The importance of building community in the workplace

Admin • 2021.08.11

It is hard to define community building as a standardized, well-functioning process that can apply to every organization. Every company works differently, the hierarchical structure, the number of employees, and even the industry can influence the way a company is building its sense of community.

In this article we focus on two questions:

• why is building a community important?
• and how to get it done?

A good community at work can be more productive

Building a real community instead of a boring work environment will increase the productivity of team members. Suddenly, the former only work-related topics at coffee breaks might turn into personal conversations. The colleagues won’t necessarily become best friends (do not expect that), but they will start to feel better at the workplace.

It’s a common fear among managers that a (too) good work environment might cause a decrease in productivity because the employees will start having fun instead of working. The truth is the opposite. Establishing a supportive work environment

• helps introvert employees to open up to the community,
• empowers colleagues to start asking questions,
• reduce the rate of employee turnover,
• thus, building a community saves money from hiring and fluctuation costs.

5 ideas to improve the workplace environment

How to build a sense of community? First of all, as a leader, you should be in front of that change. Don’t expect that things will change without you showing an example. Open your door for your colleagues. Create an altruistic atmosphere.

You have to start at the beginning when it comes to community building.

Have a good onboarding process

Considering new employees, it all starts with a good onboarding experience. You have to introduce your company to the new hires beginning with the company culture, the values, and the motivation of the corporation.

If you share the right values and also show during the onboarding that your business is supportive and has clear career paths, then you are on a good way to reach employee engagement as soon as possible.

Discuss your current onboarding process with human resources!

Communicate the values of the company

Organizational culture is the root of a company. Having great communication about that is a great employer branding strategy. It’s important to not just communicate but do. Don’t say you care about nature, 

Choose a goal or multiple goals that can be engaging: 

• be eco-friendly,
• help the local community,
• have better healthcare plans and insurance than your competitors,
• fight against racism,
• and be the best in your industry!

Be supportive

Provide a work-life balance for your employees. Do not call them on Sunday and leave them to rest at 7 PM on weekdays. Give them responsibilities, make them have their own decisions. Don’t supervise too much.

Face-to-face interactions are also important: give feedback regularly: monthly, or every quarter.

Organize team-building activities

Social events, out-of-office gatherings will make employees feel more comfortable. Leaving their work will result in new topics to speak about, and of course: new memories to remember.

Social activities can create a strong bond between employees and management.

Healthy employees = healthy work community

Keeping employees healthy leads to visible results:

• a 27% decrease in sick days,
• a 5-11% increase in productivity,
• and even a 10% drop in employee turnover.

At Fitpuli, we are determined to help you establish a healthy work community. With our application, you can provide good healthcare plans and insurance to your employees. Besides that, our gamified features are also available for community building: you can organize a step challenge with our app. And the best thing is: even remote workers can join the competition.

Community building organizations can help

Sometimes the failure of management is inevitable because they think they have the time and resources to build a community. However, building a strong team in the workplace is not that easy. Good news: there are community-building organizations that will help.

Check our subscriptions and try our app to build a better, healthier community at the workplace!