Workplace connection plays a vital role in employee engagement, retention and well-being. According to a study, when employees feel disconnected, they are at risk for anxiety, stress, depression, and burnout. This also increases their chances of quitting their jobs by up to three times. And whenever an employee leaves, it can cost the organisation up to 200% of their annual salary.
A connected workplace does not simply mean buying pizza for your employees. Instead, connected employees happen with a series of interactions among themselves. A connected workplace is one where employees can freely interact, share ideas, and support the growth of their colleagues. As a result, this creates a strong sense of community, which can fuel productivity and camaraderie.
Most of the time, employee connections in the workplace are undervalued. In fact, 77% of employees feel disconnected in their workplace. Business leaders and Human Resources should be looking for ways to improve employee connections in the workplace to maximise employee engagement, retention and well-being.
In this article, we’ve come up with six proven ways to improve employee connections and collaboration across your company..
How to Improve Employee Connections
If there’s anything that the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting” can teach employers, it’s that employees are willing to leave their jobs when they don’t see any value in it or feel disconnected. Since these employees have likely thought about this decision for some time, a quick fix like, free coffee or a bonus, is likely to change that. Instead, feeling a strong sense of connection to the organisation and the people they work with is likely to have an impact.
Here are some tips on how to improve employee connection in the workplace:
1. Promote Open and Regular Communication
One of the most effective ways to improve connection in the workplace is through open and regular communication. This sets the foundation for deeper relationships and connections among the employees. If there is a lack of effective communication in the workplace, it signifies a problem with leadership and a lack of direction and connection to the organisation.
The best way to solve this problem is to encourage regular, strategic communication updates and forums, and open and honest communication. Establish a regular operating rhythm for communication updates. Build a culture of trust so that employees can share their opinions and thoughts without fearing criticism for doing so. Promote an open-door policy with senior leadership so everyone can improve the way they communicate with each other.
By allowing people to be comfortable enough to share their thoughts and voice their opinions without judgment, it will be much easier for employees to build connections naturally.
2. Set Up Mini Communities
One of the best ways that employers can build connections and support work-life balance in the workplace is to encourage employees to socialise outside of work or create mini communities around common interests. Employers can allow employees to get to know each other by discovering similar interests and creating a fun activity or community e.g. a 10,000 steps challenge, a regular monthly yoga class, trivia
Whether it’s an informal community or one with a well-built structure, employees can find like-minded individuals and establish a connection with their colleagues. Mini-communities (like a recipe swap group, a running club, a sports club, or an art community) can be excellent places of discussion. They can also help build relationships in the organisation as participants find an outlet for their shared passions.
3. Promote Collaboration Through Team Building Exercises
Hosting team-building activities can help to build trust and strong relationships in the workplace. There are plenty of different activities that can be used, including light-hearted mini-games (like charades) or a more structured exercise that tests their creativity.
Another effective way to improve connections at the workplace is to normalise asking for help. Recognising employees who extend help to those who need it can be rewarding as it encourages other employees to not see it as a weakness.
4. Include Remote and Hybrid Workers
The pandemic paved the way for remote work to be a standard in today’s workplace. Even though there has been a call to return to the office, several continue to work remotely and on a hybrid arrangement as it has been found to improve organisational culture.
While this is true, remote and hybrid employees can feel a divide between them and office-based employees. This divide can broaden and create a connection gap among employees. As such, it is important to intentionally include remote and hybrid employees in HR efforts to improve connection in the workplace. Thankfully, this is possible with the help of online communication and collaboration tools.
RELATED ARTICLE: Remote Mentoring: A Complete Guide to Virtual Mentoring
5. Build Rapport Through Informal Social Interactions
The key to building a connected workplace is by allowing employees to engage in casual conversations. For remote or hybrid companies, the 5 minutes of small talk at the beginning of Zoom meetings might not be enough. Companies that have a strong sense of connection make time for social interactions and have meetings set up specifically to talk about things other than work. Some ideas include having themed lunch events (in person or remotely), creating a water cooler chat channel for non-work-related conversations, and a virtual coffee break.
These interactions may be small and informal, but they foster a sense of community in the workplace. It also allows employees to get to know their colleagues on a more personal level and find friends who share the same interests as them.
6. Encourage Collaboration with Different Departments
In large organisations, it can be nearly impossible to get to know the other employees on a deeper level, particularly those from a different department. However, cross-departmental collaboration can improve connections in the workplace and allow individuals to have a better understanding of each other’s roles and functions.
Breaking down these silos can help create a sense of unity among employees. Some ideas on how to do this include assigning interdepartmental projects to team members, hosting lunch and learning sessions, and starting a mentorship program for skill development.
How Mentoring Can Help Connect Employees
Lately, we’ve seen the rise of mentoring programs thanks to the increase of Fortune 500 companies adopting this in their organisations. Recent studies have also revealed that employees have placed a strong demand for mentoring. Mentoring programs are an effective tool for creating a supportive work environment and fostering deep employee connections.
Apart from building relationships, mentoring allows individuals to develop their skills in the workplace. In the process, this helps increase job satisfaction and improve employee engagement. While these are all helpful to employees, they ultimately provide a positive impact to the organisation.
Are you ready to see how your efforts can improve employee connections at your workplace? Give us a call today to see Brancher in action.
Sources:
1. Gallup. (2024). State of the Global Workplace. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
2. Dickson, George. (2023, October 26). Bonusly. What You Need to Know About the Cost of Employee Turnover. https://bonusly.com/post/cost-of-employee-turnover.
3. Wooll, Maggie, MBA. (2022, June 14). BetterUp. Your workforce is lonely. It’s hurting your business. https://www.betterup.com/blog/connection-crisis-impact-on-work
4. Cook, Sam. (2024, March 11). mentorcliQ. 2024 Mentoring Impact Report: 98% of Fortune 500 Companies Have Mentoring. https://www.mentorcliq.com/blog/mentoring-impact-report#:~:text=98%25%20of%20US%20Fortune%20500%20companies%20now%20visibly%20provide%20mentoring%20programs%20to%20their%20employees%20in%20some%20capacity.
5. LinkedIn Learning. (2023). Building the agile future. https://learning.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/learning/en-us/pdfs/workplace-learning-report/LinkedIn-Learning_Workplace-Learning-Report-2023-EN.pdf