,The importance of establishing a mission, vision and values early on in a company’s life has been well documented.
However, the article linked below, from the CEO of Getaway, talks about the importance of also creating company norms. These are things, among others, such as: ✅ Whether your employees are expected to be available outside of regular business hours ✅ Whether every meeting must have an agenda ✅ How decisions are made ✅ Preferred company communication method (email, phone…) ✅ How quickly things move Just like company culture, which will develop whether planned or not, so too will norms. 𝙎𝙤, 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙨. Importantly, it is ok to have different norms for different types of roles, so long as there’s no conflict. In short, creating company norms, along with mission, vision and values, will help you attract and retain the right people. tiny.cc/Establish_Norms
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Even before COVID, there were companies with engaged employees and great cultures working remotely.
So, it is definitely possible, and good to know, now that working off-site, to some degree or another, has become somewhat the new norm. The fact that people are not coming one location every day does not have to mean that they are not engaged. However, it requires some thought and careful planning. In the same way that it does when everyone is working under one roof. 📌 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚, 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣. In addition to planning, it also requires training your managers. Because skilled managers who are regularly in touch with each employee are critical to engaging employees. But it can start right now: ① Ensure weekly, structured 1:1s between managers and employees ② Recognize employees ③ Provide ongoing feedback to employees ④ Create a workplace of open communication with regular work updates ⑤ Hold team-building activities ⑥ Provide a forum for social interactions, such as Slack ⑦ Care about employee wellbeing ⑧ Provide the right resources/equipment to remote employees These are just some ideas that will help your remote employees feel more connected to their workplaces. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙. If they’re not, their employees won’t be either. But with some planning, and a clear message to managers that employee engagement is an important business strategy, engaged employees and a great culture are entirely possible. “I can’t wait until I start there. I’ve never felt so welcome before beginning a new job in the past.”
So said a close friend of mine some months ago, right before she started a new hybrid job. She also mentioned that, in fact, the entire candidate experience, from the moment she had applied had been excellent. Then, in the period between accepting and starting, every few days someone from the new company, unobtrusively reached out in some way, to say how excited they were for her to join them, including: ✅ An excited call from her new manager right after she accepted the offer with HR ✅ A welcome card mailed to her home, signed by everyone on her new team ✅ A welcome email from the CEO ✅ A swag bag of branded, useful items, delivered to her home ✅ Information about the team lunch that would take place on her first day ✅ A copy of her onboarding plan, along with her first-day meeting point, start and finish times, dress code, etc. Before she started, she felt as though this group of people genuinely couldn’t wait for her to get there. On her actual first day, everything worked seamlessly – everyone knew who she was from the moment she arrived. She had been signed-up for her email and Slack accounts, and her laptop was ready to go. She had had high hopes for the culture, since the company’s Glassdoor reviews were excellent. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣. And, happily, she hasn’t been disappointed. The company has lived up to its excellent reviews, and her pre-boarding experience was indeed a precursor of what was to come. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨. It starts from the moment the job is posted, and candidates express interest, of which one hopefully becomes a new team member. 💠 Yet, according to a recent survey, 64% of employers wait until the actual start date to welcome and onboard the new hire. 💠 Despite the fact that the lead-up to starting a new job is the ideal opportunity to engage with new employees. 💠 Which is well worth it, since a great pre-boarding experience can boost new hire retention by up to 82% and minimize no-shows. It can determine whether a new employee begins their first day feeling like a valued part of a community, with a great sense of excitement and belonging. Or with apprehension and a lack of clarity around exactly what they’ve signed up for. Delivering a pre-boarding experience, which builds excitement, anticipation, and connection before the first day is the way to go. Transparency is one of the core tenets of employee engagement and a great culture.
As is a genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Including a real understanding of the message that every action sends. Such as the practice of not including a salary range in every job posting. Because including pay ranges in job ads signals much about the organization to the candidate: 🚩 Transparency 🚩 Trust 🚩 Respect 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨. While the reasons that organizations are reluctant to advertise salary ranges are wide-ranging, one concern that is often cited is that existing staff will feel underpaid. Obviously, if there is apprehension about employees finding out what others earn, there is a problem that needs to be addressed. 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. Unsurprisingly, top talent is not attracted to those types of companies. It's true that it is slowly becoming more common to include pay information up-front. But it is still unfortunately not a widespread practice. And candidates are still mostly forced to play the salary game. Including rules around when and how salary should be discussed. However, large numbers do not have the time or interest in this game, so they don’t even apply. ✅ Not only because they don’t want to waste time, but also because of the message it sends about the company. Meaning that organizations are losing out on great candidates from the outset. Because this continued practice tells candidates that there is no commitment to equity, transparency is lacking, and the organization does not respect their time. Regardless of what the rest of the job posting, or the company’s website might say. Which is obviously not the way to start a relationship. Employees have continued to leave their organizations in droves.
🚩 With a record 4.53 million US workers having quit their jobs in March 2022, according to the Department of Labor. And candidates are being choosy about where they will work. They are looking for meaningful work, with leaders who care. And organizations that accommodate remote work, when possible, will fare even better. 𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙚𝙨. In other words, it’s critical to ensure a great culture. The mass exodus can spell a huge opportunity, if the companies being left have been paying attention, and have responded constructively to the leavers’ input. But the big winners are the organizations that already have engaged employees and a great culture in place. Which doesn’t mean that the others don’t also now have the chance to turn themselves into great places to work. 🚩 In other words, view what’s been happening as “A Great Opportunity.” And build or improve culture, to one where people want to stay, and one with an easy time attracting top talent. People’s priorities have shifted since COVID began, and they simply will not stay if they believe their employer doesn’t care. If organizations do nothing, and continue to operate as they did pre-COVID, people will continue to leave. And their losses will continue to the benefit of those organizations that operate the way today’s employees now expect. |
AuthorNia is passionate about engaging employees and cultivating compassionate cultures, a win-win for both employers and employees. Archives
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