If your organization boasts a people first culture, are the behaviours of your leaders consistent with the claim?
There is so much talk about creating an employee value proposition based in truth – one which reflects the genuine employment experience – yet the actions of many companies simply do not match their words. This can happen despite the best of intentions, and there are many contributing factors leading to such a gap including leadership misalignment, a lack of internal communication strategy or inconsistent people programs.
In our work with clients, we find it important to delineate between the EVP as it is being lived today, and the aspirational EVP of tomorrow. If you are striving to make cultural changes and have work to do in order to get there, the best approach is to be honest with your employees. Striving to become a better workplace is something your people can get behind as a team. Your rallying cry is what matters here – your words will either inspire or create unrealistic expectations, so you need to choose them carefully.
The week ahead is sure to be busy for everyone in your organization, whether they celebrate the season or not. Many colleagues will be trying to take vacation time while others may be picking up the slack. Personal priorities may be at odds with professional demands and many will have added stress due to family relationships or financial struggles that peak this time of year. Take a moment to consider how these issues will be culminating for your team. How are you leading through year’s end?
At Blu Ivy Group, we have decided to take a page from our own EVP and dial things down for a few days. Our team is full of highly committed people who love what we do. With a continuous improvement mindset, sometimes we need to gently remind ourselves to slow down a little. We know that when we give ourselves space for all aspects of our lives we can deliver our best work.
Whatever your message to your organization this week, make sure your wishes are authentic, achievable and heartfelt. All the best of the season to you and yours – however you choose to celebrate.