Create a heart-centred workplace culture
Why is it we continue to talk about the same workplace culture issues over and over again?
You would think it would be a no brainer for all leaders to go above and beyond to make sure every member of their team is happy and satisfied with their job.
Yet many managers complicate things.
So many employees are disengaged.
The great resignation and quiet quitting continue to be a challenge for many organizations, and it is having a huge impact on the bottom line.
Employees need to know how they are contributing to the company's success story. And if there is no passion and purpose for things that are important, they will find an organization that speaks to them.
Setting up the right conditions in the workplace so employees feel comfortable showing up as their full and authentic selves is imperative.
Determine what behaviors and beliefs you value as a company and have everyone live true to them. These behaviors and beliefs should be so essential to your core, that you don’t even think of it as culture.
– Brittany Forsyth, VP of Human Relations, Shopify
What are some of the ways you can move toward a heart-centered culture?
Communicate your mission, vision and values throughout the entire employee life cycle and refreshing it from time-to-time is also essential.
Involve your employees in helping to shape the direction based on results from an annual employee engagement or pulse survey.
Hold managers accountable for workplace culture action plans and measurable results will ensure commitment and creativity.
Effectively communicate with your employees so they are well informed, feel a sense of belonging, become the best brand ambassadors, and make a difference internally and externally.
Continue to work towards equal rights in all aspects of the work environment.
Ensure equitable access to the right tools and resources and opportunities.
Implement effective mentorship and other progressive programs as part of onboarding and the professional development curriculum to contribute to career advancement and movement toward leadership roles.
Have key performance indicators (KPIs) in place along the way, because if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
Great Places to Work notes that when you invest in workplace culture, your business is more profitable. Employees with consistently positive experiences are more likely to stay with the organization. They experience less burnout, give higher levels of effort, and drive faster rates of innovation. Based on data collected from research, it is proven that profit is driven by great workplaces that:
have higher retention rates
have lower levels of burnout
innovate faster
rebound faster from a recession
have higher stock returns
According to the Conference Board of Canada, companies must build and refine the best human resources practices to manage teams by understanding the current environment and changing landscape.
Some highlights (2021-2022) from data collected from over 200 organizations across Canadian industries and regions:
7.7% voluntary turnover rate
7 days per year absence rate
50% offered flex time
$1,000 average spent on training and development
9.1% average of organization’s workforce eligible to retire
Setting your teams and employees up for success doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply, invest in your people. They are your most precious resources.
Show you care. And do it with heart.