and turnover.
Jessica Grossmeier, Ph.D., MPH, is the Chief Executive Officer at Jessica Grossmeier Consulting. She is a leading voice in workplace well-being, having dedicated her career to identifying evidence-based strategies that promote a thriving workforce. She works with employers and well-being service providers to identify evidence-based practices to support employee well-being and foster a culture of health.
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Are You A Fault Finder Or A Strength Finder Manager? How to know and what to do about it By Rick Brandon, Ph. D., Brandon Partners
found to increase productivity and loyalty to the company, leading to higher retention. Positive recognition shapes desired behavior and cultivates a fruitful, thriving work atmosphere. It pours vitamins into someone’s emotional and motivational life.
A Key Obstacle to Recognition: A FaultFinding Mentality
Recognition Breeds Engagement and Productivity Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said, “There are two things people want more than sex and money…recognition and praise.” OK, maybe not, but Frederick Herzberg, the motivation research pioneer found positive recognition among the top three job motivators. Gallup’s research identified employee engagement in the low 30s for
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years and recently reported that 53% of workers in the US are not engaged, with lack of recognition constituting a key variable. According to Forbes, 43 percent of employees cite a lack of recognition as their reason for quitting.
If recognition is so pivotal for optimizing performance and retention, why are companies only recently making it a human resources strategy imperative? It’s not the cost, since personal recognition doesn’t cost one cent and it’s 100% within a manager’s control. The sad truth is a key inhibitor is the leader’s mindset towards expressing appreciation.
As Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense said, “Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated.” Surveys reveal recognition as the top motivator of engagement, it also has been
Many of us are predisposed to be “fault finders” rather than “strengths finders,“ which limits our capacity for giving positive recognition, positive feedback, and appreciation.
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Are You A Fault Finder Or A Strength Finder Manager?
No wonder we may become fault finders and take for granted people’s strengths and positive qualities when most of us grow up in a red pencil mentality. Teachers tell us what we got wrong. Even the news media is overly focused on the negative. Chief Justice Earl Warren said, “I always turn to the sports page first, which records people’s accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.” It behooves us to detect which posture we typically adopt in life and to develop strategies for shifting to being a strengths finder.
Questions That Will Help You Know if You’re a Fault Finder or a Strengths Finder Manger 1. What’s your self-talk about recognition and appreciation? Becoming a strengths finder is both a skill and a mindset. Examine that little voice in your head that triggers negative or positive emotions. Do you hear yourself thinking, “All this positive recognition and expressing appreciation stuff is a bunch of touchy-feely soft skills… I shouldn’t have to go to charm school to manage people… I shouldn’t have to be a cheerleader or coach… They’re paid to do their job, not to be nurtured.” Such self-talk won’t result in you embracing recognizing people’s strengths and contributions, or giving positive, supportive feedback. Recommendation: Therefore, alter your self-talk by selling yourself on the business benefits of giving recognition and focusing on strengths: “I know it goes against
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the grain for me but having a strengths focus will feed their engagement and motivation.” 2. How do you receive compliments? Your habits around receiving and giving compliments are clues to whether you shy away from being a strengths finder. Do you often discount compliments by denying it, returning the compliment, giving someone else credit, or not trusting it (the saddest)? Some people have lived in a desert of recognition so don’t believe it, think it isn’t macho to accept compliments, or view accepting recognition of their assets as being immodest. The bottom line is that they don’t have “pockets for compliments.” Often, self-discounts reveal humility. But the virtue goes overboard if we can never feel appreciation’s glow—as receiver and giver. Recommendation: You can’t give from an empty bucket, so try to get better at seeing your own strengths, accepting positive feedback, and absorbing compliments about your own strengths. This readies you to see others’ positive attributes. 3. What are your strengths in vision acuity? Aggressive managers are strengths-myopic, only seeing their own assets. Passive people are instead “strengths-farsighted,” only seeing other people’s strengths and being “strengthsblind” to their own assets. The majority of us fall far short of the “20/20 Strengths visual” for seeing our own talents, skills,
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aptitudes, and positive traits. We need to exercise our strengths in vision muscle so that it doesn’t atrophy. How often do you notice and point out strengths in others? You may be allowing your strengths and visual acuity to atrophy. Ben Franklin said the unrecognized strengths are like sundials in the shade. They will wither up and die. 4. Do you put a spotlight on weaknesses? Do you have crap-detector antennae, being excessively tuned into people’s shortcomings? Do you put the spotlight on people’s faults in a judgmental way? Recommendation: A weakness is often a strength used at the wrong time, excessively, or inappropriately, like cracking a joke at a quarterly sales meeting when profits are down (“Well, no place to go but up!”). The asset of humor has become a problem area. As with compliments, start with yourself, converting your own weaknesses into strengths. Take any trait of an employee (or yourself) that bugs you, like stubbornness. How, when, or where might that trait be needed–– a helpful characteristic to have? Can’t stubbornness be an asset if you’re in quality control, negotiating, or safety. This isn’t to suggest that we ignore real problem behaviors at work. But we, sometimes, can adopt a different perspective, be less upset, and cultivate tolerance through this perspective of being a strength finder rather than a fault finder.
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Are You A Fault Finder Or A Strength Finder Manager?
