4-minute read

All change in 2021

As if there hasn’t been enough change going over the course of the past 12 months!
Business has been, and continues to be, disrupted. New business models have been created, there’s been an exponential growth in the use of new technologies, and agile ways of working are more commonplace. With vaccinations giving us a glimpse at life as we once knew it, the reality is that we are heading towards a whole lot of change again. So how can you support your team through this?

Some questions for managers to consider:

• How are your employees coping?

• How engaged and productive are they?

• How quickly and easily have they adapted?

Some teams will adapt easier than others due to the nature of their work, but at a performance level, there is going to be some variance.

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organisation, colleagues, vision, and goals. What it is not, is higher salaries, employee satisfaction, or thanking an employee for their efforts. A common mistake companies make is treating employee engagement as a human resources issue, rather than a business one. Best practice is for senior management to take a keen interest in employee engagement. This is because employees are far more exposed to what a manager says or does than any initiative you put into place.

How much does good leadership actually matter?

Even before Covid-19 had us changing all aspects of our personal and professional day-to-day lives, some workplaces had experienced much change and volatility for employees to adapt to. This has led to disconnection and disengagement becoming increasingly common.

Leaders play a vital role in that engagement. According to Gallup, managers account for over 70% of the variance in employee engagement. Employees with highly interested managers are 59% more likely to be engaged than employees supervised by disengaged managers.

Their research goes on to find that if employees believe that a supervisor cares about them as a person, not only does their productivity increase, but so does their customer service levels, and their likelihood to remain at the company.

How to build teams that respond quickly to change

How do you create that environment of caring? It’s actually relatively simple, even in the age of social distancing and home working.

• Getting to know one another is more important than you think

How well do you know your co-workers? Really know them. Getting to know what is important to your employee or colleague, not just at work, but in their private life is important. Do you know their aspirations? What did they want to be when they were a kid? What keeps them up at night? Chances are we keep even our personal conversations at work to a superficial level.

This does not mean jumping straight into these deep and meaningful conversations tomorrow, but we can build up to them through checking-in with people. Asking how they are doing, asking after them if they look a little worried or upset.

• Breaking through your work persona

Most of us have a work persona. These are the parts of ourselves we feel uncomfortable revealing to others at work. When in a previous corporate environment role, I remember very clearly, at one point feeling incredibly hurt by the complete lack of support from my manager, which nearly brought me to tears in a meeting. But I pushed my feelings down, and kept a stoic face, because I feared that I would be judged by my colleagues as being ‘emotional’. Many of us hold back a large part of what makes us human and vulnerable in order to be seen as professional, competent, and successful.

But what if we decided to reveal more of ourselves at work? How would our workplaces be different? What would be the impact on the people we work with and lead? How could this affect employee mental wellbeing?

• Celebrations matter

Celebrations create an opportunity to get together, to connect. We have after-work drinks, lunches, coffee breaks, or morning teas. All these things further foster a sense of community. They help to build trust, create openness, and build pride in your company. They show that you care. This fosters a sense of community, and a sense of community is essential for building teams that can adjust and flex to changes more readily.

If you feel good, it’s easier to adapt and embrace agile working

Through deeper connections, building trust, and increasing employees’ sense of being part of a bigger whole, employee engagement levels will increase, and this helps companies retain their employees for the longer term.

Who starts this change?

Through deeper connections, building trust, and increasing employees’ sense of being part of a bigger whole, employee engagement levels will increase, and this helps companies retain their employees for the longer term.

As with most initiatives, the onus lies with management introducing working practices and policies that nurture emotional connections between employees and their workplaces.

Again, what a manager says and more importantly does, has a large impact on motivation and commitment of an employee to the company for the long-term. This will also reduce the levels of disconnection and disengagement. The more connected and motivated the employee, who feels they are being listened to and supported, the far more accepting and resilient they are to cope with change.

Change can result in highly beneficial outcomes. By focusing on what impact change has on employees and how supported they feel, a cultural change occurs. This is one where a company is more productive and ultimately more profitable, and where the added benefits of proactively supporting employee mental health and wellbeing are also realised. A win-win situation for everyone.

Habitus specialises in providing practical, engaging and lasting solutions to mental health. For more information on how Habitus can help your organisation increase a sense of belonging for employees, create happier teams and increase productivity, click here. Alternatively, send us a message by clicking here or contact us by phone on 0207 207 3186.