Author: Kristina Proffitt

Categories
Learning & Development

4 communication styles and how to navigate them at work

Communication styles play a big role in how well teams work together and whether their organizations can succeed.

Despite that, communication is something that we often take for granted. Sure, we can have conversations with people, but can we actually speak to them effectively? Do we hear what they’re trying to say in response?

Based on the fact that 86% of employees and executives feel that a lack of effective communication and collaboration is the main cause of workplace failures, I’m going to say no.

Even teams that do communicate effectively could improve their productivity by up to 25%, so those who don’t work on their communication styles are really missing out.

Types of communication styles

So, let’s start by diving into the different types of communication styles.

Passive communication

Passive communication styles can come in two different forms.

Firstly, when someone puts other people’s needs above their own.

Secondly, when they speak very little or not at all.

While factoring in other people’s needs and letting others be heard is important, there’s the risk that a passive communicator can take a backseat and not get their opinions or expertise heard. This can lead to them feeling invisible or underappreciated.

So make sure to encourage everyone to join in the conversation. That way, nobody fades into the background.

Also consider that some people may feel uncomfortable speaking up in a meeting for a range of reasons—from feeling anxious in large groups, to neurodivergence, to particularly loud colleagues, to preferring time to mull over ideas—so try to factor this in.

It can help to send agendas in advance so that attendees can put together talking points if they wish. This helps accommodate a wider range of communication styles.

Aggressive communication

Aggressive communication styles are when people come across as forceful or challenging. They’re often confrontational and want their voice to be heard.

This can be intimidating for colleagues, particularly those with more passive communication styles or who’ve experienced emotional trauma in their past.

Passive-aggressive communication

Passive aggression can be contradictory, with verbal and non-verbal communication not matching.

It could also come in the form of sarcasm, comments behind someone’s back, or speaking up after a meeting to complain.

Assertive communication

An assertive communicator can balance getting their opinion heard and hearing the opinions of others. They’re direct speakers who factor in other people’s feelings and ideas.

Out of all the communication styles, this one doesn’t always come naturally, but it can be learned.

How to cater to different communication styles

To get the most from a team, leaders need to learn how to cater to different communication styles. They also need to understand that communication styles can change, both because of the people around them and the work they do on themselves.

So let’s explore what you can do to cater to different communication styles in your business:

Offer different communication methods

Most of us prefer a particular way of learning, whether that’s audio, visual, or written.

For instance, I retain more of what I read than what I watch or listen to. If I’m on a call, I’ll usually take notes to help me process what everyone has said.

It’s easier than ever to support people’s different processing methods now, with most video platforms auto-generating captions.

So when you want to explain something, you can record a voice note or video, then have it automatically transcribed so that everyone can understand it. This ensures everyone gets what you’re trying to say, regardless of their communication styles, leaving fewer grey areas.

Analyze your own speaking style

It helps to understand your own speaking style so that you can understand what you’re getting right and what you could improve on. 

Consider recording a call and getting a coach, mentor, or even AI to offer feedback on it. Or, if you’re writing something, send that over.

They can then help you identify areas where your message is clear and areas where you could improve to get your tone and direction right for your audience. It’s almost like a communication styles audit.

Listen actively

Good old active listening strikes again. Like communication itself, active listening is a skill. Learning it requires work and emotional intelligence.

Active listening means not interrupting other people when they talk, and focusing on what they’re saying, not on how you’re going to respond.

This can improve the quality of your working relationships and ensure you get the most from them. Active listening is important for all communication styles.

Slow down

Some of us have minds that jump from one idea to another to another before we’ve finished speaking a sentence.

While it’s not always easy for us to slow down, being in the moment and focusing on what the other person is trying to say can help us respond in the most effective way.

Jotting down ideas so that you can bring them up at the right moment ensures you can continue to listen without forgetting your point.

Consider cultural factors

Culture will always play a role in communication styles. Even the US and the UK, despite speaking the same language, have communication differences.

The British sense of humor doesn’t always translate well, for example. Which is why British TV shows often get remade with a US audience in mind.

Conclusion

There will always be some employees you find it harder to communicate with than others. The key is to understand, and accept, that everyone is different, and keep an open mind.

Listening to everyone and treating all communication styles as valid—alongside working on your own—will help you to get the most out of your team and help to prevent problems from spiraling.

Create a culture of communication

Encouraging employees to communicate about things outside of work, or sharing their workplace challenges, can help to bridge differing communication styles.

When employees have common ground, they’re more likely to work together and feel like they belong in the workplace.

Workrowd can help you manage your employee groups, programs, and events to get the most from them. Whether you’re looking to level up or just maintain your current success with less effort, we can help. Contact us today to book your free demo at hello@workrowd.com.

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Categories
Company Culture

6 best practices for rebuilding company culture after layoffs

Layoffs are a painful experience for everyone. That’s why it’s so important to have a plan in place for rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Whether it’s the managers sharing the bad news, the employees being let go, or the ones left behind, layoffs can create an atmosphere where people feel afraid. Afraid they’re next, afraid for their colleagues, or afraid of the consequences that might come from them sharing their concerns.

And we live in a time of mass layoffs. In the US tech sector alone, layoffs cost more than 100,000 people their jobs in 2023.

61% of adults between 18 and 34 have felt pressure and anxiety over layoffs. 46% of employees who were laid off were unprepared.

Companies that do have to go through layoffs therefore need to prepare employees, and the company culture, for these tumultuous times.

They also need to have steps in place for rebuilding company culture after layoffs. This can be a volatile time where everyone feels like they’re walking on eggshells, they’re worried for their jobs, and they’re adjusting to the new normal.

So, how do you go about rebuilding company culture after layoffs? Let’s take a look:

Have the uncomfortable conversations

Layoffs are challenging times. But they’ll be even worse if you don’t have the hard conversations.

It’ll be uncomfortable, you might squirm, but you’ll feel better once it’s over with.

It’s worse to carry around – and bottle up – questions, guilt, or other negative emotions that can impact your personal relationships, your work relationships, and your ability to perform at work.