Do You Make Weaknesses Worse with Your Management Practices? Marcus Buckingham was the CEO of the Gallup Organization and co-wrote the book, Now Discover Your Strengths. Based on data from thousands of companies in 30 countries, the authors make an appeal for a “strengths revolution.” Recommendations: Buckingham suggests antidotes like: ●● Optimizing your strengthsLean into Strengths and don’t worry so much about putting excessive energy into eliminating your own or others’ weaknesses areas. Dennis Rodman was a lousy shooter in the NBA so he excelled at rebounding. Cole Porter had weak
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plots in his musicals, but people loved his wonderful lyrics. Instead of always struggling to identify and fix weaknesses, the focus can drift more and more towards leveraging people’s strengths. Let’s worry less about fixing weaknesses if they aren’t meant to change much and instead devote our energies to developing inherent talents into strengths. ●● Managing around weaknesses- Compensate for weaknesses by rearranging the environment or job structure to avoid the weakness being a big deal, like delegating a weaknessrelated task to others or changing the hour of the day for a complex analytical
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task to a quieter time if you get easily distracted when interrupted. I like to think of these approaches as “protecting your Achilles Heel.” At infancy, the Greek hero Achilles’ mother had dipped him in a magical river making him invulnerable, except at his heel where she held him while dipping. He wore a lead boot to keep from exposing his vulnerable spot during battle. Are you too focused and paranoid about fixing weaknesses–– in yourself or others? Let’s put the lead boot on! As long as this doesn’t become a cop-out for not growing and achieving our potential, perhaps we can cut ourselves and others some slack.
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Are You A Fault Finder Or A Strength Finder Manager?
How Balanced is Your Feedback? When coaching, giving performance reviews, or debriefing a team meeting, notice how much you focus on “negative” versus “positive” feedback. Strive to alter the ratio of “positive” to “negative” feedback, since you’ll often spark more performance improvement by reinforcing what’s working well than by correcting problem areas. When you give feedback
to a report on a presentation, first ask an employee for their impressions before giving your own feedback (which is a positive habit in itself). Ask what went well with the performance first before inquiring about what might be their improvement opportunities. Use this same sequence when you take your turn, starting with their strengths and then sharing a few growth areas with as much as a 3:1 ratio of positive to improvement feedback.
Here again, notice your self-talk about weaknesses. Instead of using terms like “corrective feedback,” experiment with calling it “developmental feedback,” and instead of “problem areas” consider them as “growth opportunities.” Please don’t dismiss this strategy as a psycho-babble or a linguistic word game. Comedian and social commentator, George Carlin knew that words create emotion and motivation when he quipped, “The environmentalists finally got it right when they realized that nobody would donate to “swamps” and “jungles,” so they called them “wetlands” and “rain forests.”
The Nike Commercial: Just Do It! Use this article’s screening questions and recommendations to keep yourself honest about your characteristic fault finder versus strengths finder mindset. You can be accountable for being part of the strengths revolution solution rather than being part of the crap-detecting problem!
Rick Brandon, Ph. D., is President of Brandon Partners. His new book is Straight Talk: Influencing Skills for Collaboration and Commitment, which comes after his Wall Street Journal bestselling Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. With thirty years of performance improvement experience, Dr. Brandon’s courses have trained hundreds of thousands at companies worldwide, including scores of Fortune 500 companies. He is a distinguished faculty thought leader for the Institute for Management Studies where in one year alone he appeared in 21 cities as the Institute’s most requested speaker.
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TOP PICK
How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace True inclusivity produces a sense of belonging By Anjan Pathak, Vantage Circle
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elonging is a sense of security and support received as a result of acceptance, inclusion, and identification. Belonging, for example, in the family system refers to a sense of being included in the entire household. It is the feeling of being understood, having fun together, desiring to spend time together, and being noticed. A sense of belonging provides students with feelings of safety, and identification in school and college, supporting intellectual, psychological, and social growth. Similarly, in the workplace, belonging makes your employees feel like they’re a part of the team, motivating them to excel in their jobs and connect with the company. It is one of the most important factors in increasing employee engagement.
Belonging and D&I Companies across the globe have placed a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion (D&I) with a major focus on gender, color, culture, sexual orientation, and age. At the same time, belonging is frequently confused with diversity and inclusion. But belonging, at large, is a much more powerful concept that cuts across cultures and countries.
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It’s said that diversity is like being invited to a party, inclusion is like being asked to dance, and belonging is like dancing like no one’s watching. That is, belonging comes with psychological safety that allows employees to be themselves without fear of being judged. In a nutshell, true inclusivity produces a sense of belonging. Be it at any stage of life, belonging is a core human need encoded into our DNA. Despite this, many employees report feeling isolated at work, which has resulted in weaker organizational commitment and engagement.
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How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace
Here are five tips to help you create a sense of belonging in the workplace.
2. Create a Seamless Culture of Rewards and Recognition
1. Find Reasons to Offer Employee Benefits
Rewards and recognition are among the biggest contributions to a sense of belonging.
As an employer, you should create maximum opportunities to contribute to a sense of belonging with the help of employee perks and benefits. Show employees that you care about their unique needs and demands by providing benefits that apply to all demographic groups of your employees. It may range from things like flexible work schedules to emotional wellness activities. Other activities include supporting diversity by conducting events to spotlight underrepresented groups (e.g., Black History Month). All of these are extremely beneficial in fostering a sense of belonging. Providing such benefits and exclusive initiatives for employees’ contributions to the organization demonstrates that a company is paying attention to its employees’ efforts and is concerned about whether or not they feel accepted.
