A recent study found something very surprising: Nearly half of employees do not know their coworkers’ names. There are many excuses for this, including that some employees work remotely or in a different location or you work with so many people that you couldn’t possibly know them all. But what about that one guy? You know the one. He sits over next to Amanda, and though you nod hello every day, you simply do not know anything about him.
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This article focuses on just one facet of a report by Globant called “Powering A People-First Culture.” The goal of the research was to explore how digital experiences inspire commitment, engagement, and better performance among employees. Part of that exploration revolved around the human-human connections among employees and the role they play in a healthy culture.
Coworkers
Fifty-four percent of managers and 48% of nonmanagers say they are inspired to stay at their job because of their peers. Never underestimate the value of social interaction at work. That 15-minute chat your employees just had might be the reason they stick around. The survey also asked respondents if they felt that knowing their employees better would make them more engaged as team members. Eighty-three percent said they agreed.
CEO
Getting to know leadership—or, rather, how difficult getting to know leadership is—might be an indicator of retention. Just 5% of those surveyed said they remain at their jobs because of their CEO or other C-suite members. One way to view this is that employees don’t care about their CEOs. But you can weigh this against another finding: 55% said it was hard to get to know their CEO. Perhaps if employees had better relationships and felt less isolated from leadership, they would rate this as a reason to stay.
A Pathway to Better Employee Connections
Providing opportunities for your employees to get to know each other can make a big difference when it comes to improving engagement and building a successful culture. This article provides some insights into how to accomplish this.