Work teams in modern companies need management to understand a key concept in their organizational culture: creating community is vital to their success
Events like the current COVID-19 pandemic has made us think more than ever in the ways companies and their teams work. But, the way we work has been evolving for some years now and that implies new paradigms that, in fact, are a key concept to their success. Between them, creating community.
But, what exactly is community, how to build it and what relevance does it have for modern company management?
What is community?
Cambridge Dictionary makes the definition very clear: community is the people living in one particular area or people who are considered as a unit because of their common interests.
If we take this to a company, it’s fairly easy to make a connection: a group of coworkers that organize in work teams not only to carry out an specific task and fulfill business objectives that bind them with the organization they work at, but also a group of people that socialize, interact with each other and grow together.
Why is it important for a company’s management and its organization culture?
Despite we began with a very simple and slightly obvious premise, this concept is not always easy to understand for some leaders.
Even the biggest and most innovative companies have climate and organizational culture issues, as well as employee treatment problems.
Even though it would seem that focusing on growth and revenue must be the major objective to company management, building community is more critical to their success than it might seem.
For several business experts, a sense of community inside any organization is, in fact, a great competitive advantage that adds up to the potential of any business model.
The reason? Building a community in which every employee feels happy, included, valued and with a chance of growing has a direct impact in any business, according to The Science of Happiness at Work study from the iOpener Institute:
- Happy employees stay at their job at least 4 times longer than an unhappy one.
- They commit the double to their tasks.
- They have 65% more energy.
How to start building community
The starting point depends a lot in the company profile and, above all, on the needs their work teams have to improve organizational culture.
Building community is a process of small continuous actions that transform into solid policies. In Apprendo, we have identified 3 major efforts:
- Invest in their development and growth. If your coworkers grow, your company does too. Therefore, having training and learning programs that help them feel valued and with growth opportunities will generate a positive impact that can be transmitted to each member of your work teams.
- Be conscious about the climate of your organization. Don’t take conducts or dubious practices lightly. Make sure each person is heard and look out for any toxic ways of working (abuse, harassment, micromanagement, no inclusion, discrimination, etcetera). Loyalty and community are built by a leader that is present for their coworkers.
- Motivate them. Naturally, incentives are a great way to do it (good pay, commissions, rewards, etcetera). But this is not the only way. Transparency, accountability and letting them know they are vital in any achievement of the company are also a good motivation. Make your company growth a common purpose and an objective that will make everyone proud.
Begin building community by giving your teams the tools they need to grow and work better
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Author: Alexandra Ortiz