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Announcing big or small wins, commemorating employees’ work anniversaries, and creating unique reward systems beyond the conventional “Employee of the Month” - are all small yet valuable gestures that can make employees feel valued. Remember, not all employees are motivated in the same way. While some prefer to be recognized in public, others prefer a private message or gift. All employees, however, want to be rewarded for more than just showing up; they want to be recognized for contributing something special to the organization. Show them how their contributions are invaluable. To make it easier, you can get an employee recognition software that can recognize and reward your employees globally in real-time!
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How To Cultivate A Sense Of Belonging In The Workplace
Because stories are at the heart of how we see our workplace, it’s critical to share stories from all employees. So, pick employees with different backgrounds and pay grades from various company departments. Furthermore, storytelling has been shown to release chemicals in our brains that make us more sensitive and empathic.
5. Make Use of Internal Employee Surveys Measuring workplace belonging can be difficult, but we can make a goal to boost employee happiness and track it. So, how can we determine, track and measure the happiness goals?
3. Develop a More Open and Candid Environment Many companies do not prefer to share the big picture with their employees. They’ll keep people informed on news related to their job but not about the company’s overall goals and objectives. It is where they make a mistake. Because unless they understand their purpose, where, and how they fit into the organization, employee engagement will always be low. When you start inviting your team to share their thoughts, you will notice that excessive complaining and gossip fade away. Your employees may start to seek advice from one another. You might also see that times of hostility are being replaced with moments of partnership. That’s how a strong sense of belonging may manifest, and as the leader, it all starts with you.
Employee pulse surveys are an excellent method to keep track of your progress. It would be ideal if you could track metrics based on age, gender, color, LGBT status, and even salary. Only by doing so will you see how satisfied your employees are as a group. It will also tell whether or not some groups in the work culture feel marginalized.
Anjan Pathak is the Co-Founder & CTO of Vantage Circle and Vantage Fit. He is an HR technology enthusiast, very passionate about employee wellness, and actively participates in corporate culture growth.
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4. Cultivate Storytelling We can foster a sense of belonging by encouraging employees to share their tales, whether over a few drinks after work or as part of a planned team-building activity. Consider allocating a page or two in each edition of your company newsletter to your employees’ experiences.
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How To Create A Green Culture In The Workplace Green pearls of wisdom from the world’s most sustainable countries By David Taylor, Flogas
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here is simply no hiding that our planet is under great pressure. From rising sea levels to increasingly warmer temperatures across the globe, climate change is having a serious impact on the well-being of our environment. In this respect, governments around the world are taking action to limit damage to our surroundings. The UK, for instance, has already begun its race towards a legally binding net-zero target, which must be reached by 2050. To start with, and to stay on track, Britain has to halve its emissions by 2030. While the UK’s efforts are already bearing fruit, as we top the global charts in marine-protected areas and clean drinking water, there are also many other countries paving the way in the field of sustainability. Specifically, according to World Atlas, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Switzerland are currently the world’s environmental leaders. With reduced traffic and air pollution, as well as careful recycling and waste management, they are playing a substantial role in safeguarding our planet. But it’s not all down to the governments. As businesses, we have a duty of care towards our surroundings too. What can your company do to actively emulate eco-friendly countries?
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What strategies can you implement to help Britain meet its ambitious targets?
Create a Green Culture As a business owner, you should always aim to lead by example. Sharing your ambitions and desire to favor an environmentally conscious workplace can set the tone for your whole team. In Scandinavia, where sustainability goals are often on top of people’s agendas, companies tend to be very collectivist. This means that managers extend their own green mindset to their business culture and encourage their employees to follow similar eco-friendly practices. These can be simple steps such as switching off lights in unoccupied rooms, cutting down on unnecessary printing, and reducing avoidable food waste. Therefore, not only is it important to have staff that can perform their jobs to a satisfying standard, it is vital that a team holds the same green ideals as you. Following the example of Japanese multinational Sony, you may want to consider offering your workers some volunteering opportunities too. From protecting the planet to helping disadvantaged people, you will be promoting valuable activities to benefit the environment and vulnerable groups.
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How To Create A Green Culture In The Workplace
Compensate for Your Emissions Carbon offsetting is one of the most efficient strategies for companies to minimize their carbon footprint. By compensating for your business’ emissions, you can actively balance out the impact you are having on the planet. Sometimes, using energy is simply inescapable. Whether it is heating the office, downloading crucial documents, or charging electronic devices, there will be inevitable situations in which you will be releasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon offsetting, in this sense, can help even things out. In fact, funding green projects elsewhere can reduce the impact of emissions in the workplace. From supporting renewable energy programs in poorer countries to financing forest preservation, there are numerous ways to make up for your own ‘pollution’.
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Google parent company Alphabet, for example, has managed to wipe off its lifetime carbon footprint by buying high-quality carbon offsets.
Embrace Innovation Another tool in favor of sustainability is the increasing development of technology. Green countries across the world are relying more and more on technological innovation to tackle climate-change issues. Not only can it give you an edge over competitors, but technology can truly help your business shrink its wasteful and damaging practices. Innovative software and equipment may be challenging to grasp at first. But it is also fair to say that its advantages outweigh any kind of drawback. To stay in line with companies from leading environmental countries, you should ensure that your own business is introducing technology as a staple of its policy.
