Have you ever noticed what all highly engaged workplaces have in common?
Well, Building a great work culture that clearly narrates who you are as an organization starts from its own leaders and it should be part of your company’s DNA. But in a race to create that highly engaged workplace and with a goal to stand out, most organizations often copy the work culture of some of the ‘Great places to work’. But when they fail they know the bitter truth that they all can’t be Google or Zappos.
Instead of copying other organization’s work culture, start thinking about what are some fundamental things that your employees expect from their workplace in order to be engaged..
What it is that you can do that would still be unique about who you are, what you do and how you treat your employees.
Here are 5 factors that highly engaged workplace have in common that you might want to look at.
Employee values are aligned to the company values
A question that every organization should ask when they hire a new employee – Competency fit vs. Culture fit! Well, we can train anyone to fix their skills gap. But we cannot change the attitude of a person. And it is a no brainer for successful organizations that their people are going to be the foundation of their organization. Hence they always look for new employees who can live up to the expected behavior. It is imperative that companies and employees have shared values. Employees who understand company values will not act out of line because they know their actions represent their organization’s culture and brand. Once the values are intact everything falls into place.
Provides social fulfillment opportunities
I am one of those people who had more friends at work than I had outside of work. I know people want to have social fulfillment just like they want to succeed in their job. Human beings with emotions do find fulfillment when we have reliable relationships with meaning and substance, be it personal or professional. But when it comes to work we want to work among those who see one another as their family members. they want to share a joke with a caring colleague, want to make some cool office friends that you can totally rely on or enjoy spending eight hours together. Highly engaged workplace fosters events and gatherings that help employees connect with other coworkers and build a relationship. They create a casual/fun atmosphere where everybody feels excited to come everyday to work with fulfillment, pride, and meaning in work. For example at Rackspace, Rackspace employees enjoy each other’s company — 97 percent say it’s a friendly place to work — and many treat their co-workers as close friends and family. Learn more stories here
Employees feel like they belong there
You might have already heard this catch phrase of making your employees feel like they belong there. But the meaning of belongingness does vary from employee to employee and even company to company. Well, the fundamental part of it is letting your employees know that management care about them and their future. Let your employees be the first who knows what is going on at your organization and don’t make them feel that information is being withheld from them. Some – investing in their professional development opportunities, letting employees be involved in decision making, treating everyone equally and providing them with unbiased managers. Now, if you don’t know what behavior makes your employees feel like they belong, then solicit their input and model those behaviors consistently. For example read here how Marriott treat their employees with their inclusive culture. A culture of respect at Marriott also extends to interactions between managers and people they oversee. Among employees, 85 percent describe their management as approachable and easy to talk to.
Nurtures a Culture of recognition
What drives engagement is the recognition for the great work that employees do. It outweighs the pay or salary.A highly engaged workplace always makes sure that the hard work and outstanding performance of their employees are noticed and appreciated. From an informal recognition by giving a pat on the shoulder or saying a thank you to doing a company wide recognition programs. Leaders and line managers set the stage by recognizing good work of their team that makes others follow it as an examples. Employees in highly engaged workplace know that good work is rewarded and that management allows their employees to grow in their career. An employee from Salesforce.com says, “At the moment when I believed there was no hope of career progression for my age, tenure, and expertise, a director humbly reached out to me and requested that I interview for a leadership position.“
Employees have pride in where they work
The mission behind what an organization does can make their employees feel very proud to work in that company. Employees need to know what their company strives to do is right and gets it done in the right way. Being an employee they always feel that sense of pride in representing their organization and its brand. They know the impact that their organization has among the community and how they as an employee contribute to that. At USAA, which ranked 17th among the Great place to work, 96 percent of employees said they feel good about the ways the company contributes to the community, and 95 percent said they are proud to tell others where they work. A Whole Foods employee says, “We do great things around the world to make the planet a better place now and for future generations,” one says. “I’ve very proud to be a part of an organization that has taken on a mission to change the world.”
