Happy Friday Newsletter
We hope you’ll take a shot at a big win this month, and in the months to follow.
Happy Friday!
As we near fall and say goodbye to summer, AWP is focusing on September’s theme of “Win.” To win is “to get something of value through great effort.”
Every employee knows that they need to put in good effort to succeed at work. Individually, each team member knows what it means to win. But what our people really need to help them win is support through leadership, teamwork, and communication. If you want to create a winning team, focus on these actions:
- Set goals that align with your purpose. What does your team want to accomplish? Are they working to beat last quarter’s sales goals? Are they looking at higher client retention? Teams should know exactly what outcome is being sought after, have a step-by-step game plan, and each member should know how their efforts will contribute to achieving those goals. Linking the goal to the purpose gives the “why” to what employees are doing. Motivation and sense of meaning rise when employees see their hard work contributing toward team goals.
- Up your communication game. Everyone can feel how poor communication causes confusion and stress. That’s why teams need a constant focus on identifying communication breakdowns and fixing them. Ensure that team members understand their roles and how their responsibilities shape outcomes. Encourage everyone to ask clarifying questions at the first sign of confusion. Recognize team members who immediately go for help when confusion stops their progress.
- Establish psychological safety and trust. We talk a lot about psychological safety at AWP. “Psychological safety” at work simply means feeling like you can perform your duties and communicate openly without worrying about being made fun of, bullied, or experiencing other harmful communication. Losing psychological safety leaves employees hiding from others, afraid to communicate, and likely to gradually accomplish less and less. But when workplaces have a high level of psychological safety, people feel safe to express ideas, admit mistakes, and take risks without worrying about negative consequences. Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities that allow for growth, not as total failures. Employees are more likely to take a risk if they know that mistakes won’t be punished—and a smart risk could be the one that helps the team reach its goals. Feeling safe to share ideas with each other also promotes creativity and innovation that may be stifled otherwise.
- Don’t forget to celebrate the wins! When the team communicates well, comes up with the ideas that change the game, puts plans into action and meets the goals it—becomes time to celebrate. Celebrating boosts morale in the moment but also has longer lasting effects. It motivates employees and makes people feel more dedicated. They’ll also show greater confidence and pride in their work. Best of all, they can reflect on what made their work successful and apply it to future projects and goals.
We hope you’ll take a shot at a big win this month, and in the months to follow. Just remember that the best way to Win at work is by putting teams first.
Our best,
The Amazing Workplace Team
Did you know…
Your workplace can win awards, and even Amazing Workplace Certification, by conducting our flagship Happiness Conversation?
The Happiness Conversation isn’t like a regular survey. It’s a fast and friendly process that employees can do in less than 15 minutes, and it feels like a comfortable chat. After conducting a Conversation in your workplace, you’ll have insights into every dimension of work, with instant views on what’s working and what needs improvement.
Depending on the results of your Conversations, your organization can receive awards, recognition, and even Amazing Workplace Certification. You can easily share the news with the world by sharing your featured status in our Amazing Workplace pages.
Ready to get insights and build reputation? Send us an email now!
Feeling like there’s too much paperwork at work?
HR Made Easy can help
Struggling to get people to read their employee handbooks? Unsure if employees have completed all of their required trainings? If you think they have, are you really sure, or do you need to dig through those boxes of files in storage to be certain?
Don’t worry! Amazing Workplace has you covered with HR Made Easy.
Our beautifully designed and user-friendly platform handles all of your compliance and training needs. With HR Made Easy, you can send out notices and agreements to employees in one, friendly employee portal. Employees can complete required trainings, read their employee handbook, review job descriptions, and sign work related documents in one spot. And you’ll easily see whether it is done or not.
No need to sift through endless paper files in the office’s file cabinets!
Amazing Insights
To build on wins, learn how your people like to be recognized
There’s no debate that employees want and expect recognition and appreciation at work. But a recent survey and study from Deloitte reveals that employees have various preferences about how they want that recognition and appreciation. Some people want to be recognized by name in front of others, while some would prefer private recognition or a simple thank you. Many employees are most interested in getting recognition from senior leaders.
The best practice is for leaders to learn these preferences through candid communication and observation. That way you can match the style of recognition to the individual. But when in doubt, recognize groups or teams all together for their successes, and give private, one-on-one appreciation and recognition to individuals.