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How To Create A Green Culture In The Workplace
Sources:
Encourage Biking Schemes As mentioned, Denmark stands on the podium of the world’s most sustainable countries. Its capital city, Copenhagen, is also one of the planet’s greenest cities. From vending-style machines that reward recycling contributions to electric buses and roads devoted to bicycles, the Little Mermaid’s birthplace is taking all the right steps. As a business, why not take inspiration from Copenhagen’s promotion of bike routes and schemes? Instead of hopping in your car to drive to work, you could pedal from your home to the office. Public transport or – if you live close enough – a morning stroll are excellent options too. Again, as an owner or manager, you can act as a model and encourage your employees to cycle or walk as well. By doing so, you will be actively reducing the number of cars on the street, decreasing road congestion, pollution, and both you and your staff’s carbon footprint. As countries across the globe, including the UK, strive to nullify their carbon emissions in the coming decades, businesses can have their say in sustainability efforts too. Taking a leaf out of green nations’ books, ultimately, can aid your surroundings and limit your company’s impact on the environment.
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●● https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-most-sustainable-countries.html ●● https://thesustainablelivingguide.com/ most-sustainable-countries/ ●● https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/04/ what-is-carbon-offsetting-and-how-does-it-work ●● https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ discovering-hygge-in-copenhagen/worlds-greenest-city/ ●● https://www.rd.com/list/what-we-can-learn-from-the-mosteco-friendly-countries-on-earth/ ●● https://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/07/worldsgreenest-companies-and-what-we-can-learn-from-them/ ●● https://blueandgreentomorrow.com/environment/ things-green-businesses-can-learn-from-scandinavia-onsustainability/?noamp=mobile ●● https://www.texasdisposal.com/blog/ most-eco-friendly-countries/
David Taylor is the Commercial Director at Flogas.
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The State of Human Experience in the Workplace 2022 Virtual Event • August 17, 2022
A people-centric culture helps business thrive!
A people-centric approach goes a long way to boost engagement, productivity, brand, retention, and the bottom line. We will cover a range of issues related to human interactions, specifically the experiences of employees and other stakeholders in today’s work environment. We will also talk about the following topics: The indicators of today’s employee experience and the impact of those experiences on issues such as performance, retention and engagement.
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Join us for a one-day virtual event, The State of Human Experience in the Workplace 2022, on August 17, 2022 to hear experts share their strategies and proven methods to improve the experiences of all internal and external people your organization comes in contact with.
How those experiences can be improved and what best practices look like
This event is for anyone who wants to take a more strategic approach to ensuring business will grow and thrive.
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The roles that various HR functions play in shaping the employee experience, from performance management to benefits programs to corporate culture
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How Building Equality In The Workplace Makes Employees Happier Why equality and paid parental leave matter By Luke Babich, Clever Real Estate
It’s no wonder 60% of workers report some negative emotions about their job, with 25% expressing only negative emotions. Unhappy employees are fueling the Great Resignation that’s spreading throughout American workplaces, and inequality is at the heart of the problem.
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iversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are hot topics in the workplace, but DEI is more than just a handy three-letter acronym to tick off the onboarding checklist. Nearly half of employees (45%) say a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion is very important. The Oxford Languages dictionary defines equality as “the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.”
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Workplace equality is protected under the Constitution, but our recent employee unhappiness survey found that workers don’t experience equal treatment in practice. Almost half of the workers (46%) we surveyed think discrimination, prejudice, and harassment are problems at their workplace, with 19% indicating that they’ve experienced personal attacks or unkind remarks from their managers.
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Managers need to learn the characteristics of effective leaders if they want to create a fair workplace and retain their best employees.
Workplace Discrimination Is a Problem for Half of the Employees Employees report three main areas of discrimination at their workplace: ●● Pay gaps ●● Racism ●● Sexism
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How Building Equality In The Workplace Makes Employees Happier
Pay Gaps Approximately 35% of all employees say pay gaps are a problem at their workplace, but Black workers (26%) are twice as likely as white workers (13%) to report poor salaries. This trend mirrors national data that shows unequal pay between Black and white workers. Black men make 87 cents for every dollar a white man earns, while Black women make even less — 63 cents for every dollar a white man earns.
Racism In addition to discrimination that plays out along the pay scale, 33% of survey respondents cite racism as a problem in their workplace. Black workers are 58% more likely than white workers to report that their workplace doesn’t value diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are also 31% more likely to say their workplace doesn’t have many opportunities for career advancement — an assertion supported by studies showing they are underrepresented in senior roles. About 1 in 8 workers (13%) say discrimination isn’t a problem at their workplace because it’s very homogeneous, but they missed the fact that a homogenous office may itself be a form of discrimination.
Sexism Female respondents are more likely to experience sexual harassment and hiring prejudice, as well as missed opportunities
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for promotions. As a result, women are 17% more likely than men to cite sexism as a problem in their workplace. Nearly one-third (30%) of the overall respondent says it’s a problem in the workplace.
75% of Employees Receive Fewer Than 12 Weeks of Recommended Paid Family Leave For families welcoming children, a lack of paid parental leave makes the stress and pressure of the workplace even more intense. The U.S. is the only developed country in the world without a national paid leave policy for mothers, and it’s a major factor contributing to employee unhappiness. Lack of paid parental leave is a form of discrimination that hits women particularly hard. The “motherhood penalty” can cost women up to $16,000 a year because of bias that perceives women as less committed to their jobs. It results in lower salaries and fewer promotions compared to fathers and women who aren’t mothers. Even though paid family leave promotes healthier infants and stronger family ties, only 24% of employees receive at least 12 weeks of paid family leave. About 46% of workers receive one month or less, while 20% have no paid family leave at all. Some U.S. workers are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act,
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but many don’t take this time off because they would risk living paycheck to paycheck. What’s striking is that 56% of workers would take a pay cut to improve their work-life balance, with nearly 1 in 6 (16%) saying they’d accept a salary reduction of $20,000 or more a year. Additional Resources: ●● How Leaders Can Promote Happiness in Teams ●● Benefits of a Diverse Workforce ●● Inclusive Cultures Have Healthier and Happier Workers ●● The Link Between Employee Wellbeing and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ●● How to create a happy workplace ●● Does Gender Diversity Affect Workplace Happiness for Academics? The Role of Diversity Management and Organizational Inclusion
Luke Babich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Clever Real Estate. Luke is a licensed real estate agent in the State of Missouri and his research and insights have been featured on BiggerPockets, Inman, LA Times, and more.
