Connectivity in the workplace makes employees feel valued and engaged. It is essential for open communication, collaboration, and trust between coworkers. Networking among the team helps them build strong relationships with their colleagues and managers, which fosters a sense of belonging and motivates employees to give more.
If the goal is to achieve greater connection between team members, how can a company achieve this? Here are 10 ways to create a more connected workplace. Implement these strategies, while considering time and budget, to make the entire workplace more connected.
Start by ensuring that every employee has the opportunity—and is motivated—to fully understand your company’s mission (its purpose and reason for being), vision (long-term aspirations), and values (core principles and beliefs). Use the onboarding process to make the most of creating personalized journeys for each employee, highlighting your company’s vision and values.
Make sure leaders lead by example and reinforce the company mission. Organize office events and initiatives that highlight the mission and values. Use your internal communication platform to continually educate all employees on how they can be a part of the company’s success and vision.
2. Take steps to get to know your employees
Managers and HR department staff walk a delicate line in the workplace. They are often perceived as being on the side of the business, but they also need to work very closely with employees to ensure they receive the support they need to succeed.
People who work in these roles should make an effort to get to know employees who work in different capacities within the company. This is the only way that employees can rely on them when they have questions or concerns later on.
Communities of practice exist to leverage expertise within the company. They give employees and teams the opportunity to share knowledge, brainstorm, and collaborate across locations.
Employees who participate in communities of practice have the opportunity to develop their current areas of expertise and expand their knowledge by solving problems with their colleagues. They also gain the benefit of receiving feedback and support from experts.
Documents related to communities of practice are stored in a library accessible to employees, and the work done by these key players benefits others down the road.
4. Create peer mentoring programs
Peer mentoring programs can be used as part of a leadership development program. They can also be offered during the onboarding process when a new employee joins the company. In either case, these programs send a message that knowledge and personal growth depend heavily on social connections.
These programs are very popular among employers who want to offer their employees valuable benefits without necessarily having the budget for higher salaries. Instead, they can take steps to increase valuable human connections by providing useful knowledge and contacts.
5. Make sure all employees feel comfortable
The workplace should be a place where everyone feels safe and free from harassment or bullying. Some companies promote a “family-like” environment, which can be perceived negatively if an employee comes from a family background where they don’t feel safe. Encourage employees to treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Workers need to feel confident that their concerns will be taken seriously. Have specific policies in place to promptly and fairly investigate complaints that go against company policies. If employees don’t feel comfortable or motivated to voice their concerns, they won’t feel connected or belonging.
6. Introduce an Employee Recognition Center
An intranet isn’t just for sharing work documents, it can also be used as an important vehicle for keeping employees connected. Use it to highlight specific employees and teams, along with content that reflects company campaigns or the time of year.
This strategy also allows different communities within the company to recognize their colleagues for their excellent performance, which will strengthen the company culture.
7. Keep information and communication flowing throughout the company
Always make sure that information flows within the company. It should flow from the top down, from the bottom up, and even horizontally between peers. Employees should feel motivated to ask questions and offer feedback to managers. There will always be cases where it is appropriate for information to flow from management to employees.
Make sure you have the right communication tools in place to make it easier for management to send the right information to the right employees at the right time. A modern intranet platform will include tools that help with communication, such as the ability to send communication campaigns, important company announcements, and will allow employees to leave comments, which is a great way to gather feedback and for employees to seek help.
8. Establish communities of interest
It allows employees to get to know each other and discover their interests outside of work. Employees with similar interests can join the relevant community to discuss their interest with colleagues. They can post pictures, videos or links to interesting content online.
When some employees work from home or a satellite office, participating in a community of interest is a good way to get to know coworkers in a more social and informal setting. Participants in communities of interest do not have to be experts on the topic discussed. They just need to have an interest in order to establish a connection with their peers.
Communities of interest could be related to company health and wellness initiatives, such as a recipe sharing community or a running group, or they could be more social, such as a pet photo sharing corner, or a Friday Fun Challenge, where you’re encouraged to post about topics like favorite movies, photos of yourself wearing your favorite hat, or the best trip you’ve ever taken.
If the goal is to create a connected workplace that functions more like a community, employee relationships need to extend beyond traditional work hours. Schedule regular social events for employees. The types and themes of these events can vary, as long as they include people from different teams and departments. Competitions and games can be fun, as can taking advantage of local events and volunteer opportunities.
It’s a good idea to have at least one event where the company can celebrate individual employees’ and teams’ contributions to its success. This would also be a good time to recognize employees who have gone above and beyond in giving back to the local community.
10. Establish an employee directory
Employee directories are generally considered a tool for large companies where employees may not know their colleagues well or how to contact them. This option works for organizations of any size, as it provides workers with the information they need and prevents wasted time searching.
Once an employee locates a coworker who can answer a question or provide needed information, he or she can quickly get in touch. The person contacted is a valuable link in the knowledge chain and can share what he or she knows as well as the name of someone else who might be able to help.
Employees can also fill out their profile with more information than just the strictly corporate stuff. For example, if your company is in the hospitality industry, encourage employees to share their favorite food they serve or a place they’ve visited. If your company is a healthcare organization, encourage employees to share their passions in health topics. These open-ended text sections can be as social as you like, with some companies listing favorite books, hobbies, and movie characters.