The sooner you rip the bandage off, the better you’ll feel. Plus, the faster you’ll succeed at rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Create a psychologically safe space

To have the uncomfortable conversations, you – and employees – need to feel safe voicing opinions and concerns without consequences. 

If that fear is there, there’s already something wrong with your company culture and layoffs will only make it worse.

Employees could share their feelings in a one-on-one with a manager; a company-wide town hall; in an employee resource group; in an employee feedback survey; or somewhere else. 

Wherever it is, they need to feel like decision-makers hear their concerns.

Otherwise, it can add to the already stressful time of layoffs and the looming sense of dread and uncertainty that comes with it. You’ll have a much harder time rebuilding company culture after layoffs if you haven’t built up that psychological safety.

Build connections

Sometimes, during layoffs, people’s work friends can be asked to leave while they get left behind.

Work is one of the main ways many of us socialize. So it’s important to ensure employees can still find and make new friends.

Setting up ERGs enables employees to connect with those who share similar interests or backgrounds to them. These groups also help foster relationships and create a sense of belonging, in addition to helping with rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Be open and honest

Open and honest communication is key to any positive company culture. It’s how employees feel psychologically safe at work. Plus, it leads to greater creativity and innovation, and it makes people better problem solvers. It also means that any issues or conflicts that arise don’t stick around to fester. You can have the conversations that solve things sooner rather than later.

Making employees aware of what’s happening, what will happen, and being honest when you don’t know certain answers will help to allay some of their concerns.

Consider explaining why the layoffs are happening, and why now. You may also explain why the people who were let go were chosen.

It’s not a panacea, but it should at least calm some of the anxieties. Particularly if there are a significant number of far-reaching cuts, and you need to get out ahead of rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Offer psychological support

Layoffs can be so stressful there’s even a term called “workplace survivor’s syndrome”. It’s a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that can impact those left behind.

Contrary to the belief that they should feel glad they still have a job, many are left feeling concerned about how long that will last. Are they the next to go? It can also be overwhelming taking on their departing colleagues’ workloads.

It’s important to acknowledge how stressful this time can be for employees and offer them support in terms of coaching, mentoring, or counseling where they can talk through how they feel with someone unrelated to your organization. 

That way, they can learn the coping techniques to come to terms with the situation, process their grief and guilt, and find a way to move on in the new normal. Individualized support like this can go a long way towards rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Re-align everyone with your values (or set new ones)

It can help to refresh, review, or even update your values during a time like this.

Things are already up in the air, so if employees don’t know what your values are, or they’ve fallen by the wayside, this refresher can give them a renewed focus on what the company goals are and what you want to achieve in the short- and long-term.

Reminding everyone what you stand will set you up for success when rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Conclusion

It’s important to find avenues for rebuilding company culture after layoffs. Otherwise it can lead to employees questioning their roles within your organization. You don’t want to risk losing your key players because they decide your team is no longer the right place for them.

Supporting employees, listening to their concerns, and communicating honestly with them can help employees feel more secure and work toward future-proofing your organization.

Need help creating a safe space for connection?

Would you like to set your organization up with a central hub for rebuilding company culture after layoffs?

Workrowd has what you need. With all your employee programs, groups, and events in one place, plus automated feedback surveys and more, you can give team members more of what they want with less effort.

Plus, our real-time analytics dashboards help you track the impact of your initiatives, so you always know how far you’ve come at rebuilding company culture after layoffs.

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or write us directly at hello@workrowd.com to schedule your free demo.

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Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Employee resource group guidelines to help your groups thrive

Employee resource groups (ERGs) can lead to an increase in employee engagement of up to 15%. With stakes that high, it can help to have some employee resource group guidelines to set you up for success.

ERGs can also boost the visibility of underrepresented talent. Even more so when you consider the positive impact on employees’ networking opportunities, career growth, and job satisfaction.

But how do you equip your ERGs to thrive and drive real impact across your business? Here are some employee resource group guidelines to empower your ERGs to reach their full potential:

Pick the right leaders

Leaders aren’t just people managers, and the ones who run your ERGs don’t have to be. 

But they do have to be great listeners and able to tap into what the group wants and needs. This goes for your groups’ executive sponsors, too.

Successful groups live and die by their leadership as members will follow the example set by the people in charge. 

I’ve seen many groups falter and decline because previously enthusiastic leaders have lost interest. Or the wrong people have been put in charge.

The worst is when the role goes to someone because no one else wants it. Especially when it’s clear they’re not going to be the right person for it. This then risks causing existing members to become detached or disinterested. If the leader or sponsor doesn’t care or put the time in, why should they?

Enthusiasm for a cause is contagious, and your ERGs are no exception. When it comes to employee resource group guidelines, picking the right leaders is an important place to start.

Use the right tools

The right tools is the second pillar of our employee resource group guidelines. When you use a tool that makes it easy for people to join and stay engaged with your groups, you can maximize their success without the stress.

With all your groups’ important information and announcements in one place, plus automated feedback collection and real-time analytics, every ERG will have what they need to be at their best.

Check out our tip at the end for details on how to run your ERGs more effectively! 

Know their purpose

Why do you want to create ERGs? For whom do you want to create them?

Is it to boost talent attraction and retention? 

More than half of companies say ERGs have a positive impact on their recruiting efforts, so it’s a solid goal. 

A further 75% say that they’ve helped them with retention.

Plus, there’s the 15% boost in employee engagement we mentioned above.

Whatever your goals are with ERGs, view their creation, management, and budget through that lens. This will help you make more effective decisions about how they work and influence what you get out of them. This is key when it comes to employee resource group guidelines.

Tie them into organizational goals

How can you tie your ERGs into the company’s goals? 

For instance, if your goal is to increase diversity among new hires, would setting up ERGs for underrepresented talent, and including them in employer branding materials, help you show that you’re serious about your commitment and there’s a community waiting for them to join?

Considering how the groups can play other roles in helping you achieve business goals in the long- and short-term is core to employee resource group guidelines.

