Post Award Thoughts by Elise Bastian, Director of Culture and Talent Development
As many of you know, this week Earnest Machine’s HR department was honored with Crain’s Excellence in HR Awards winning in the Employee Experience, private company, category. Not only did this evoke a lot of emotion and reflection, it prompted many conversations among co-workers, friends, family and strangers. I loved talking about what it is that I do at Earnest Machine and sharing the myriad of reasons as to why we won the honor. Like my president said, it is not about the pool tables and food at work, it truly is about the connection you make with each and every employee.
My son came in with me to work this morning so we could later leave from the office for an appointment. He asked “What is the first thing you do in the morning?” He asked if I had to work on spreadsheets or log in to the payroll software. I told him to watch. And I got up and left my desk. He followed me around at a slight distance as I checked in with a few employees. I chatted with one who had brought in doughnuts to share with the office in thanks for her support while undergoing cancer treatment, joked with a few about their coworkers quirks, share weekend plans and also reintroduced my son to all of them. About 20 minutes later we were back at my desk. My son asked when I would actually start work. I told him I just had. I explained to him that it is so important to connect with my co-workers; make eye-contact with them, let them know I am part of their lives and they are a part of mine. This is my job – and I love it.
Developing a strong culture in a workplace sounds sometimes like an elusive dream. Where do you start? How do you know when you are heading in the right direction? How do you know who is on board? The answer to me is very easy: you see it in your employees’ eyes. My day to day consists of creating the opportunities to share moments with them. That is where the fun stuff comes in. Yes, we do have games in the office, but the important part is that we are the ones engaging with our employees to play them. We, are at the other end of the paddle, we are the ones kayaking with everyone, and then we are the ones they turn to when things are not all fun and games.
Many companies think paying for engagement activities is a great way to drive employee enrichment but if they are not active participants, making that connection, it is a loss ROI. Employee trust in leadership of the company will drive an amazing culture, create true employee engagement and will allow your business to thrive. So, do the fun things for your employees but be there with them. Be fully engaged with them. Make eye contact and let them know you care about them and in turn, they will care about you and your business.
Read more on our award here.