Do you feel connected to where you work? Or the people you work with? Feeling connected to work and your job is so important for job satisfaction and progression along with personal achievement – but if you’ve never worked in a connected workplace, it can be hard to recognise.
A connected workplace is one in which each employee not only feels connected to their own job role but also to the company and others in the team. This can look like strong employee friendships, a strong sense of belief in the company you work for, fulfilment from your role, and so much more. Whilst it requires some time and effort to create a connected workspace, there are a number of benefits for the business.
What are the benefits of a more connected workplace?
Increased employee engagement
If your employees feel connected to each other and the business, employee engagement is likely to increase. Engaged employees make for a more effective workforce and lead to happier teams.
Reduced staff turnover
Staff who feel connected to their colleagues are less likely to leave a business, with a 2020 study finding that people are ten times more likely to stay in a job because of friendship with colleagues over a pay rise.
Increase in productivity and efficiency
A connected workspace allows people to share best practice ideas, reduce waste and increase productivity due to the endorphins of a connected workspace.
There are many benefits to fostering a more connected workspace but it’s not always easy to get there. Here are our tips:
Top tips for creating a more connected workplace
Encourage open, two-way communication channels
Communication is one of the best ways to foster connections between people in the workplace. Allowing time for positive communication and constructive criticism not only makes your team members feel heard, it also can help improve company practices and policies.
Communication channels must go both ways so when you communicate a message to your team, expect feedback! Giving your staff a voice helps keep them connected to the team and the organisation.
Embody company values
The best way to get everyone talking about the company’s values, mission and beliefs is to implement them into your work environment. Each employee should be aware of the overall strategy and understand how they fit into delivering on promises and achieving objectives.
If you’re struggling with how to incorporate the values into your team, start with your team meetings! Try and link behaviours back to certain values and you could even reward those living the values fully to try and encourage like-minded behaviour.
Reduce the in-person/remote workforce differences
One of the most difficult aspects of moving to remote working was how to keep employees connected once everything moved to digital. Employee engagement can be easier when you see the team face-to-face each day and you can check in with people – so digital engagement requires some creativity.
If you have a workforce made up of both remote and in-person team members, it can be even more difficult. Try and reduce the differences between the remote and in-person roles and encourage engagement across both areas of the workforce. Utilise virtual engagement activities and sessions to make sure everyone feels included.
Create teamwork opportunities such as mentoring programmes
Mentoring programmes and schemes can be a great way to foster teamwork and communication skills along with developing your employees further. Mentoring allows your more experienced employees to guide your newer starters and help build on their skills.
Not only is mentoring fulfilling to those being mentored, but it also provides a great development opportunity for those mentoring others. They can practice their coaching skills and build on a management skillset for promotions in the future.
Encourage best practice sharing
Alongside mentoring programmes, encourage sharing of ideas and tips between colleagues in the same role. Whether it’s a tip for organising your workload, advice on how to access something or just simple positive encouragement, sharing best practices can help boost everyone’s productivity.
Those who are sharing tips feel motivated to keep sharing whilst those learning keep improving their knowledge base and feel better at their role. It’s a win-win for both sets of employees and the increased efficiency is a win for the organisation too!
Create communities for different interests
The best way for colleagues to organically connect is to find things they can connect about! Giving your employees space to share and enjoy their interests with others can help foster feelings of connectivity and closeness.
Try setting up a few different groups covering popular interests – you could start a book club, start a recipe-sharing group or even a forum for people to share pictures of their pets. Allowing people the time to create real, human connections can have a huge impact on your workforce and their engagement.
Plan rewards and engagement days
To help your employees feel more positive towards the organisation, make sure you offer some carrot as well as stick – in other words, reward the positives! It’s so important to make sure you motivate your staff by planning rewarding activities and days so they feel appreciated. This can range from a staff meal out, to engagement activities in work and much more.
Need help planning a reward day? Check out our reward days with Tonic Wellbeing to see how we can help your teams feel extra special.
Get started with a connected workplace
The best advice for creating a more connected workspace is just to get started! There’s no time like the present; start some fun team initiatives, try some themed office days, use wellbeing to drive engagement – it is the most effective enabler and affects every single one of us. Each of you will have different needs, every team, every employee – together, let’s find what works best for you.
If you need extra support with fostering connections in the workplace or boosting employee engagement, contact us at Tonic Wellbeing. We offer a range of employee support services including reward days, workshops and more. Get started on your employee engagement journey today.
