More and more organizations are bringing their staff back to the office. I hear over and over that part of the reason is because the culture has suffered as a result of teams being dispersed. But here is the hard truth, bringing everyone back to the office won’t magically fix your culture or engagement problems!
Proximity does not equal productivity, and simply sitting under the same roof doesn’t breed a healthy, connected workplace.
If you think a return to the office is the silver bullet for a struggling culture, think again. Culture isn't built by mandating presence; it's fostered through intentional actions. And leaders need to prioritize fostering a healthy culture because it is often the thing that determines a workforce's performance and the organization reaching their goals.
Here are 5 things you can focus on to help establish, rebuild or strengthen your culture:
💡 Clarify Purpose – Make sure your team understands why they’re back in the office and how it aligns with the company's mission. Don’t expect engagement if employees can’t see the connection. Help them understand how important relationships are, the value of innovation and problem solving that often comes during impromptu collaboration, and the need for better management and support.
💡Strengthen Communication – Frequent, transparent, and genuine communication builds trust. If they’re hearing crickets from leadership, don’t expect excitement from the team. Communicate often. Be deliberate in providing information about how the organization is doing, how the employee pays a pivotal role in the team's success, and any changes coming.
💡 Foster Flexibility – Just because they’re physically in the office doesn’t mean you should scrap all flexibility. Give people some control over their work-life balance. Recognize that employees have gotten accustomed to working differently over the past few years. Giving a little bit of flexibility can help rebuild and strengthen the trust between the employee, leadership and the organization.
💡 Develop Leadership – Equip your managers with the skills to build relationships with their team, manage conflict, and support development. We see study after study showing employees stay with organizations and perform when they have good relationships with their direct supervisors. And if you are at the top of the organization, model effective leadership. Culture is shaped from the top.
💡 Prioritize Well-being – Show your people that you value their mental and emotional health. This isn’t just a feel-good practice; it’s about creating a supportive environment that recognizes the whole person. And that is critical to productivity, retention, and performance!
Leadership must intentionally prioritize a healthy culture. Failing to do so results in leaders having to spend a lot of time handling performance and behavior issues.
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