The Secret to Building a Strong, Healthy Workplace Culture is…
The Secret to Building a Strong, Healthy Workplace Culture is…
When SigBee’s CEO, Alistair Deakin, was in law school, President Jimmy Carter taught Ethics to the class. Deakin noticed that his chief of staff would often hand the President a 3x5 notecard with a name and a couple of bullet points on it. When President Carter walked into a new room, he would find that person, look him or her in the eye, and using the bullet points, open the conversation in a way that immediately made that person feel special and comfortable. The notecard was an elegant yet simple on-ramp to an authentic connection. With the right starting point and a little information, the natural inclination of humans is to talk, listen, and deepen our bonds with others. Humans are hardwired to connect with other humans, even when the other human is a former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
At work, our innate need for human connection has become more challenging as work environments become remote, teams are asked to do more with less, we don’t share the same cultural and generational experiences, and stress is high. In the last few years, employees have survived a pandemic, an economic shutdown causing layoffs and budget cuts, and a hiring crisis. More economic concerns are on the horizon, which could lead to additional workplace challenges. Meanwhile, Generation Z has entered the workforce, expecting more from their employers, including increased personal relationships.
The employee/employer relationship has shifted dramatically in recent years. The old order of traditional in-person work environments, top-down leader hierarchy, and siloed teams have been disrupted forever. People leaders are now managing remote and diverse teams with members looking over their shoulders, waiting for the next ax to fall, or not feeling their voices are heard. Employees want managers who are intentional in their efforts to encourage, engage, and empower them as individuals. But how can managers lead a high-performing team amid all this change? Is this complex challenge too hard to solve?
We believe that President Carter had the right idea. A simple on-ramp to the right conversations at the right time. With so much stress and complexity, employees and managers can strengthen their relationships with some simple routines. Leadership can make significant improvements by caring about the small signals of employee engagement and not trying to overcomplicate the solution. Genuine employee engagement starts with one employee, one manager, and one conversation.
SigBee’s best-in-class digital platform is designed to improve team health and organizational performance through daily check-ins that create both moments of intention and signals that lead to deeper leader/employee interaction. We know that human connections lead to better retention and lower employee turnover.
Our new e-book, Five Myths of Employee Engagement, exposes five common myths about employee engagement that can derail even the most committed leaders. Through real-life research and case studies, we debunk these myths and offer tactical questions and prompts to foster a cohesive and healthy company culture. Read more about the Five Myths here.