Support them financially

If an ERG wants to go on a trip or hold an event, can you support that financially? Giving them a budget shows that you see their value and want to support their continued growth and development.

Events and trips are great ways for members to interact in person. They can learn new things, visit new places, or just get a change of scenery. If you want to follow best practices for employee resource group guidelines, you have to put your money where your mouth is.

Create rules around fairness and inclusivity

You know when you request to join a Facebook group, a popup asks you to agree to the group rules? Things like no spam, be polite to everyone, etc.? You want something like that for your ERGs, too. Some employee resource group guidelines for within your groups, essentially.

ERGs should be safe spaces for everyone where they can be treated with fairness and respect. Having those rules in place acts as a reminder and a safety net. 

It’s not to say you think the worst of anyone by having them just in case. But you protect yourself, group leaders, and vulnerable members from being bullied if sensitive topics get raised. 

Employees should be able to have difficult conversations with each other and disagree amicably without the conversation becoming rude or offensive.

Talk about them!

If employees don’t know that your ERGs exist, they’re not going to join them. Let alone use them.

Introducing your ERGs should be a part of onboarding for any new employee. As should encouraging them to join any groups they feel are relevant.

But it shouldn’t be a case of sharing about them once during onboarding them forgetting about them. Employees learn a lot in their first few weeks on a job and may not have the bandwidth to join right away. That doesn’t mean they won’t want to join later, though! Keeping that door open is central to employee resource group guidelines.

Encourage their use

It helps when leaders encourage employees to join ERGs, reminding them that they’re there during company meetings, sending updates via email, and sharing their successes.

It’s also important to encourage ERG leaders to talk about them and invite people who might be interested in them to take part. Not in a pushy sales way that risks putting people off, but in a way that shares why it’s a welcoming, inclusive place.

Leaders also need to actively start and respond to discussions, as this will encourage others to take part. If leaders don’t participate, employees won’t see the point either, no matter how many other employee resource group guidelines you follow.

Conclusion

ERGs can be hugely beneficial for companies of any size. For larger or remote teams they’re especially effective at connecting employees who may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. 

They also have huge potential to create networking and career growth opportunities for employees at all levels when run by the right people and supported by a company’s leaders. Following these employee resource group guidelines can help you make the most of yours.

Make managing your ERGs a breeze

The benefits of ERGs might be tempting, but the challenges of running them might be intimidating, too. 

Workrowd can help you organize and track your employee groups so that you and your employees get more out of them. 

Ready to learn more? Visit us online or write us at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to chat.

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Employee Experience

Benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience

A positive digital employee experience is more important than ever. It can act as a differentiator between you and your competitors, and as a way to retain employees. Especially as more and more companies insist employees return to the office with vague reasons like it improving collaboration.

The truth is that most employees prefer a hybrid model. This is more accessible for people with caregiving responsibilities or chronic health issues. It also helps fight off the loneliness that can come from working at home all day, every day.

To ensure that employees are successful, no matter where or when they work, you need to provide a positive digital employee experience. So let’s look at the benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience, and how to do just that.

Benefits of providing a positive digital employee experience

Here are some of the benefits of a positive digital employee experience:

Increased productivity

It’s only when we have the right tools that we can do our jobs to the best of our abilities. Lacking the right tools can lead to frustration, disengagement, and a reduction in productivity.

Higher employee retention

If employees don’t feel like they can do their jobs in the way that they want or need, they’re not going to stick around. Providing them with the right tools is key.

It’s worth noting that some people will prefer slightly different tools. Consider if it’s worth making these changes to retain talent.

For instance, in marketing, there are countless SEO-related tools. Many do similar things but most marketers have their preferences. Is it possible to change tools so that the employee feels more comfortable using the tool rather than lose them because they get frustrated?

Improved talent attraction

When candidates see that you have a positive digital employee experience, it makes them more likely to want to work for you.

No one wants to work with companies that still use fax machines and pagers. Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if a company like that still existed somewhere. (I worked for one that still used fax machines 10 years ago. Up until that point I’d never seen one.)

Using old-fashioned equipment suggests you’re still in the dark ages in other ways, too. For instance, the way you treat employees or your expectations of them, and maybe even your pay equity.

A positive digital employee experience is more accessible, helping you to attract a wider range of talent. This includes people who have a disability, are neurodiverse, have caregiving responsibilities, or prefer working from home.

Better/smoother communication

There’s nothing worse than trying to contact someone and finding out that you can’t. Or when a message won’t send, or there’s some other issue.

The right communication tools will enable you to provide a positive digital employee experience for everyone. There are so many options now that there’s something suitable for every way of working and budget.

How to provide a positive digital employee experience

So, what do you need to support a positive digital employee experience?

Communication tools

For a digital workforce to be effective, they need effective communication tools. Slack, Teams, and an email provider like Google or Outlook keep employees connected. That way, they can contact each other even if they work at different times or in different time zones.

Video tools are also helpful, particularly for demos that may require screen recordings. Or when someone is sharing information and finds it easier to explain when speaking rather than writing.

Many of these tools now integrate so that you don’t need to switch between apps to share videos or sync calendar appointments.

CRM

A CRM can be a useful tool for more than just sales teams. Marketers and more can benefit from a CRM that they can use on their phone, laptop, or tablet. 

A CRM keeps all the information they need in one place, making it easier to find and sync between colleagues.

Calendar/scheduling tool

A calendar/scheduling tool, such as Google Calendar and/or Calendly, ensures that your employees can connect with each other at the right time. 

Employees are in control of when they’re available, and it’s a seamless experience for their colleagues to schedule a meeting with them. This reduces the carbon footprint of sending emails to organize meetings. Plus, it makes it a quicker, less stressful process for everyone, leading to a more positive digital employee experience.

Hardware

The right device(s) ensures that an employee can work from anywhere. And I use the word “right” because sometimes, a laptop is slow or not fit for purpose, which can cause hurdles when an employee tries to do their job.

