Ahead of Hacking HR Toronto, speaker Josh Siegal shares his thoughts on issues related to his session.
The era of the knowledge worker has created an undeniable war for talent. In order to win, in almost any industry, organizations need the very best people. Few senior leaders would argue this statement.
The war for talent has led to some workplace shattering trends which have completely shook-up how we even begin to define the workplace. Things like global hiring, remote workers, work-from-home, and reliance on contract work have led to a working world which is highly decentralized.
Although there is a lot of good which comes from this evolution, this decentralization has put massive strain one of the basic human needs of employees. You see, unlike the majestic platypus, which predominately lives it life in solitude, humans are born wired for connection. It’s in our DNA, as strong a need as food, water, or warmth.
As adults, where do we typically form most of our human connections? That’s right, around the very quickly vanishing office. When employees are working together from every corner of the globe, there is no longer a water cooler to create those much-needed connections.Research and surveys show, employees are lonely. Unsurprisingly, lonely employees are way less engaged, and we all know what engagement does to performance. In all likelihood, this movement towards decentralized offices will continue. The question is, as HR professionals, what can we do to help our employees secure the human connection they so desperately need?
The playbook on how to do this is still evolving. That being said, I’d like to share four T’s which helped me scale a relatively centralized organization of 150 employees to 1,000 decentralized employees over a five-year span.
T-One is the easiest. Tech. It’s getting cheaper, it’s getting better, you need to invest. Does it replace face-to-face conversations, absolutely not, but it’s better than nothing. Don’t skimp – shoddy virtual meeting hardware is the easiest way to piss off remote employees.
T-Two. Travel. Sadly, Star Trek has failed us, and we do not have teleporters yet. Getting your team together may be expensive, but it’s the best way to galvanize the entire team and connect them to your shared purpose and vision. Even if it’s once a year for a special annual event, find a way to make this happen. The ROI in the connectedness of your employee base cannot be underestimated.
T-Three. Training. Leading a decentralized team is riddled with complexity. Coach and guide your people leaders to understand the nuances of this new way of work. Leading today requires more thoughtfulness than ever before. Re-enforce and share best practices across your entire org.
The final T. We only have this decentralized workplace in order to have the best talent, so you better believe talent is one of the four T’s. Great leaders find ways to keep people connected. Hire thoughtful, dynamic leaders, and unleash them to create connections through your org. Let your people leaders be people connectors.
When it comes to convincing senior leaders to invest in the connectedness of your employee base, use this one stat. 60% of employees would be more likely to stay with their organization if they had more colleagues as friends. Important note, Gen-Z and Millennials, over-index on this number.
Be the type of leader who recognizes that your people aren’t platypuses. Just like the thoroughly adorable Emperor Penguins, who require connection to keep their bodies warm, as people, we need connection to warm our souls.
About the Author
Josh Siegal is the co-founder of Taito, a boutique firm specializing in supporting scaling companies with talent & culture strategies to fuel growth.
Josh began his career in quintessentially the most Canadian way possible, working in the beer and then the weather business. Unfortunately, the NHL never called back, so the Canadian career hattrick was never scored.
Prior to founding Taito, Josh led the Talent and Culture strategy at Real Matters. In four-plus years, Josh helped shepherd the organization from a 150 person private company to a 1,000 employee organization listed on the TSX.
Josh will be a speaker at Hacking HR Toronto on July 18th. Register here.