Building Bonds: How Scale Final Fosters a Sense of Community Among Employees
People can only band together in groups or form a community if the atmosphere in the workplace doesn’t feel too bureaucratic, rigit and, well, off. (Or people can band together against oppressive bosses, but that’s a story for another blog post.)
Before a company introduces mandatory parties, off-work activities, team buildings, etc., it needs to think about itself at a C-level, figure out the goals and aspirations, the values behind the company, and then formulate a clear and transparent company culture so that its employees can live those values.
Good thing we don’t have to go into detail about how a company does this and why, because I’ve written a piece about that already (find here).
Once you have formulated these values, which are the backbone of any organization that strives for sustainable growth and long-term existence, and your team implements them, you can foster the sense of community in two steps:
- Live the people-first approach and foster interpersonal communication, support and trust among your employees by empowering them, recognizing their individuality, treating them as mentors instead of dictators, being flexible and transparent, etc
- And by organizing various activities, from hiring a happiness manager to setting up a Discord channel, movie nights, games, regular meetings and listening to music together.
Today we will talk about how to approach this task of building connections, why certain activities are better than others and why you need to foster a sense of community among employees.
People-first approach
People-first approach means that the company should recognize each employee with their unique contributions and respect their individual needs and aspirations. This can manifest itself in different ways. For example, flexible work schedules, the ability to be remote and regular face-to-face meetings can help managers and employees build mutual trust and align on personal and career goals.
You are not their dictator. Your employees, regardless of rank, are in some ways your mentors and advisors, as long as you hired the professiolanls in their respective fields.
And, of course, they are people too, not functions or mere task performers.
This empowerment boosts morale and fosters a sense of belonging and purpose, which is critical to building a community.
Introduce community-building activities
As I mentioned earlier, you also need to encourage community building by introducing activities outside of work so that people have time to get to know each other. Choosing the right activities is crucial: they should reflect the values and culture of the organisation while catering to the diverse interests of employees.
Here’s how you should go about choosing these activities:
- Inclusivity and diversity: people of all ages, backgrounds and physical abilities must be able to participate. Movie nights and listening to music, listening sessions are good because they encourage sharing of personal interests. We do this quite often at Scale Final.
- Communication platforms: Setting up platforms like a Discord channel facilitates informal interaction.
- Regular check-ins and feedback sessions: Not only do you need to set up activities, but you also need to meet regularly with your coworkers to get feedback on these initiatives. All opinions are important.
- Hire a happiness manager: There needs to be someone who plans and executes these activities well and also constantly improves them. This person will look after the well-being and satisfaction of employees.
Evaluate the impact
Finally, it is important to continuously evaluate the impact of these community-building activities. Regular surveys, feedback forms and discussions in town hall meetings can provide invaluable insights. Metrics such as employee engagement, job satisfaction and participation in activities can provide quantitative data, while employee testimonials and anecdotal evidence can provide qualitative insights.
By combining a thoughtful people-first approach with strategically selected activities, Scale Final creates a thriving community.And we not only operate efficiency. We are also a resilient and engaged collective that is equipped to meet the challenges of a dynamic business environment.