For instance, a software developer requires a powerful computer to complete their work. If they don’t have the right sort of laptop, it can slow them down, lead to frustrations, and be a reason that they quit.

ERGs

ERGs are the perfect way to keep employees connected. They help them form bonds with colleagues who have similar interests or backgrounds, as well as making it easier for them to network and problem solve.

Utilizing an all-in-one platform like Workrowd can help you take your ERGs to the next level, keeping everything in one place and maximizing participation and engagement.

Surveys

It’s impossible to get everything right, which is why collecting feedback is so important.

Sometimes, employees don’t feel comfortable raising issues in person. But, they do feel comfortable answering an anonymous survey.

Feedback can help you benchmark what’s going on in your company based on the internal results that you get. It can then lead to you providing a more positive digital employee experience.

Want to send more efficient, effective feedback surveys? Workrowd can help! Our platform sends automated surveys and analyzes the data automatically so that you’ve got more time to implement change. Get in touch to book your free demo.

Conclusion

A positive digital employee experience can make your employer brand stand out. It’s key for attracting top talent and retaining them. 

It requires investing in the right tools so that employees can perform at their best. It also requires trusting employees to do their best work.

If you’d like help providing a more positive digital employee experience, get in touch today to book your free Workrowd demo. Our all-in-one employee experience platform ensures everyone has seamless access to the best your organization has to offer. Visit us online or email us directly at hello@workrowd.com to schedule some time to chat.

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Categories
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

5 strategies to better empower women in the workplace

Women in the workplace still face barriers, despite 56% of women taking part in the US job market. Globally, 59% of women in the workplace face non-inclusive behavior. This can come in the form of being rejected for flexible work opportunities, intentionally sexist interactions, or more subtle discrimination.

Roughly two-thirds of women in the workplace are looking for new opportunities. This presents a challenge to employers. They must find ways to retain female employees so they can continue to benefit from their knowledge and diverse viewpoints.

So, without further ado, let’s explore some ways to empower women in the workplace:

Pay equity

Do the women in your organization get paid the same amount for the same job as their male colleagues? Is it time for a pay bump?

UK retailer Next risks closing stores—and potentially going bankrupt—because the UK courts have ruled that it didn’t pay women in the workplace as much as male workers.

It now has to pay back almost $40 million to 3,540 past and present female workers.

Its reasoning for paying less to female workers, who predominantly work on the shop floor, is that warehouse workers had to work undesirable hours and lift heavy items. Yet retail workers are on their feet all day, dealing with all kinds of customers. And also sometimes have to lift heavy items.

The Tribunal did say that Next’s behavior wasn’t a case of “direct discrimination.” Instead, it was about cost-cutting. However, it still didn’t think this was a justifiable excuse.

Times have changed. Excuses like Next’s just don’t cut it anymore. Putting profit above all else isn’t good enough. Businesses that do that will lose employees and customers.

Make sure your employees are paid equally for similar jobs so you don’t end up like Next.

Mentoring

Mentoring can be an effective way to connect women in the workplace. It can give them a leg up, particularly in more male-dominated industries. It can also equip them with more support to help them navigate challenges. 

Moral support from someone who’s been there before is beneficial for people of any age. It can help with employee engagement and retention, even increasing the number of people who finish training programs.

However, 71% of executives choose to mentor people who are of the same race or gender. Which presents a problem when men hold 72% of C-suite positions. So it’s crucial that you build a leadership team that reflects the type of workplace you want to develop. Diverse workplaces take work to build and maintain—they don’t happen by accident.

(And let’s not forget that gender quotas do not mean the people you hire are less competent. Quotas merely weed out the incompetent.)

Employee resource groups

ERGs are a really good way to connect people with colleagues who share similar backgrounds and experiences. So, creating groups for women in the workplace can make a big difference for your female employees.

ERGs can be a place for them to share concerns, learn about how your benefits work for women and families, and just talk about life in a safe environment.

Plus, with access to the right tools, like Workrowd’s employee group management suite, you can ensure your ERGs drive real value for women in the workplace.

Flexible working

So many women can’t return to work because they can’t find a role that fits around childcare.  This is despite 8% more women than men having bachelor’s degrees by the age of 29.

Childcare is expensive, especially in some countries. And sometimes, even if a mother wants to return to work, it isn’t financially viable. Childcare would cost more than they earn in a month. But having a flexible working arrangement could make it all doable.

There’s no downside to offering flexible working. Whether that’s altering someone’s hours, offering a job share, or allowing employees to work remotely. 

Surely what matters at the end of the day is how well they perform in their role, rather than where they perform their role from?

Open communication

How do you know if you’re providing women in the workplace with what they need if you don’t ask them?

Needs change over time, which means if you’re not in regular contact with employees, it’s possible that something might’ve changed but they don’t feel comfortable raising it. If they don’t feel comfortable raising it, they’re more likely to leave if another opportunity comes along.

So make sure that managers regularly check in with their employees, send feedback surveys, organize events where they can meet colleagues, pay attention to what people say in ERGs, and maybe even organize focus groups to ensure you’re getting the full picture.

The more avenues you have for open communication, the more likely you are to find the information you need to empower women in the workplace.

Leaders also need to model this behavior. If they don’t encourage open communication, and create a psychologically safe workplace, no one will feel comfortable discussing their issues for fear of reprisals.

Conclusion 

Empowering women in the workplace is simple: pay them what they’re worth, help them connect, and keep communication open.

The more you do those things, the more it creates a positive cycle for women in the workplace and your business. 

Women get the support they need, financially and socially. Meanwhile your business gets the extra skills that come from having a more diverse workforce.

Support women in the workplace

Support the women in your workplace with Workrowd. You can manage and measure ERGs; collect employee feedback; and create a more engaged, empowered workforce. Get in touch today by visiting us online or emailing us directly at hello@workrowd.com to book your free demo.

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Employee Experience

4 employee experience challenges and how to solve them

In today’s complex world of work, your organization is bound to encounter employee experience challenges. Finding ways to overcome them is crucial to your success.

