Seven Focus Areas for Positive Culture and Community
While the world has recovered from Covid-19, or at least learned to live with it, the changes the virus imposed on businesses continue to demand flexibility. Most notably, hybrid and remote work options are here to stay. Organizations that opt to enforce in-office only environments find themselves losing talent and unable to hire A players that now demand these options. Increasingly, businesses are accepting that offering employees more flexibility with respect to where they get their work done is critical to the overall success of the enterprise.
With this major shift from the office to remote workplaces, organizations are reevaluating the need to occupy buildings with underutilized square footage. Many are concluding that reducing their office footprints to cut expenses makes good sense. Not only are they reducing costs by downsizing, but they are also saving money by no longer requiring relocation of leadership talent. Why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to relocate leaders when they have to travel extensively as part of their job and when technology allows them to be connected with appropriate staff and key stakeholders?
These trends—remote/hybrid work options, smaller physical space requirements, and the reduction or elimination of relocation packages—require organizations to rethink ways to engage all segments of their populations and create community for everyone. In essence, corporate culture needs to be reset to embrace remote, hybrid and in-office employees.
The responsibility to reset or fine tune corporate culture begins with the CEO and senior leadership team. Building a culture where people can succeed, with or without being tethered to an office location, is vital to attract, retain and grow talent. At a time when it seems nothing is the same as it was four years ago, corporate leadership needs to go all in on building a new sense of community and culture among its work force. A compelling mission and vision are no longer enough to rally employees.
Research into building positive workplace cultures and a sense of community shows there are multiple areas that leaders must address. A great tool for measuring team momentum in these areas is the Good Leadership Team Momentum Survey (learn more at goodleadership.com) Based on the elements of the Team Momentum Survey, there are seven focus areas that I believe are among the most critical to the process. They are relevant whether employees are working remotely, hybrid, or in-office.
Seven focus areas for organizations to build and maintain positive culture and create community include:
- An aligned leadership team committed to the mission and vision of the organization who can put in place a compelling plan to bring the vision to life.
- Leaders committed to hiring, retaining, and developing top talent to achieve mission-critical objectives, drive growth and strategize for succession planning.
- Transparent decision making and communication that demonstrates the strategies and tactics developed to drive the enterprise forward.
- Clear goals and responsibilities with functional and individual goals supporting and enabling organizational objectives translate into shared commitments. This creates accountability at multiple levels, including shared team and personal accountability. Quarterly or as needed measurement and reporting of the status for goals and critical milestones creates the disciplined follow-through necessary to drive momentum.
- An empowered workforce that understands their goals and accountabilities and has the trust of their leaders to operate responsibly and creatively for goal achievement.
- Create a sense of belonging for all employees. Managers who listen and have empathy while supporting employee needs and organizational goals foster an environment where people are heard and feel valued.
- Recognition of teams and individuals who have used their skills, talents, and creativity to achieve key milestones and objectives that tie into enterprise goals creates a sense of blended benefits – organizational and personal.
Are you interested in knowing more about how coaching can help you and your leadership team reset culture and community to effectively integrate remote, hybrid, and in-office employees? Contact me or Good Leadership today.
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Lance Hazzard, PCC, CPCC, is a certified Executive Coach and Executive Team Coach at Good Leadership Enterprises and is Executive Coach and President at Oppnå® Executive & Achievement Coaching. More information about Lance and Good Leadership can be found at the links below: