In today’s workforce there
are several serious social issues that appear in the work environment that
should be addressed immediately. Serious issues include diversity, sensitivity,
sexual harassment, discrimination, fairness, and equity in hiring and
advancement, accommodation of individuals with disabilities as well as safety
training.
Are
these issues of critical importance in the workplace? Definitely. So, what
should one do about it ? Create an all inclusive culture and help the employees
grow further.
A recent
international study reported that 77% of adults polled would consider a
company's culture before applying for a job there. A positive company culture
comes from the top and is enforced at all levels of the organization.
Any organization
that needs to have an ideal working place, should have a well-balanced culture.
By a well-balanced culture, I mean that there should be equal opportunities for
all regardless of caste, creed, religion, race, gender, abilities in terms of
disabled, rather to put it correctly differently abled individuals. To have a
good working condition in any organization one needs to eradicate these
prejudices and create an ambience for its employees where they feel wanted and
connected.
As an
organizational leader, the first and foremost thing that one should do is hire
people based completely on their merit rather than anything else. Because it is
the merit of an individual which is going to help the company achieve new &
better standards. Further, provide them with adequate training required to
perform certain tasks and help them in their growth. A company is known by its
employees. The day we start believing this notion and strive to make better
employees, that day we will achieve new heights for the company. Employees
should be treated with respect and given equal opportunity. This connects an
individual to the company.
As a manager, one
should look into adequate trainings that would provide the necessary platform
to the employee to feel equipped for the role. Training will enhance the skills
of the employee and thereby preparing the individual to take up responsible
positions and think differently. This is specifically important because
training helps the employees to add new skill sets to their potential, thereby
helping to create better avenues to attend the issues at hand.
Employees are
the backbone of any organisation. If they feel unsatisfied, then it can lead to
a lot negativity and ultimately hamper the progress of the organisation. It is
imperative for any organisation to provide the employees with good values, strong
vision, and goals of the company so that the employees feel participative and
engaged in a healthy way. The organisation needs to adapt to an all-inclusive
environment where adequate importance is given to the DEI (Diversity, Equity
and Inclusive) programmes. Having a healthier gender balance and more
generational diversity especially in senior-level positions can help drive the
culture forward. Regular development workshops can lead to improvement in
performance and engagement of the employee. Creating a transparent environment would
also enhance trust among employees. Sharing success and challenges with the
employees creates a transparent culture. This leads to highly engaged employees
who feel connected to the goals of the company.
Recognising the
efforts of the employee and rewarding them from time to time creates active participation
and enhances motivation among the employees. Here, Communication and feedback
play a pivotal role as well. Regular healthy communication or conversation among
the manager & employees and constant feedback on the performance lead to
filling in the gaps in the processes and thereby creates an utmost congenial
atmosphere. Having strong sexual harassment policies leads to safer working environment
where the employee feels valued. Embracing your team's autonomy allows them to
make the sometimes difficult, but incredibly rewarding, leap from being held
accountable to their responsibilities to embracing accountability as they begin
to take on and own their initiatives.
April Armstrong,
CEO at AHA Insight, recommends four strategies when changing your company's
culture:
1.
Demonstrate to employees that their
involvement is critical. Invite employees to share their thoughts both during
company culture discussions and during day-to-day operations.
2.
Make sure management's actions do not
clash with stated values. If the founder, CEO or other executives are not
"walking the walk," employees will not be inspired to do so either.
3.
Align everything (department,
initiatives, processes, etc.) to support company culture, and remind employees
that they are invited to contribute to that culture through collaboration and
innovation.
4.
Conduct periodic (preferably annual)
culture audits. Do not wait until something significant happens (e.g., top
employees quit) to evaluate if your efforts are working.
Failure to
eradicate such serious social issues can cause unrest in the overall ambience
of the organisation. This will further lead to dissent, apathy and so on. It
will hamper the vision, mission, and goal of the company, in large, affecting
the profits of the company. Hence, importance on having a great culture for the
organisation leads to remarkable outcomes and enhances the overall profitability
of the organisation.
