Learnings at the Edge: Culture and Connection

The humcollective Q2 2022 newsletter.

In this edition, we share our research on culture and connection in the modern workplace. With so much attention placed on where work is performed (home, office, hybrid), we have neglected the conversation on with whom and how work is performed. This is where culture and bonding is created and there is a risk of losing the connective tissue of the organization if not addressed.

“As the rise of contingent and remote work loosens the boundaries of the firm, there’s a risk that workers come to view their relationship with their organizations in a purely transactional light. As a result, the bonds of trust that form the connective tissue of the firm are in jeopardy of fraying.”

Bain Insights

The shape of work itself is changing, yet work remains important to meeting deeply human existential needs, not just economic gain. It is true to the human condition that we crave social belongingness, and employees are asking for this connection in the workplace. While we are at a physical distance, the desire to create a meaningful relationship to the place of work (even though it is now digital) remains essential, and how the vibe of an organization is understood and transferred needs reconsideration. The old coffee breaks and spontaneous dinners post work are long gone, and the old mechanisms that have built culture cannot be relied on any longer.

Fostering fresh ways of connecting must be foundational to the new way of working and forming organizational culture, and it starts from the principles of equanimity and equality, rather than driven top down. To rethink how connection and culture are built requires a counterintuitive approach. Although we traditionally think about culture as a top down, leadership modeled initiative, instead we need to focus on micro-cultures and moments in the everyday lives of employees. This may seem unreasonable; however, the center of organizational culture gravity is changing and actually lives in nodes of relationships throughout the organization.

Here are two ways to consider creating connection and culture in this new work era from this point of view.

Bolster Already Established Networks

Within every organization, there are already networks of employees doing meaningful work. Understanding these networks and giving them tools for deeper connection is a way to leverage what is already alive and well inside the organization.

1. Meaning Rendering: Be explicit about making meaning together in the networked pockets that already exist. Give employees the tools and space to do this critical step to bolster connection. You can start with Employee Resource Groups or other intentional networks of employees that cut across job or team lines. Each of these groups should be able to easily answer the question: What is our purpose of being together and what makes our group meaningful to this organization?
2. Relational Management: Interpersonal issues can go overlooked more easily in the digital work environment. Teach employees to prioritize conflict prevention and address issues that are often overlooked when moving with speed. By giving employees more relational skills, relationships can remain strong even in the digital environment.
3. Collective Identity Building: A group only becomes a group when it has a shared sense of identity. Give networks of employees the chance to focus on creating an understanding of who they are together, rather than passing down a corporate values set. This allows networks of employees to bolster their sense of connectedness to one another and in return, their overall sense of belonging to the organization. Each of these groups should be able to easily answer the question: What do we collectively value and care about?

Build Weak Ties into Strong Bonds

From new employees joining to the continued need for collaboration, weak ties can break the bonds of culture. Relationships can be sustained once established, but they only take off when a solid connection can be built upon. For this reason, enhancing weak ties outside of an employee’s direct team or work group is imperative to culture building.

1. Architect Serendipity: Help flexible employees build strong and broad networks and give them an opportunity for chance encounters. Technologies like Donut Watercooler and Spark Collaboration randomly match employees for one-on-one conversations and can be a place to start to create moments of intersection with people who would not normally interact. Or even better, have an “UnStrategy Offsite” with the singular goal of connecting employees who would not otherwise meet.
2. Weak Link Mapping: While we usually rely on organizational charts to understand employee connections, there are always pockets of employees who are loosely connected. It is important in the new era of work to have a better handle on how employees actually connect and where the weak links reside in order to tie closer bonds.
3. Deep Employee Listening: An employee experiences work in the everyday moments and each small encounter is what ultimately shapes their sentiment towards the organizational culture. Given this, a deeper understanding of the employee experience (rather than an overall employee engagement score) matters. Data tools like Fount can help to engage in deeply nuanced employee listening.

Ultimately, when we foster new ways of connecting that goes deeper into the heart of the relationships inside an organization, a culture will not only be strong but viable as we further traverse into the future of work.