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Disgruntled Employees? Changes You Can Make Right Now How to improve low staff morale and retain employees amid the Great Resignation and Covid-19
By Jason Greer, Greer Consulting, LLC
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lmost 70 million Americans quit or lost their job last year.
In the middle of a pandemic, major social justice issues, and the highest inflation we’ve seen in decades.
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Why? General perception suggests that employees were tired of feeling unappreciated, spread too thin and ultimately coming in every day to make someone else rich.
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Disgruntled Employees? Changes You Can Make Right Now
For decades, workers have been treated as if they are lucky to have a job. The truth is that, often, workers are a business’ greatest asset and should be appreciated as such. Employers have a number of resources at their disposal to retain and inspire workers, helping the business become the best version of itself. I have spoken to thousands of employees across several industries over the past 17 years as the “Employee Whisperer.” These interviews have helped me identify three first steps every employer must take to rebuild trust and improve retention and morale:
Listen So many people fail to realize the amazing superpower that is listening and there are multiple ways to improve your ability to listen to employees.
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You can gain a lot of information through passive conversation in the hallways. You can also take advantage of more formal resources: go through exit interviews and see what can be changed to keep people; note trending language in applications of your employees, and engage in more formal discussions with other supervisors. When you take a second to listen, you’ll realize there is more information around you than you realize. And this is all before you create new systems and resources like surveys or feedback channels, so I find it a lot easier to start where you are. Taking the time to listen to your employees’ issues and concerns AND following up to make sure these issues and concerns are properly addressed will do wonders for the relationship between managers and employees.
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Disgruntled Employees? Changes You Can Make Right Now
Make Change Now and Relay Those Changes Publicly Start where you can and make an immediate change. This helps you rapidly build trust and shows your commitment to your employees. If an employee is brave and honest enough to bring an issue up to you, then it is safe to say that it truly matters to them. Show you care by verbally acknowledging what you have heard, addressing it immediately and following up consistently. It’s also critical to spread awareness about any changes you make. It’s not bragging. You are ensuring the new element is utilized and capitalized on so the impact is obvious to other leaders and more likely to be preserved.
Give Everything Proper Time You didn’t get here overnight so understand that this process can’t be rushed. Building trust, making
change and improving employee satisfaction takes consistent and dedicated efforts. Don’t rush into making changes because you may end up proposing solutions that don’t fully and accurately meet their needs. When this happens, employees don’t support the new initiative and it can die out, ultimately a waste of your energy. Be sure to listen, get feedback on proposed solutions and really think through issues from all sides before implementing. Right now, employers have an opportunity. By connecting with workers, they can take their businesses and profit levels to new heights. It’s time for employers to wake up and begin the critical work of improving their relationships with employees. Luckily, most are waiting for you and are excited to give you their input.
Jason Greer is an internationally recognized Employee/Labor Relations and Diversity Management consultant who is known as the “Employee Whisperer.” His tremendous ability to get in on the ground of any business allows him to immediately form relationships and improve morale as well as employeremployee relations. He has incredible success due to his professional background in Labor Relations, counseling psychology and organizational development. In total, Greer has more than 17 years in this industry and his company, Greer Consulting, Inc., ranks in the top 5% of labor and employee relations consulting companies in the nation.
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Show that management values the importance of the HR function, and has a commitment to development and improvement of HR staff.
Certified HR professionals help companies avoid risk by understanding compliance, laws, and regulations to properly manage your workforce.
Ensure that each person in your HR department has a standard and consistent understanding of policies, procedures, and regulations.
HR Professionals lead employee engagement and development programs saving the company money through lower turnover and greater productivity and engagement.
Place your HR team in a certification program as a rewarding team building achievement.
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Why Certification is the Best Choice:
11. Less expensive than a masters or PhD program, and very manageable to prepare with flexible study options.
2. 2 Recertification - ensures HR professionals continue to be up to speed on the latest legislation and best practices 3. 3 Recognized, Industry benchmark, held by 500,000+ HR Professionals
Group Rate Options We offer group rates for teams of 5+ or more for our regularly scheduled PHR/SPHR/ SHRM or aPHR courses. For groups of 12+, we can design a more customized experience that meets your organization’s needs. You can have scheduling flexibility in terms of the days, times, and overall length of the course. Groups rates for HRCI exams are also available as an add-on. All group purchases come with 1 year of HR Prime membership for each attendee to gain the tools and updates needed to stay informed and compliant.