When a company invests in their employee experience, they’re four times more profitable than a company that doesn’t.

From remote work to mental health awareness, and psychological safety to recognition at work, there are lots of things companies can and should do to resolve employee experience challenges.

And, in turn, boost retention and profits.

So let’s take a deeper dive into some employee experience challenges and how to solve them.

Remote working

Most employees want to work remotely or take a hybrid approach. Very few want to work form the office all day, every day. This can contribute to a healthy work-life balance, something that 72% of employees feel is important for career success.

Being able to work from home ensures employees don’t have to waste time on their daily commute. It gives them more hours with loved ones or just a chance to catch up on sleep. 

Remote work also allows more space for deep work without the distracting office environment. That includes needless interruptions from colleagues wanting to chat when someone is trying to focus.

Yet some managers are still afraid that employees won’t perform as well if they’re allowed to work from home some or all of the time. This issue lies with managers, not employees. It says that they don’t trust employees to do their jobs.

And if managers don’t trust employees to do their jobs, why did they hire them in the first place?

Managers need training to learn how to work on their trust issues. They also need to learn how to communicate with employees.

A more open, trusting workplace will accept that employees need to work in a way that suits them. That’s ultimately how businesses will get the most out of their employees.

Empowering team members with the flexibility to choose how they work is also a key way to overcome employee experience challenges.

Recognition

Have you ever achieved something that you’re really proud of, only for someone else to take all the credit for it?

Employees want to feel like they’re seen at work, and that their effort is appreciated. 

It doesn’t have to be through expensive presents or even a thank-you card. A Slack or Teams channel, or a dedicated krowd where people can give a shout-out to someone for their work can be enough for people to feel like they’re being recognized.

If you work somewhere people don’t feel comfortable recognizing someone’s successes, or praising people for their hard work, it’s time to take a look in the mirror and consider what your employee experience challenges really are. 

Why don’t you feel comfortable giving someone a virtual high-five? Do you only focus on criticizing others? If that’s the case, why?

And what can you do to change that, because it will inevitably just result in more employee experience challenges?

Mental health

Since we can’t see mental health issues, it’s really easy for them to get overlooked. 

It’s also easy for employees to hide how they feel—up to a point. They may try to mask their symptoms, but when they’re struggling mentally, it will inevitably impact their performance.

If employees don’t feel comfortable sharing their mental health difficulties, the fear of people finding out about them can eat at them almost as much as their mental health condition—making their condition worse and creating a downward spiral.

Work can be a trigger for mental health conditions, particularly in stressful roles or industries. Employees need someone they can talk to about this. That way they can express those emotions, rather than bottle them up and grow increasingly stressed and anxious.

Alongside training for management, it’s important to provide somewhere employees can discuss emotions openly, whether that’s in an employee group, on a listening platform, or talking to an external coach or mentor. It has to be somewhere that they feel safe to express their emotions without fear of reprisals.

If they don’t have access to such a space, you can expect to see the impact in the form of increased employee experience challenges.

Diversity and inclusion

I’ve had the rant about businesses that pay lip service to diversity and inclusion but don’t actually embody it before, so I’ll save you it this time.

The truth is, diversity initiatives work, even if they make people uncomfortable. Things like anonymous recruitment, or quotas, put some people off. But that could well be because these things challenge the status quo and try to change the power balance.

But hiring is only one part of the equation. People need to feel comfortable being themselves at work, too.

Inclusive company cultures can increase employee retention by 39%. That makes valuing inclusion no longer just a nice-to-have—it’s now imperative to business success.

Creating ERGs, where employes can discuss their personal experiences through the lens of shared demographics or backgrounds, can support DEI initiatives. They’re a way for people to feel seen and heard, as well as to build connections and therefore boost their feelings of belonging.

Allowing employees to talk about their own situations is also important.

For instance, too many disabled employees feel unable to talk about their conditions because people with disabilities are frequently discriminated against in the workplace. So it’s really no surprise how many people with disabilities are out of work. Even though we all have valid skills that can help businesses to grow.

Businesses need to find ways to adapt their hiring processes to make them more inclusive. They should also enable employees to talk about their unique employee experience challenges and find ways to resolve them.

Conclusion

A compelling employee experience is vital to business success. Unhappy employees are more likely to leave, and may well publish negative reviews online, too. Overcoming your employee experience challenges is key to current and future company success and to your employer brand.

You need to consider what employees really want and need from their roles. Then, hire people who embody the culture you want to create.

If you want a positive culture, you need to find out more about how new hires think. Or provide training opportunities to teach everyone what sort of culture you want to create. That way, everyone works from the same page to counter your employee experience challenges.

What do your employees need?

Find out what your employee experience challenges are and how you can overcome them with Workrowd.

Get a bird’s eye view of your whole employee experience, then drill down into each program, group, and event with real-time analytics. Our automated feedback surveys and always-on data collection help you get more information on what your employees want and need from their teammates, managers, and the business overall.

Plus, with the results analyzed automatically, you can save time and focus instead on making changes in response to your employee experience challenges. Get in touch to book your free demo today, or email us directly at hello@workrowd.com.

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Company Culture

5 tips for more effective conflict resolution in the workplace

Almost every employee will experience workplace conflict at some point. It wastes 2.8 hours per week for US employees, a total of $359 billion in paid hours. Which gives organizations 359 billion reasons why conflict resolution in the workplace is important.

In addition to wasting huge amounts of time, conflict in the workplace can negatively impact employee experience and mental health. It leads to awkward atmospheres, people walking on eggshells, and the employees involved not wanting to come to work.

That inevitably impacts their performance, too. Studies suggest it leads to a 12% reduction in employee productivity.

However, ¾ of employees believe that their direct manager should manage workplace conflicts more effectively. So there’s a skills gap that could be filled through additional training and increased awareness of the impact conflict resolution in the workplace can have.

It’s vital that companies find ways to resolve conflicts, as unresolved workplace conflicts can lower a company’s success rate by 20-30%. That could make a huge difference to a company’s performance in both the short- and long-term.

