How can we connect more effectively with our team?

As we adapt to a mixture of office and remote or home working, making sure that your employees remain engaged is more important than ever.

In simple terms, this means creating the right conditions in an organisation for all employees to do their best work every day. It means that they want to commit to the goals and values of the organisation and are motivated to contribute to its success.

As leaders, we need to create the conditions that inspire people to go the extra mile, to put in the effort that’s not demanded of them. When your employees are engaged, they really care about your organisation and its success. They feel they’re a part of it and so they’re committed to it.

A key ingredient in improving engagement is ensuring that there is a “connection” between the employee and the business. Communication is an integral part of building the “connection”, getting this right particularly with team members who are not in the office every day is vital.

To achieve this effectively, you need to have regular communication, both formal and informal, via different channels.

For example, keeping people informed about the company’s performance, outlining the progress made on key goals and strategic projects, will help employees to feel part of the wider objectives of the organisation.

Equally, it is vital that you have the ability to listen to what employees say including their opinions, criticisms and most importantly their ideas. Creating an effective channel for this feedback is an essential part of your plan to become more “connected”.

Many companies have introduced more formal and informal communication than ever before, they have increased the volume of one to ones, small team meetings made more use of online social interaction and most importantly have listened and acted on the feedback.

It is worth reflecting on your own approach and asking yourself,

• Are you doing enough?
• Is there is anything else you could do?

The last 18 months have shown that many traditional ‘work based’ roles can be done from home, but what is less clear now is whether this is an optimum or productive long term option, and what positive elements might be lost.

However, many employees now expect the option of more flexible or home working in the future. So, understanding what is important from their perspective and starting the conversation now about what the company will need going forward will show you are planning for more positive times, and learning the lessons of the last 18 months.

Our team at BHP Consulting have all successfully run businesses, and we understand that every business is unique. Our practical approach to supporting our clients enables us to share our real-world experience to positively impact on the performance of your business. To arrange a call or an exploratory face-to-face meeting, please click here