As the world of work emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, we are noticing the increasing importance company culture has on your people and ultimately their performance. Organisations are waking up to the long-known fact that how we feel at work has a direct impact on how well we perform. Recent research by MIT Sloan has revealed that company culture is now 10 times more likely to drive employees away than pay. The pandemic hasn’t created toxic workplace cultures, rather it has revealed a long-term underlying issue that employers are beginning to take seriously. Your brand values, strategy and purpose are all important -but it’s your people who make them live in the real world.
The organisations that close the gap between what their people and customers expect from them and the reality of the experience they deliver, are the ones that will flourish and ultimately create a better future for all.
Here’s 3 tips that, on their own, won’t transform your culture, but they’re a really good start;
1. Be Human
People Leaders and managers who harness the power of their human skills to connect with employees in a more meaningful way will see improved productivity, employee wellbeing and team performance.
Practical Tip #1 – Share a regular update with your team that goes deeper than the operational. Be honest about the highs and lows and share how they made you feel. Being vulnerable takes courage, but it’s a great way of building trust amongst teams.
2. Make time in the office meaningful
When employees make the journey into the office, employers will need to make sure time together is worthwhile. Teams working together on important projects with focussed outputs build better relationships, improve creative problem-solving and achieve more.
Practical Tip #2 – Think about the other people you are in the room/on a call with. We begin all live and virtual team meetings with a short exercise we call “one feeling, one thought”. Saying out loud and sharing our current state of mind helps unlock our full potential.
3. Get to know your employees
Without the informal opportunities to get to know each other in the office, employers will need to find new ways to check in with remote and hybrid workers. Your business will flourish when your people feel supported, understood and valued.
Practical Tip #3 – In scheduled one-to-ones, prioritise time at the beginning of the meeting for team members to let you know how they are, and be prepared to actively listen to their responses. Some of your people will want to share and others won’t – the art is knowing when to be curious and when to move on.
Culture change might feel like a big challenge, but with a collective commitment to making small changes to the way you approach your daily working lives the results could be huge. Confident and compassionate leaders, high performing, empowered and valued teams are the critical factors that will help bring your culture to life.
If you’ve got a challenge making hybrid work for you we’d love to hear your story. We’ve embraced hybrid so we can arrange a virtual chat or in real life, whatever works for you. Contact us at aimee@learningpointzero.com or follow us on www.linkedin.com/learningpointzero
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash
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