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How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose Don’t let a single opportunity for celebration or recognition go unheeded By Tony Delaney, Brownie Points
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he global pandemic has triggered a shift from 1st stream change to 2nd stream change where people are at the center and the reason for the change. The Great Resignation is requiring companies to rethink how they engage their people in change and take them with them on the change journey as co change-makers. People want more from organizational change projects. They expect their work experience and contribution to be augmented by change. This is called The Great Awakening. At Brownie Points, we call this the New World of Work. Making your workforce feel included with a sense of purpose is critical in the new world of work, so don’t let a single opportunity for celebration or recognition go unheeded. Achieving goals, completing an induction or a training program to a high standard, and assisting a colleague to complete a project on time below budget all deserve a degree of appreciation as they all add value to your business. Formal recognition has long been well understood by business leaders. Top performers are almost always
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given awards and special status. But what about all those who contribute consistently every day but often go under the radar? Those in accounting, HR, warehouse, distribution, front desk, or housekeeping, are vital to your business and also need to receive positive feedback for great work. What’s far less well understood is the importance of simple, but highly effective recognition, both verbal and through low-cost awards (e.g. certificates, smiley face or thumbs up images in an email, a recognition wall in the office, or a section in the internal news bulletin, etc., to mark the diversity of employees’ effort and achievement. Giving positive feedback in a timely manner helps to develop a sense of purpose, value, and belonging. Thought leading organizations around the world understand the value of passionate employees and what they bring to their business, and employees who feel appreciated, valued and respected have been shown to give discretionary effort and perform at higher levels. These companies appreciate the correlation between passionate and engaged employees, brand value, and corporate performance.
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How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose
Valuing your employee’s humanity not in the abstract but by how you treat them on the job is the foundation of psychological well-being at work. Developing a culture of appreciation, especially with a platform that delivers immediate positive feedback and celebrates contribution across the organization, and which is consistent and transparent is a great place to start. Employees who don’t feel valued and respected respond with an attitude of “if you don’t value me, why should I value you, this job, your company, or the customer?” This can have huge consequences. Engaged and passionate employees (those that understand the corporate vision and are committed to achieving corporate goals) are proven to take fewer sick days, stay longer, are more productive and deliver greater customer/guest experience.
On the other hand, an employee who feels valued and respected, and part of the vision by the company experiences increased self-esteem, which in turn leads to increased competence and contribution through discretionary effort.
Global consulting organizations, such as Gallup are predicting that post-Covid, we will see the years of “talent wars” as many employees (up to 50%) look to move on from their current role, having waited during the pandemic as a form of security.
Valuing your employees isn’t so much a new age nice-to-have – it directly affects your bottom line. If this is not your top strategy for 2022, you are likely to see your top performers moving on.
Implementing a strategy around purpose and belonging to improve talent retention and attraction is critical to businesses looking to become an employer of choice to compete in the war for talent, and developing a strategy to make your employees feel valued is a fundamental component. Studies have shown that job satisfaction among employees itself doesn’t guarantee productivity or loyalty. It is only when job satisfaction is paired with psychological well-being at work that productivity is high. This is true now more than ever before. Psychological well-being includes a sense of purpose and meaning in one’s role, a feeling of accomplishment and of contributing to something worthwhile, recognition of work by managers, respect for person, fair treatment, and a sense of reward commensurate with effort. Psychological well-being is so important that if it is low, there will be a high turnover of staff, regardless of how satisfied employees are with their job.
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Recent studies have indicated that 51% of home-based workers are concerned that their manager or supervisor doubts the quality of their work and productivity. This worry may contribute to employee burnout, as nearly half (46%) of employees say they worry their manager doubts their productivity and commitment when working remotely and this causes them to work longer hours, logging on earlier and logging off later than they need to. Almost half (46%) of all employees feel less connected to their company and colleagues since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, 42% admit that they feel that the company culture has declined since the start of Covid-19, with most employees placing the blame on a lack of communication or lack of effort to make remote workers feel connected and part of the corporate vision. Senior managers need to realize that these are serious concerns that are likely to create stress and burnout, and that health and well-being is likely to suffer as a result, with top talent deciding that they should move on.
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How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose
It is, therefore, critical that management focus their attention on the corporate culture and developing a method for appreciating great work and giving positive feedback across the organization is a key factor to maintaining enthusiasm and passion in the workplace, wherever the employee is based – head office, home, satellite office or cafe. Building a culture of appreciation that allows employees to give real-time positive feedback that can be viewed by everyone in the organization is a powerful motivator in the fight to maintain and improve corporate culture, productivity, and wellness across the entire workforce. Everyone wants to feel appreciated, valued, and respected. If you don’t recognize your employee’s contribution with positive feedback, your competitors will cherry-pick your top talent, making your challenge even greater. Turning a group of employees with varying degrees of engagement into a high-performing team does not happen overnight. It takes time, commitment, patience, and belief that it is worth the effort. If employees’ needs are not met, they switch off and eventually look for somewhere else to work. There are five primary needs that employees have that MUST be met if they are to become passionate about their work and committed to your business success. These needs are:
1. The Need to Be Respected People need to be treated with respect. They need to be listened to and know what they do is valued by their manager. Disrespect is probably the fastest way to create disengagement.
2. The Need to Learn and Grow People have a natural desire to develop their skills and talents. They want to perform at their best. To do that they need to be given opportunities to learn and develop.
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3. The Need to Be an Insider and Included No one likes to feel left out. Feeling judged or being treated differently kills engagement. Employees need to understand how their work fits into the big picture. Successful leaders focus on inclusion to build great team spirit.
4. The Need for Meaning Everyone wants to know that what they do is meaningful, and that it makes a difference. They need to understand the purpose behind what they do and how it contributes to the success of the business.
