The Cornerstone of Organizational Culture, Community

Jayleen Stefaniuk, Senior Director, Training & Organizational Development, North Region, FirstService Residential

The importance of a strong company culture has been on the rise for the last number of years, and it continues to occupy the minds of hundreds if not thousands of today’s leaders. Just a couple of years ago, the vast majority of organizations had staff in the same place, sharing a common address, workspace, and coffee pot. In a landscape where there was a significant amount of “togetherness,” culture was highly visible. The norms, guiding principles, rules of the road, and the DNA of companies were all right there, in plain sight. They were not only easy to see, but they were also easy to feel.

Today, countless organizations around the globe have become more dispersed as staff work from home or follow a hybrid model. But what happens to the strength and vitality of an organization’s culture when physical togetherness becomes more limited? The answer to that depends on what happens to the workplace community.

A workplace community is like any other community; it’s made up of a group of people who are there for each other, who lend a helping hand because they want to – people who support one another in good times and rally around each other as they navigate life’s many challenges.

Workplace community goes so much deeper than simply having a common employer. Inherently, people need to belong, contribute their effort in meaningful ways, feel valued and respected, and aspire, learn and grow .

Organizations everywhere are facing an opportunity to become even more intentional with the way they foster social and personal connections within their environments and have them become deeper, stronger, and more prevalent in the day-to-day, or they run the risk of connection eroding and becoming fragmented beyond repair, leaving behind a void that so much of today’s talent long to have filled.

The pandemic brought with it new and different ways of working, and now more than ever, workforces are distributed, and quite commonly, members of the same team are working in different locations, different time zones, or even in different countries. And with that comes the possibility that talent is experiencing an erosion of their overall sense of connection with both their immediate and extended teams. With a dispersed population, it’s become exceedingly important for companies to apply clear and distinctive strategies that foster both connectivity and camaraderie, which may seem daunting, but can take flight with a few simple but intentional actions.

Appreciation is like glue in the workplace. Deliberately tell someone specifically what you appreciate about them and see what that does to their mood, their discretionary effort, and their overall sense of belonging to the larger group. Build moments of connection into the regular routine and remind people of the organization’s purpose and what can be achieved together. Communicate frequently, welcome insight and perspective from all sources, promote healthy dialogue and coaching along with problem-solving, and the foundation of community begins to take shape.

Presently, there’s an abundance of recognized benefits to a thriving workplace community: higher levels of engagement, productivity, resilience, commitment, collaboration, and trust, along with substantially lower turnover and lower levels of stress, fatigue, and burnout. And what does that translate to? Very simply, results. High-performing teams are not an accident, nor are they an anomaly. They are built on trust, persistence, and doing whatever needs to be done for the good of the team, in addition to the whole-hearted belief that the other members of the team would do the same. They are formed around meaningful goals that can be worked towards and delivered together. And they’re built on genuine relationships.

Relationships are the heart of the community. Relationships will take on various forms and a dimension over time as trust builds and equity grows. Meaningful relationships do not happen overnight; they’re a product of time, effort, and shared experiences. That means it’s up to employers to take deliberate actions to ensure their workplace communities are comprised of people who are inclusive, who value and respect the thoughts, opinions, styles, and perspectives of others, and who aren’t afraid to speak up and work through conflict to end up at healthy and productive outcomes.

Employers who fill their spaces (physically or virtually) with people who like working for their company, who like each other, who energize one another, who roll up their sleeves for one another, and create a space where everyone can do their best work, - and maybe even share a laugh or two along the way – are the organizations who will showcase the power and the positive impact the workplace community has in our lives and will elevate its significance to new heights.

Employers who not just establish a strong culture but who establish and cultivate a strong community for their people alongside it are in the best position possible to have their respective teams experience sustained periods of both accomplishment and resilience. Creativity and innovation are fuelled by collaboration, excitement, and energy – they are not nurtured in solitude.

On the heels of extended periods of isolation, the need for community endures, and it continues to resonate and hold deep meaning for those navigating today’s corporate landscape.

Remote and hybrid work environments do not mean community goes out the window, but it does mean there’s added importance placed upon being intentional and purposeful in the way organizations foster and promote community within their current framework.

Teams who show up every day (virtually or in person) to pour their discretionary effort into something bigger than themselves - who look out for one another, who care about each other, who have faced adversity and have overcome obstacles together are bound together. From deep-seated bonds emerge varieties of workforce marvels: trust, persistence, transparency, commitment, alignment, and of course, connection!

Through all the accelerated change experienced throughout the past couple of years and the rapid evolution of the modern workplace, one thing remains constant and continues to hold true – people crave community, and without community, culture does not exist.