A recent McKinsey study found that up to 55% of employee engagement is driven by non-financial recognition. In other words, if you want motivated employees who are committed to your organization, simply giving them a paycheck every month (even with a hefty year-end bonus) won’t cut it.
According to the study, a rewarding on-the-job experience is the result of several non-financial factors, such as personalized relationships, a feeling of being valued, and a sense of meaning in the work being done. The study goes on to list various steps a company can take to create this kind of experience: managers can favor personal interactions over the transactional kind, for example, by taking the time to find out what matters most to their teams, and providing opportunities for staff to get to know each other on a casual basis.
These steps get to the heart of what’s known as community building within an organization. Communities foster employee loyalty by making work more fun, creating a sense of belonging, giving employees room to develop personally, and connecting people across teams and departments. For managers, communities can help increase cohesion among their teams, better understand the day-to-day experience of their staff, and break down informational silos.
Workplace communities can take on many different forms. Some can be professional forums that bring together subject-matter experts for research and learning, while others can be oriented towards leisure activities like sports and shared interests. Marketplace communities are also popular, as they bring employees together to swap goods and share special offers, forming ties in the process. Other types of communities might be particularly relevant to your specific business and the regions where you operate.
These kinds of interactions, while they may appear informal, go a long way towards making staff feel connected, valued, heard – and consequently engaged. In a previous blog post, we discussed the many benefits of employee engagement in terms of not just corporate culture but also your top and bottom line.
Integrated intranet platforms like ahead can be effective tools for building workplace communities. They empower colleagues across divisions and geographies to connect and communicate through a single channel, providing a dynamic environment that enhances the employee experience at all levels.