5. The Need to Be Part of a Winning Team Being part of and contributing to the success of a winning team generates team spirit. High-performance teams significantly outperform others because they are fuelled by a passion for what they are trying to achieve. Implementing a strategy around a culture of appreciation to aid talent retention and attraction is critical to businesses looking to become an employer of choice and compete in the war for talent and is a fundamental building block to achieving a sense of belonging with your workers. After all, if you don’t value your employees, your competitors will.
Tony Delaney is the CEO of Brownie Points. He has a wealth of sales and marketing experience at manager and director level, working for international corporate software and services companies such as Informix, Amdahl and Information Builders. Tony established Brownie Points in 2011 and is responsible for the corporate strategic direction of the business. Tony is also currently responsible for sales, marketing and alliance channels at Brownie Points.
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Does Your Organization Need To Improve Its Culture? Questions and answers that will create a positive and productive culture By Jeff Gero, SUCCESS OVER STRESS
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he culture of an organization is the beliefs and behaviors that determine how employees and management interact. It develops organically over time from the cumulative values and traits of the people. Everyone influences culture, yet the leaders will have the strongest impact. Here are some guidelines when evaluating your culture. 1. Are we always moral, ethical, and legal? 2. Do we treat everyone with respect and care about each other? 3. Do we expect quality in everything we do? 4. Do we have a strong desire to be the best? 5. Do we recognize individual achievements? 6. Do we advocate open communication? 7. Do we feel appreciated and connected? 8. Are we developing ourselves professionally and personally? 9. Are we committed to the organization’s mission, vision, and core values? 10. Do we feel creative, passionate and engaged in our position? The first step toward change is to ask yourself if you are satisfied with the culture of your organization.
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If the answer is no, begin by having an open forum. Have a consultant gather up all employees. Its’ good business to have someone from the outside participate. Have him or her describe management’s desire to make things better. Hand out index cards and ask employees to write down anonymously what they see as the problem with the organization’s culture on one side and what might be the solution on the other side. The consultant will itemize the information and report it to management. They will prioritize the issues and decide which ones to tackle first in order to improve the culture. Communication will go out to employees stating the projects to be worked on, and asking for volunteers to form committees. The committees will organize, set goals and make a proposal to accomplish the objective. So, how does this process improve the culture? People will feel included in the decision-making and take some responsibility for creating change. They will feel cared about because management listened to them. They will feel more connected to each other as they work together. Trust and loyalty will improve as management follows through on their agreements. They will also feel rewarded as the culture improves and especially having participated in the change. This is a win-win situation.
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Does Your Organization Need To Improve Its Culture?
Research shows that worker happiness has fallen every year for the last 25 years. Companies need to put into place programs that draw out these principles of alignment, positivism, and progress that can move the needle toward happiness and build a positive, productive culture. A strategic recognition program is a great start to achieving all three of these objectives—offering a way for employees to better understand and practice company values, offer continuous positive feedback,
appreciate and be appreciated and a way to be rewarded for the progress they make. Google, because of its iconic culture only has a 2 percent turnover rate and receives approximately 7 thousand solicitations for jobs every day. According to James L. Heskett, “Culture can account for 20-30% of the differential in corporate performance when compared with culturally unremarkable competitors.” A great culture can make the critical difference between organizational success and dismal failure.
Jeffrey Gero, Ph.D., is a pioneer in the field of stress management and the creator the Success Over Stress System. He delivered the first stress management program for the California Department of Corrections at San Quentin Prison; he assisted the Los Angeles Times with the stress surrounding the 1984 Olympics; he assisted Allied Signal with the stress and sabotage surrounding a plant closing; helped JPL (NASA) deal with the failure of the Mars Project. He is an executive coach and the past director of the Stress Management Institute of California. He also co-wrote and co-produced a relaxation and stress management video hosted by Dennis Weaver, has produced several stress management and peak-performance CDs, created the Stress Survival Kit and has authored a book entitled Secrets to Success at Work.
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How To Connect At Work Battling feelings of isolation
By Lisa Reinhardt, The CCS Companies
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e typically spend a minimum of forty hours a week at work. When we feel isolated from our team of colleagues, or from the organization itself, it can have a negative impact on our performance. Over the past couple of years, feelings of isolation in the workplace have become more prevalent as employees shifted to working from home due to
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Covid-19. The physical distance made it even more difficult for new hires to feel like they were part of their team, and the organization as a whole. The third level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is Love and Belonging. This need relates to human interaction, and creating bonds and friendships. Being part of a work team falls into this category.
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How To Connect At Work
Onboard new hires by assigning a buddy. Help new employees immediately feel that sense of belonging by introducing them to someone who can show them the ropes and answer their questions.
Notice when someone is struggling. Intervene early to address feelings of isolation before performance is negatively impacted, or the employee’s feelings of isolation grow. Network with others. Be proactive and reach out to colleagues to establish a support network. Identify someone you can confide in and share concerns with.
Encourage inclusion. Be inclusive when planning team projects or events. Tap into the strengths each team member has to offer.
Team-build. Whether in-person or virtually, What can be done to alleviate feelings of isolation, and help create a sense of belonging at work? We need to CONNECT at work.
Celebrate accomplishments and milestones. Acknowledge top performers on the team; recognize birthdays, work anniversaries, and other major milestones of team members.
conducting (or participating in) team-building activities that enable employees to get to know each other and find common interests will help build on their sense of belonging. Whether you are a new hire trying to create a sense of belonging, a long-term employee struggling with recent feelings of isolation, or a leader hoping to re-establish feelings of belonging among a dispersed team – it’s time to CONNECT.
