A lot of people go to work half-heartedly, do the day's task, and return home. Their work life is pretty mundane and mediocre, with little or no excitement and motivation. Such employees are often referred to as zombies because they do the same thing every day without putting in any effort to change things for the better. It's like they lack the basic sense of being alive!
Zombie employees aren't really of great value to any organization. An organization wants to invest in employees who are willing to go the extra mile to add value to the business. Employees who just aim to get work off their tables for the sake of it are more of a liability than an asset for a company.
One of the many reasons why an employee may exhibit this attitude at work is the lack of empathy and consideration for their efforts from the employer. When an employee feels like they don't matter to the organization, they don't go the extra mile for the employer and don't put in their heart into their work, and as a result, don't add any extra value to the business.
If you want your employees to work with utmost dedication and commitment, you should consider making your workplace employee-centric. An employee-centric workplace, as you can tell by the name, is a workplace that's centered on the employees.
This blog post will make you understand what an employee-centric workplace is, what are the 5 Cs of an employee-centric workplace, and how you can benefit from it.
Understanding an Employee-Centric Workplace
An employee-centric workplace is one where employees are encouraged to be creative and vocal. Such a workplace culture promotes open communication, safety and respect, and high employee productivity. Employees in an employee-centric workplace perform better. They own their organization and are proud to be a part of it. Because of this, they're more than willing to go the extra mile to deliver the highest-quality results. The employees feel valued and want to give their company back as much as possible to make a difference.
The 5 Cs of an Employee-Centric Workplace
Creating an employee-centric workplace culture isn't easy. It can be exhausting and daunting, but absolutely worth it!
If you wish to transform your workplace into an employee-centric space and want to know how you can successfully bring about this cultural shift, you're at the right place.
We've discussed the 5 Cs of an employee-centric workplace culture. These 5 Cs form the basis of the modern employee-oriented workplace culture. These are:
- Commitment
- Care
- Connection
- Celebration
- Community
Let's look into each of these pillars of employee centricity in detail.
Commitment
Commitment is the first and the most important element of an employee-centric workplace. You can't transform your workplace's culture if you aren't truly committed to achieving it. When we talk about commitment to creating an employee-centric workplace, we don't only mean the commitment of the management and the HR to this goal. The successful transformation of workplace culture will only be possible if everyone working is equally committed, from the management down to all the employees. When everyone is committed to a common cause, they'll strive towards achieving a common goal, and this will make success more likely!
The process is a continuous process. You wont create an employee-centric workplace in a day. The process requires every individual to be fully committed to the cause throughout this time. The lack of commitment from any one end will doom the process to fail.
Care
To transform your workplace into an employee-centric space, you should first acknowledge and accept that your workforce comprises humans, not machines. The human factor is one of the most important pillars of employee-centricity. Showing care to the employees will make them feel important. When employees know that their employer isn't only running after profits and that they care about the workforce who's working to execute the management's strategies, they'll automatically want to give their all to their job.
Care is a massive umbrella that encompasses numerous aspects of a workplace. Caring for your employee's safety and taking necessary steps and measures to mitigate safety risks is one way of transforming your workplace into an employee-centric space. Caring for your employees' comfort and well-being and improving the ergonomics of your workplace is an efficient way of telling the employees that you don't want them to get harmed in any way while you provide your services to the organization. Being considerate about your employees' spending most of their day sitting in the same place that could tire them out and providing them relaxing spaces in the office is also one of the best ways to show care towards your employees.
At the end of the day, it's the human factor that lays the foundation of an employee-centric workplace.
Connection
You should strive to establish a connection with your employees to make your workplace employee-centric. Make room for open communication and connection. Connection fosters trust, be it any relationship (friends, partners, coworkers, or managers and subordinates). In this case, when employees and managers share trust, they'll be more empathetic and considerate towards each other.
Trust comes from how openly, frequently, and honestly you communicate with each other. Employee centricity requires you to be open to your employees about the goals and objectives of the company so that you're both on the same page. Informing your employees what you expect from them is different than having your employees walk with you through what challenges your organization is facing, how the employees can help, and what difference they can make with the tasks being assigned to them. When employees know why they're doing what they're being told, they'll show more commitment and dedication.
Another aspect of connection is to communicate the current situations and developments in the organization to your employees. If they hear about important developments from Twitter, they'll lose trust in you, which can adversely affect your relationship with your employees.
Celebration
Celebrations bring people together. Celebrating achievements, big or small, will bring employees and employers together. Celebration is one of the 5 Cs for a reason. If you want to foster an employee-centric work culture, you should start celebrating your employees' efforts. Reward them often for their efforts. Share company achievements with them and celebrate often. The more you celebrate little, and big things, the more appreciated your employees would feel and the happier they’ll be! And happy employees are the most productive!
Community
Most of the time, the jobs consume the employees so much that they can't make time for causes that are close to their hearts. Many individuals want to invest their time and energy in the community and contribute to its betterment in any way they can. This builds up frustration in them because they blame their job for not being able to do something for the community.
This brings us to the last C, and that's community. Encourage your employees to engage in community services of their choice. You can arrange company-wide community service activities so that your employees feel you aren't only in the game to earn profits. When employees know that the organization that they're working for is making efforts for the betterment of the community, they'll respect and trust you more. You can also offer paid community hours for your employees, so they don't have to worry about losing their pay for the time they aren't working and doing community service.
Why Adopt an Employee-Centric Work Culture?
Why should you adopt an employee-centric work culture in the first place? Well, there's not one but numerous reasons. Employee centricity offers plenty of benefits. Employees working in an employee-centric environment are highly productive, happy, satisfied, and stick around for longer. They go over and above for their employer and add tremendous value to the business. Moreover, employees sticking around for longer means the organization doesn't have to spend resources on re-hiring for the same positions. Most importantly, when employees are committed to their jobs, it brings about massive profits for the business. An employee-centric workplace culture fosters healthier and happier employees and paves the way for a more profitable business!
Final Word
Creating an employee-centric workplace is challenging but it's worth every bit of effort. You won't achieve your goals overnight. It's a continuous process that requires constant conscious input from the employees and the management. However, once you do adopt an employee-centric approach, you're in for tremendous benefits!