How to resolve conflicts at work

It’s inevitable that employees will disagree about things at some point, especially as teams grow in size.

However, managers need to learn how to handle conflicts with respect, allowing everyone to feel heard.

Employees, meanwhile, need to know how to be respectful toward their colleagues. They need to learn to disagree amicably without getting rude or personal.

Here are some tips to improve conflict resolution in the workplace:

Clear communication

Communication is a key pillar of success in any team. Managers need to be able to talk to employees in a clear way, and one that makes them feel recognized.

Employees, meanwhile, need to say what they mean without being rude or disrespectful to colleagues.

Giving everyone communication training—whether they’re in a conflict or not—can help with this, as it teaches everyone how to communicate in the same way.

This isn’t the same as encouraging groupthink. Some people will read into a conversation more than others, which is one way that communication conflicts can occur. When employees understand each other’s ways of communicating, and find a middle ground, it can help to remove or reduce some of the reasons why conflicts occur in the first place.

Accordingly, clear communication can form the foundation of effective conflict resolution in the workplace.

Active listening

Active listening ensures everyone feels respected at work. 

Little things like not talking over each other, and repeating what someone has said, show that you understand. It also shows that you’re not spending more time thinking about how to reply than on listening to their point.

This is an undervalued skill, but it’s key to managing healthy relationships at work. It’s also, unsurprisingly, key to conflict resolution at work.

Even if someone’s suggestion isn’t the right fit, enabling them to be comfortable saying something will ensure they feel appreciated in the workplace and not invisible.

Compromise

Over a third of conflicts happen due to issues with style or strategy. This is inevitable when you’ve got different people from different backgrounds, with different ways of thinking, working together.

Managers need to come up with ways for employees to compromise on these different ways of doing things. However, they need to do so in a way where everyone still feels seen and heard. 

They also need to work out what the best course of action for the business is while maintaining psychological safety. It’s a fine line to tread, but one that’s vital to addressing conflict resolution in the workplace and keeping employees happy.

Targeted training

60% of employees haven’t received training on conflict resolution in the workplace. There’s a simple solution to this: more training.

Whether it’s coaching, mentoring, workshops, books, e-learning, or something else, the more training managers and employees receive on conflict resolution in the workplace, the easier it will be for them to react in a rational, not emotional, way to challenges that arise at work.

Training topics can include how to stop conflicts from escalating, how to ensure everyone feels heard, and how to keep debates respectful.

Respectful discussions

People will always have different opinions. In some cases, that can lead to more creative problem solving.

However, it can also cause more conflict if employees aren’t taught how to challenge each other in a respectful way.

When challenging ideas, discussions should feel like just that: discussions. Not attacks, or people shouting at each other. 

As soon as voices get raised, or emotions come into play instead of logic, it can lead to people feeling attacked, decisions being made based on what people want rather than what the business needs, and at worst, accusations of workplace bullying. No one wants any of that.

Respectful discussions only happen when people feel psychologically safe and have the right training. 

An element of this comes from managers leading by example. For instance, keeping their tones neutral and their emotions out of the conversation. 

This then has a ripple effect on employees, who follow that example. They can use the same techniques to talk to colleagues even if they disagree.

Positive conflict resolution in the workplace doesn’t just happen on its own. It generally needs to be taught, then reinforced by example.

Psychological safety

When employees feel psychologically safe, they’re not afraid to be wrong. That means they’re less likely to get defensive over their ideas or feel attacked when someone disagrees with them or questions their suggestion.

It’s also important that employees don’t feel like they’re going to be punished for making mistakes. The risk of this is that people are afraid to speak out when they see something going wrong. They may worry they’ll get blamed and be reprimanded for it.

The more secure employees feel, the more comfortable they’ll be in their roles. Then, they’ll be less likely to take out any fears they may have on their colleagues.

This reduction in fear can help foster healthier conflict resolution in the workplace.

Conclusion

Unresolved conflicts at work can impact your business’s long-term success. The key to conflict resolution in the workplace is more training for managers and employees so that they don’t take these discussions personally. Instead they’ll be respectful debates where everyone feels heard.

Get employee insights faster

Want to elevate conflict resolution in the workplace across your organization? Workrowd can help! With deeper visibility across your employee experience, including automated surveys and real-time analytics, you’ll always have your finger on the pulse of your people’s needs.

Empower your team to take action faster and nip conflicts in the bud. Get in touch today to book your free demo. Visit us online or send us a note at hello@workrowd.com.

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Learning & Development

5 innovative reskilling ideas to help your team level up

By 2026, up to 1.4 million workers will need reskilling. For 70% of those people, it will be because their jobs have become obsolete.

Those are some pretty scary numbers, particularly for those of us who are wary about the rise of AI.

But alongside that comes opportunity. Learning new skills is good for our physical and mental health.

Reskilling also provides businesses with the opportunity to retain internal knowledge and maintain company culture. It enables them to keep employees whose jobs may become obsolete but who can be reskilled to work in other areas.

41% of employers plan to focus reskilling on high-performing employees, showing how much their attitudes and knowledge are valued despite the changing world of work.

However, just 30% of employees whose roles are most likely to become obsolete have had training in the last year. Businesses need to act sooner rather than later to stay ahead.

What’s more, 74% of employees are ready for reskilling or retraining, providing businesses with the perfect opportunity to avoid needing to rehire when the time comes.

What is reskilling?

Reskilling is the process of teaching an employee an entirely new skill set, unrelated to their current role. It’s in contrast to upskilling, where people learn skills related to their current role.

For example, reskilling would be a graphic designer learning to become a software developer.

Upskilling would be a software developer learning a new programming language. 

For millions of workers though, upskilling is no longer enough.

Skills now have an average half-life of less than five years. That half-life is even lower in some tech areas at just 2.5 years. 

Reskilling is going to play a pivotal role in the future of work as industries become more reliant on AI and new jobs are created as old ones become obsolete.

Reskilling ideas

So what can you do to reskill your employees? Let’s look at some things to consider:

Identify key skills

What skills do you need to retain?

