Adventures in Building Employee Community: Promises and Pitfalls

Every day there’s a revelatory new think piece or management gimmick that gets tossed around. It’s enough to make my head spin. People act like they’ve just stepped out of the laboratory after nights of research to announce that they’ve finally discovered the secret key to maximize employee productivity, make them committed to their work and somehow improve their complexions while they’re at it. I’ve hit upon a new idea too, though, and while it might not be the radical silver bullet solution everyone seems to brag about, it does have a certain elegant appeal to it: Why don’t we start talking to our employees?

Instead of just chasing the latest fad and buying an espresso machine for the office or writing up bigger and grander mission statements every week in hopes of inspiring somebody (although that was fun), I decided to sit down and talk. I made time for one-on-one conversations with staff members, and something magical started to happen! I started with some open-ended questions, built some confidence and rapport, and then I shut my mouth and listened. They talked about what office features were helpful and which were just distracting. They shared things I could do that were motivating and useful and pointed out management techniques that were less useful. They told me what the business meant to them in their own words.

Forming Community in the Midst of Hierarchy

Listening to my employees helped me realize that what really made them feel connected to our company and inspired them to keep working was a sense of community. Community relies on personal relationships and shared purpose. Sounds great, right? I was like, “Community? Sign me up!” But I quickly discovered a problem: True community is democratic with shared decisions and a level playing field. My business is not like that. “Most businesses have very clear chains of authority,” says Rich Newsome, senior partner at Medical Malpractice Help. “When decisions are passed down that chain, it can break down some of the bonds of trust between employees and leadership, especially if the decisions seem arbitrary or sudden.”

The good news is that it is possible to build community among employees without totally abandoning your executive decision-making powers. You just have to be a little less authoritarian about it. Simply by taking the time to sit down and listen to my employees, to truly openly listen to their opinions and take them into account – and then to show them I meant business by acting on their opinions – built up our sense of a community by affirming for them that their opinions were worthwhile.

It was a two-for-one deal! I deepened employee investment by taking their input, and I was able to put their valuable input to use. I decided to discontinue plans to move toward an “open office plan” to encourage collaboration, because most employees were dreading it. I put together some new drafts of the mission statement based on employee feedback and passed it around the office to see if it was something they’d be willing to sign. I was able to take action on the initiatives that the employees did believe would encourage healthy collaboration.

Facing Challenges Together

By taking that step closer to my employees and helping them to work closer among each other as well, I was giving community the chance to grow. And it didn’t take long to see it bear fruit. The next time we had to deal with an upset customer the difference was obvious. Someone had messed up an order and the client was angry.

But instead of taking the client’s abuse and throwing it back and forth around the office like the proverbial hot potato, we didn’t let blame and resentment get between us. We focused on making up for the mistake, meeting the client’s needs and moving on.  

Now, when things go wrong, the staff understands. They’re invested in our success, so they’re invested in the failures as well. Instead of setbacks and stressful periods at work stirring up grumbling and resentment, they’re opportunities for people to work together. It’s not paradise, but we’re trying to listen to each other and act at least a little bit more like a community, and that’s making a difference.