When you foster a sense of community in a larger company, there can be numerous benefits. One of the most important things might be retaining employees. Turnover rates have never been higher, as one in four companies experienced turnover of at least 13% of their employees. A sense of pride when working for a company for a long time is not there.
The new generation of workers is chasing the better deal and placing little emphasis on loyalty. That's why having your employees feel like they are a part of a larger community is essential.
A collectives energy feels a lot safer. Not only that, but the whole working environment is just friendlier and more supportive.
Previously we wrote about engagement strategies that work and how they affect the workspace. That's why in this article, we will explore some of the ways you can build a sense of camaraderie and community among your employees.
Take Surveys and Organize Events
When you take surveys and then organize events, you tell your employees that you listen to their needs and wants. Even if the organized events are online, you can have additional meetings and choose what kind of events to do. One great example is to give your employees a gift card in the form of Chinese food or pizza and have it delivered in time for the event.
You don't have to limit yourself to anything, and you can give out group lessons or workshops. For example, my former company organized group photography lessons and then had our photographs, from those who wanted to participate, up for auction. All the proceeds from the winners went to charities of our choice.
This is a fun way to foster a sense of community among your colleagues and build up relationships to a whole new level.
Dressing Casually
You can have your employees dress all time casually or just limit it to one day a week. However you decide to do it, know that sometimes it's a pain having to dress up every day for the whole workweek. So this break from the routine can do wonders for your employee's mental health.
If your company works in hospitality, this can be an issue, but you can celebrate certain holidays and have them dress up for that.
Foster A Positive Workplace
Research from Harvard has shown that you are 40% more likely to receive a raise if you are kinder to your colleagues. So the days of "greed is good" are gone and done, and people respond more positively to positive people.
To foster a positive workplace, make sure you show gratitude as much as possible. If an employee does a good job, make sure they are acknowledged.
Give your employees all the support they need. Ensure that your employee's needs are met and that there's always someone having their back.
Celebrate your employee's achievements. It doesn't need to be something they did for your company. It can be something simple like they won something in a competition, or if they became a parent. Show them that their company is there to celebrate them.
Get As Much Feedback As You Can
We touched on this earlier, but take as many surveys and get as much feedback as possible. Ask for input regarding leadership, event, tasks, workload, and anything you can.
When you collect all the feedback, act on it where it is possible. And do as much as you can about the raised concerns. If you don't, your employees will feel like they are not being heard and don't matter. But, on the other hand, when you act upon their feedback, they will foster a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Have A Central Location
Remote work can be essential, especially in the peaks of the pandemic. But nothing builds a sense of community in a larger company than a shared workspace. No one can deny that people feel far more connected when they share a physical office with their colleagues.
This can be more expensive than remote work, but its benefits far outway the costs, and if you can afford it, you should go this route. Nothing beats live interaction between people.
Conclusion
When we look at what we explored in this article, we realize that community building isn't an impossible task. Some of the things we can do will be limited by the amount of capital you can spend, but others are far simpler.
A few simple gestures can come a long way when it comes to your relationship with your employees. Also, when you structure your whole company to benefit its employees, you will see far lower turnover rates.
Not only that but employees will look at their company and try to contribute in as many ways as they can. The simple truth is, if you invest in people, they will invest back.