Consider technical skills your organization can benefit from, but don’t forget soft skills. These are vital to helping leaders support employees during times of change. They take time to learn and implement, and therefore should be core to your reskilling program. 

Skills like communication, giving and receiving feedback in an empathetic way, providing a psychologically safe workplace, and setting positive examples will all help employees feel supported and valued as they learn new skills.

Leaders’ soft skills are also what influence your company culture far more than their technical skills, so it’s vital to ensure that you retain employees who have these abilities so that your business doesn’t suffer in more ways than one.

Set up a mentorship scheme

Mentoring is a really good way for employees to learn new skills from someone with existing knowledge. It can be more hands-on than returning to a classroom, providing networking and growth opportunities in a real-world setting.

Internally, you can connect employees via employee groups, mentoring platforms, or via HR.

Alternatively, you could connect employees with people from outside of your organization. This can be helpful if you want to support underrepresented employees but don’t have the internal tools to do so.

Providing culturally competent reskilling opportunities is important.

Bring in outside support

Outside, objective support can help you spot internal knowledge gaps and avoid groupthink.

An external trainer or coach can tailor advice to your business while bringing in their own expertise that may still be relevant.

External support could come in the form of a one-off session, or long-term support like coaching or a structured program. 

It could also mean working with an external consultant who can identify areas for reskilling within your organization. Then, they can help train your existing employees in those areas.

Collect employee feedback

Some people don’t adjust well to change. Listening to your employees is key to keeping them engaged in times of change or challenge.

You could do this through feedback surveys, employee listening platforms, focus groups, or open-door policies. Different collection methods will appeal to different people. More introverted employees are less likely to talk to someone even with an open-door policy in place, for example, but they might feel comfortable answering a survey.

The more options you provide, the more likely you are to tap into different types of employees and opinions. This will give you the most well-rounded feedback that you can then act upon.

Set up ERGs

Employee resource groups are powerful tools to connect employees. They don’t just have to be for social reasons, though: you can use them as reskilling tools, too.

They’re a way for employees to find mentors, discuss what’s happening at work, share learnings, link to resources, and connect with people focused on reskilling in the same areas. All this support contributes to a sense of belonging in the workplace, reducing the worry that can come from AI taking people’s jobs and offering a sense of security instead.

Conclusion

Reskilling employees is more important than ever. It will help you stay ahead of your competition, provide a psychologically safe workplace, and prepare your business for the ever-changing landscape that we now live in.

Offering training opportunities supports employees’ wellbeing too, with all the benefits to mental health and brain power that come from learning new skills.

Support your employees’ reskilling needs and goals

What do your employees really think about reskilling? What do they want to learn? How can they connect with others who share their learning goals?

With Workrowd’s all-in-one platform, you can easily connect employees with an array of reskilling opportunities. Plus, with our automated surveys feeding into real-time analytics, you can maximize the ROI of every one of your reskilling efforts.

Workrowd empowers you to spend less time collecting data and more time taking action based on what your employees need. Get in touch to book your demo. Visit us online or reach out directly at hello@workrowd.com.

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Employee Experience

Cultivate a growth mindset to elevate your employee experience

In 2016, I had no idea what a growth mindset was.

Then, I read Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed and it changed my life.

I know, it sounds dramatic. But it’s true.

It changed my perspective on mistakes and learning and showed me a more engaging way to write nonfiction. I recommend that book to anyone who’ll listen, provided they’re not about to board a plane or have surgery.

Black Box Thinking is all about the difference between having a fixed vs. a growth mindset. It explores how a growth mindset can benefit industries—like the black boxes in airplanes. And how a fixed mindset can harm them, like the secrecy that can happen in the medical industry.

There’s really no downside to a growth mindset regardless of what industry you work in.

What is a growth mindset?

The concept of a growth mindset was coined by Dr Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset. (She’s also great if you want more book recommendations.)

In her book, she describes a growth mindset as follows:

“People believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”

In a fixed mindset, people believe that their skills and intelligence are innate and cannot be expanded no matter how much they practice.

A growth mindset means you learn from mistakes and don’t beat yourself up about them or let them hold you back. Even if we’re not good at something now, that doesn’t mean we won’t be in the future.

Writing poetry is a good example of both. Almost everyone I know—including writers—usually tell me they can’t write poetry.

But they tend to compare their poetry to what they studied at school (if they’ve even tried to write poetry at all).

The poetry they teach in school is only one form of poetry, though.

A student with a growth mindset might be more inclined to try writing poetry, even if they know that their first attempt may not be very good. They know that with practice and studying different forms of poetry, they’ll improve and may find a new way to express themselves. 

The benefits of a growth mindset for your employee experience

So how can cultivating a growth mindset benefit your employee experience? Let’s see:

Trust between colleagues

Trust between colleagues is vital to mental health and high performance. If employees don’t feel trusted, it can quickly lead to disengagement, quiet quitting, and eventually, actual quitting.

However, there’s a huge difference between what managers think about trust, and how trusted employees feel.

PwC’s recent Trust Survey found that 93% of businesses executives believe that trust improves bottom lines and 86% say that they highly trust their employees.

Only 60% of employees feel highly trusted. Yikes.

Businesses need to be mindful of this disconnect and consider how to improve it. Or they risk losing employees due to disengagement.

A growth mindset makes employees 47% more likely to trust their colleagues. This trust can lead to greater innovation, which helps organizations stay ahead of the competition. 

It also improves your retention rates, meaning you save money and have more to spend on other priorities.

Psychological safety

Risk taking leads to innovation and the ability to stay competitive. When an organization has a culture that encourages a growth mindset, employees are 65% more likely to say their employer supports risk taking.

A growth mindset means that if an employee makes a mistake, their boss doesn’t berate them but turns it into a learning opportunity. Then, they support them in avoiding that mistake in the future. They understand that all learning and development comes with some risk, but that it can only happen if employees feel supported in taking risks at work.

Trusting bosses understand that no employee is perfect and the best way to support employees isn’t to have a culture of burying mistakes and acting like they never happened.

