This article originally appeared in the May 2022 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn and @SecBusinessMag on Twitter.
Business leadership is as challenging as it has ever been. Employee expectations have changed during COVID, and at the same time, worker shortages have given more weight to those expectations. Employees want more pay, better hours, better healthcare, and more freedom to work remotely. It can be a daunting challenge to stay ahead of it all.
Often, the expectations of one employee may run contrary to those of another, and when we fail to meet everyone’s desires, it can result in good employees departing.
Get Employee Feedback
Now is the time to be as transparent with employees as possible. Let them know that their voices are always heard – and if we can’t respond to each individual, we will always respond to the team. Here are some simple things that you can do:
Listen to them. Conduct employee surveys and give employees every opportunity to voice their concerns to management. Do not judge them for having opinions different than management’s.
Take action on their feedback. Be prepared to make changes to your team or organization based on collective needs. Let them know you are listening.
Gather. Many employees have been isolated from an organization’s culture for too long. Let them be a part of the larger whole again. We are social animals, and we do best when we know and trust one another.
Remind them why they chose to work here in the first place. Make your company’s mission and goals very transparent. Celebrate the ideals you are trying to achieve.
Be transparent. Share as much information with employees as possible and make it a shared experience for them. Let them feed off each other’s desires for success and win as a team.
How to Build Culture
A company’s culture is the cumulation of its people and the environment they are in. As leaders we are often taught to focus on having the right people in the right seats, and this is indeed key; however, we need to also focus on the environment those people work in.
When we do not actively manage the environment and culture of our teams and organizations, we find ourselves with a “default” culture, and it is rarely the one we want. Gossip, rumors, and friction are often the result of these “default” cultures. Department silos are common, and territories are clearly established. Trust can be hard to come by when the successes and challenges of one person or department are not known by the others. Attempts at cooperation are often perceived as burdens.
Too much focus on the behavior of one person can further isolate that individual, or worse, drive her or him into clicks. When we focus on the environment, it is our teams that will address the behavior issues. Personnel problems between individuals become personality quirks shared between colleagues. Departmental silos become cross functional teams, and the leader starts to feel less out of control. Eventually the main task of the leader is to pick from the best options presented to her or him by hers or his high functioning teams.
It may seem like building culture is something that is beyond the grasp of us normal people, but this could not be further from the truth. Focus on what we can do. Build transparency, listen to the feedback our teams give us when they react to that transparency, and make lists of follow up actions that is derived from that feedback. Remind them of the greatness we are all striving for, and most importantly, let them all share in the challenges and successes together.
Creating a welcoming environment and culture will help keep your top talent engaged, happy, and successful. Remind them that there is more to a job than just money. Let your team be a team, listen to them, and let them win together.
Allen Riggs is Chief Financial Officer for PSA Security Network. Request more info about PSA at www.securityinfowatch.com/10214742.