Lisa Reinhardt is the Senior Manager of Learning and Organizational Development at The CCS Companies. With over 21 years of experience in L&D, Lisa has a successful track record of diagnosing, developing, and implementing relevant, innovative learning solutions aligned to business strategies. She demonstrates a passion and drive to help individuals and organizations reach their full potential and achieve their goals. Lisa’s dedication to the professional and personal development of others is her driving force. Lisa is a member of NEHRA, ATD, and SHRM. Her certifications include: Korn Ferry Voices 360, MBTI, Situational Leadership II, and Social Style.
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Designing a Holistic Employee Experience
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Key Global Trends in Rewards & Recognition
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Employee Communication Strategies to Engage Hybrid Workforce
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Hybrid Teams and OKRs: The Whys and the Hows
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Multigenerational Workforce: Engagement & Recognition
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How To Keep The Best Of The Hybrid Culture Alive In Your Organization The future of work is fluid and always changing By Omer Glass, GrowthSpace
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he pandemic created waves in the world of work. Organizations have been given an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pause, reset, and revaluate their future. Now is the time for a new approach to work. It’s been said again and again, but what I think while we’re trying to strategize for what that future will look like, we’re at risk of throwing away some critical lessons from the ‘Work from Home’ era. While leaders want to move away from the chaos, stress, and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the status quo from before the pandemic wasn’t exactly working. What we need is a reconfiguration of work - bringing what worked from work from home (WFM) into play. Why throw away valuable lessons learned? Here are three ways you can keep the best of the WFH culture alive
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in your organization, no matter what work model you end up adopting.
1. Don’t Forget the Data Organizations now have the data on both pre-pandemic in-office work and WFH remote work. Now, it’s time to put your data to work. During WFH, HR was able to uncover powerful insights about work, their workforce, and the workplace. Between new and old methods of data collection: performance appraisals, data on learning and development (L&D) performance, exit interviews - as well as stay interviews, a successful retention strategy and manager input, organizations now have critical data to work with. These are the insights that show leaders both the impact employees have on the business, and the impact the business has on the employee.
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Employee data can also help leaders unsure of what their organizations’ future of work looks like to find the sweet spot work model for their needs. Most organizations are opting for hybrid, with an Accenture survey finding that 63% of high-growth organizations have already adopted a hybrid, ‘productivity anywhere’ workforce model. If you haven’t found your work model sweet spot, A/B testing different variations can help you find the right balance now that people are feeling more comfortable with returning to at least some amount of in-office work. Use employee and manager surveys - along with your own productivity data - to learn what works and what doesn’t in all areas, and continue to tweak as needed.
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How To Keep The Best Of The Hybrid Culture Alive In Your Organization
You may even find that different departments have different needs: Some departments may need to work in-office three days a week while others only two days a week to collaborate effectively, and still other teams may need only one day together. Why have we chosen a hybrid model? For lots of reasons, and Gartner’s research sums up the main points well, finding that hybrid work: ●● Reduces fatigue by 44% ●● Increases intent to stay by 45% ●● Boosts performance by 28% This may change in the future, but it works for us now. The future of work is fluid and always changing,
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and it’s important for leadership to keep that in mind.
2. Embrace the Changing Role of Managers In the chaos of the first lockdowns and the beginning of the WFH era, HR was overwhelmed with the digital and cultural changes happening overnight, putting the weight of employee well-being on the manager. The change hasn’t been easy for many managers, who still may need upskilling and help with leadership skills. But it’s created a tighter feedback loop, with managers having a much better understanding of their teams’ day-to-day. Teams completely reshaped their methods of collaboration, often giving
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managers more visibility into employee performance than ever before. This has been a huge game-changer for many managers who had limited visibility and based performance reviews more on hours worked and projects completed. Because of the increased transparency between manager and employee, managers also have deeper insights into where their employees could learn certain skills and a better eye for spotting potential talents. Developing current employees for unfilled roles is smart for the business, and L&D has become a critical component of employee retention. Your managers’ increased visibility into their employees’ skill gaps enables better accuracy and efficiency.
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How To Keep The Best Of The Hybrid Culture Alive In Your Organization
More importantly, the empathy Covid brought out in teams created a new sense of team belonging, no matter the distance. Part of change management was ensuring team members were ok, and Zoom meetings around the world became more human and more caring. Pre-Covid, the manager was all about performance. Post-pandemic, being a great manager and being a great remote manager are nearly identical. Empathy makes all the difference, apparently. And that empathy-based management is going to be a critical part of retention strategy in the coming months if not years.
3. Become More Human-Centric And it’s not just managers who need to be more empathetic organizations need to become more human-centric if they want to keep their best talent around. Employees got a taste of the
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greater autonomy and flexibility offered by WFH - and flexibility in and outside the office will do wonders for retention and engagement. This applies to where and when employees work, with performance reviews and HR reporting shifting from hours worked to projects completed and other tangible, performance-based activities. The point isn’t to squeeze the hours out of the employee to ensure he or she hits their necessary time requirements. Your job as a leader is to try and get the best out of your employees. Help them grow, and they’ll help you grow - by starting with the human side of things, you’re letting your employees know you trust them and want the best for them. There really is no ‘return to normal’ when it comes to the workplace. Work has changed for good - and
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if we’re smart about it, for the better. Continue to engage your employees in the process to understand what they really want and need. Communicate broadly so that everyone understands how hybrid arrangements will improve productivity, rather than drain it. And keep developing your employees as you plan your future so that your workforce is set up to succeed today and in the future.
Omer Glass is the Co-Founder and CEO at GrowthSpace.
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