More innovation

Innovation requires trust, and trust requires safety. These are key tenets of an organization’s growth mindset.

Less than half (49%) of employees feel their organization fosters innovation. In the current climate, as AI increasingly impacts our lives, having less than half of businesses support innovation is a little concerning. If a company isn’t innovating, at this point, it’s basically going backward.

Greater sense of ownership

Ownership helps employees feel like they belong in the workplace, which can mean they want to stay and are less likely to seek out new roles.

They can become loyal advocates for your organization and will work harder because they care about why they’re there.

In fact, when companies have a growth mindset, employees are 34% more likely to feel a strong sense of commitment and ownership at work. This demonstrates the power of encouraging learning and development at every level within your organization.

Conclusion

When a company has a growth mindset culture, it has a positive impact on everyone within the organization. It leads to greater innovation, which helps the business stay ahead of its competition and earn more money.

It also creates a better environment for employees, enabling them to feel more confident, creative, and psychologically safe.

Develop your employees’ growth mindsets 

So how do you help employees develop a growth mindset?

Workrowd can help you empower your team members with employee groups, programs, and events that expand their mindsets. With our intuitive one-stop shop, you can streamline employee processes, automate admin tasks, and track your progress with real-time analytics.

Get in touch today to book your free demo. Visit us online or email us directly at hello@workrowd.com.

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Employee Experience

Employee survey questions to drive real results in 2025

If you’re not careful about designing your employee survey questions, you won’t get the results you want.

A quarter of managers see employee surveys as a “checkbox” exercise. Over a fifth don’t even review survey results, and more than half review results but don’t take action.

Is it any wonder then that employees see feedback surveys as a waste of time?

But if you act on the results of a survey, it can make a huge difference to everything from employee engagement to retention to productivity.

So let’s take a deeper dive into employee survey questions and why surveys matter.

Why employee surveys matter

Feedback is an important part of growth for us as people.

It’s also important for any business to grow and succeed in both the short- and long-term.

If your business has a productivity problem, how can you identify the cause if you don’t ask the people working within your business every day?

Employees need to feel like they have a voice inside of your organization, otherwise you risk them becoming disengaged.

Every employee wants to feel like their employer cares about them. Asking for their opinions and feelings on a situation with thoughtful employee survey questions is a surefire way to make them feel valued.

Should you ask questions anonymously?

It doesn’t matter what your company culture is. People are more likely to be honest if they feel safe and secure.

When criticizing their employer, people are naturally going to feel nervous.

But no employer is perfect; there are always going to be issues employees want to raise but may not feel comfortable doing so with their name or face attached.

Anonymity provides protection from fear of punishment or penalization if they say something negative.

It also shows employees you really do value their feedback because it’s not about being able to check off who’s done the survey. It’s about collecting valuable information to help your business improve.

In addition, there’s always the possibility that people will respond to employee survey questions differently if their name, gender, race, religion, sexuality, disability status, or other protected characteristic is attached.

This unconscious bias happens in almost every business, so offering anonymity helps avoid this while still giving you the information you need.

Types of employee survey questions

To get the most useful results, it helps to ask both closed- and open-ended employee survey questions. That way, you get a balance of qualitative and quantitative data.

You can then compare the quantitative information in charts and graphs to show both internal and external stakeholders.

The quotes you collect from open-ended employee survey questions, meanwhile, provide you with vital information on what your employees would like to see change.

Closed questions

Closed employee survey questions don’t provide much depth, but they can give you breadth.

They don’t have to be yes/no, but the information provided should be quantifiable in some way, whether that’s numerically, on a scale, or something else.

Here are some examples of closed questions you could ask in your employee feedback survey:

  • Do you feel able to speak up if there’s a problem?
  • Are you happy in your job?
  • How long have you worked for the company?
  • Do you feel valued at work?
  • Do you receive company updates in a timely fashion?
  • Do you find your work meaningful?
  • Are your responsibilities clearly defined?
  • Do you feel management is transparent?
  • Do you feel your thoughts and opinions are taken seriously?
  • Do you see opportunities for personal and professional advancement?
  • Do you feel supported at work?
  • What training and support options would you like to see (e.g. coaching, mentoring, etc.)?
  • Are you happy with your benefits and pay?
  • Do you feel connected to the company’s mission?
  • Are you aware of the company’s purpose and does it resonate with you?
  • Do you get along with your colleagues?
  • Are you comfortable sharing your thoughts and opinions?
  • Do you feel you can be yourself at work?
  • Do you feel respected?

Open questions

Open employee survey questions are where you get your juicy information from. This is where you can find out what your employees really think and what they want from you.

It’s these types of questions where anonymous reporting can be beneficial. Employees will feel more able to share examples or information that they may not feel comfortable sharing with their name attached out of fear of reprisals.

Here are some examples of open employee survey questions you could ask in your employee feedback survey:

  • What’s your favorite thing about working here?
  • What’s your least favorite thing?
  • How do you feel about your team?
  • What could we do differently/better?
  • How can we support you in your role?
  • If you were CEO, what would you do differently?
  • How do you describe the company when talking to friends or family?
  • How would you describe the relationship between you and your manager?
  • How would you describe your work environment?
  • What does an ideal work environment look like to you?

Conclusion

The only way that employees will believe that surveys are more than checkbox exercises is when businesses start implementing real change based on the feedback provided in response to employee survey questions.

That starts, of course, with managers and HR actually reading the results.

While this can be a slow process, there are tools out there that can streamline it so that you spend less time analyzing and more time implementing. 

Asking employees what they really think helps improve your retention rates by giving you the chance to address problems before they take over. This gives you important opportunities to support your employees and make changes that improve your company culture, employee engagement, and job satisfaction.

As a result, employees will provide a better quality of customer service and are more likely to recommend your business to their network when you’re hiring.

If you’d like to automate the process of sending and analyzing your employee surveys, get in touch to book your free Workrowd demo. Visit us online or reach out directly at hello@workrowd.com.

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