How To Ensure Your Workforce Feels Included With A Sense Of Purpose

Don’t let a single opportunity for celebration or recognition go unheeded

The global pandemic has triggered a shift from 1st stream change to 2nd stream change where people are at the center and the reason for the change. The Great Resignation is requiring companies to rethink how they engage their people in change and take them with them on the change journey as co change-makers. 

People want more from organizational change projects. They expect their work experience and contribution to be augmented by change. This is called The Great Awakening. At Brownie Points, we call this the New World of Work.

Making your workforce feel included with a sense of purpose is critical in the new world of work, so don't let a single opportunity for celebration or recognition go unheeded. 
 

Achieving goals, completing an induction or a training program to a high standard, and assisting a colleague to complete a project on time below budget all deserve a degree of appreciation as they all add value to your business. 

Formal recognition has long been well understood by business leaders. Top performers are almost always given awards and special status. But what about all those who contribute consistently every day but often go under the radar? Those in accounting, HR, warehouse, distribution, front desk, or housekeeping, are vital to your business and also need to receive positive feedback for great work.

What's far less well understood is the importance of simple, but highly effective recognition, both verbal and through low-cost awards (e.g. certificates, smiley face or thumbs-up images in an email, a recognition wall in the office, or a section in the internal news bulletin, etc., to mark the diversity of employees’ effort and achievement. Giving positive feedback in a timely manner helps to develop a sense of purpose, value, and belonging.

Thought leading organizations around the world understand the value of passionate employees and what they bring to their business, and employees who feel appreciated, valued, and respected have been shown to give discretionary effort and perform at higher levels.
These companies appreciate the correlation between passionate and engaged employees, brand value, and corporate performance.

Engaged and passionate employees (those that understand the corporate vision and are committed to achieving corporate goals) are proven to take fewer sick days, stay longer, are more productive and deliver greater customer/guest experience.

Global consulting organizations, such as Gallup are predicting that post-Covid we will see the years of “talent wars” as many employees (up to 50%) look to move on from their current role, having waited during the pandemic as a form of security. 

Implementing a strategy around purpose and belonging to improve talent retention and attraction is critical to businesses looking to become an employer of choice to compete in the war for talent, and developing a strategy to make your employees feel valued is a fundamental component.

Studies have shown that job satisfaction among employees itself doesn’t guarantee productivity or loyalty. It is only when job satisfaction is paired with psychological well-being at work that productivity is high. This is true now more than ever before. 

Psychological well-being includes a sense of purpose and meaning in one’s role, a feeling of accomplishment and of contributing to something worthwhile, recognition of work by managers, respect for person, fair treatment, and a sense of reward commensurate with effort.

Psychological well-being is so important that if it is low, there will be a high turnover of staff, regardless of how satisfied employees are with their job.

Valuing your employee’s humanity not in the abstract but by how you treat them on the job is the foundation of psychological well-being at work. Developing a culture of appreciation, especially with a platform that delivers immediate positive feedback and celebrates contribution across the organization, and which is consistent and transparent is a great place to start.

Employees who don’t feel valued and respected respond with an attitude of “if you don’t value me, why should I value you, this job, your company, or the customer?” This can have huge consequences.

On the other hand, an employee who feels valued and respected, and part of the vision by the company experiences increased self-esteem, which in turn leads to increased competence and contribution through discretionary effort.

Valuing your employees isn’t so much a new age nice-to-have – it directly affects your bottom line. If this is not your top strategy for 2022, you are likely to see your top performers moving on.

Recent studies have indicated that 51% of home-based workers are concerned that their manager or supervisor doubts the quality of their work and productivity. This worry may contribute to employee burnout, as nearly half (46%) of employees say they worry their manager doubts their productivity and commitment when working remotely and this causes them to work longer hours, logging on earlier and logging off later than they need to.

Almost half (46%) of all employees feel less connected to their company and colleagues since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, 42% admit that they feel that the company culture has declined since the start of Covid-19, with most employees placing the blame on a lack of communication or lack of effort to make remote workers feel connected and part of the corporate vision.

Senior managers need to realize that these are serious concerns that are likely to create stress and burnout, and that health and well-being is likely to suffer as a result, with top talent deciding that they should move on.

It is, therefore, critical that management focus their attention on the corporate culture, and developing a method for appreciating great work and giving positive feedback across the organization is a key factor to maintaining enthusiasm and passion in the workplace, wherever the employee is based – head office, home, satellite office or cafe. 

Building a culture of appreciation that allows employees to give real-time positive feedback that can be viewed by everyone in the organization is a powerful motivator in the fight to maintain and improve corporate culture, productivity, and wellness across the entire workforce.

Everyone wants to feel appreciated, valued, and respected. If you don’t recognize your employee’s contribution with positive feedback your competitors will cherry-pick your top talent, making your challenge even greater.  

Turning a group of employees with varying degrees of engagement into a high-performing team does not happen overnight. It takes time, commitment, patience, and belief that it is worth the effort.

If employees’ needs are not met, they switch off and eventually look for somewhere else to work.

There are five primary needs that employees have that MUST be met if they are to become passionate about their work and committed to your business success.

These needs are:
Implementing a strategy around a culture of appreciation to aid talent retention and attraction is critical to businesses looking to become an employer of choice and compete in the war for talent and is a fundamental building block to achieving a sense of belonging with your workers.

After all, if you don’t value your employees, your competitors will.

Author Bio

Tony Delaney is the CEO of Brownie Points. He has a wealth of sales and marketing experience at the manager and director level, working for international corporate software and services companies such as Informix, Amdahl and Information Builders. Tony established Brownie Points in 2011 and is responsible for the corporate strategic direction of the business. Tony is also currently responsible for sales, marketing, and alliance channels at Brownie Points.  Visit www.browniepoints.com.au    Connect Tony Delaney Follow @browniepointsoz