In a virtual world where human connections are scarce, fostering workplace relationships is more crucial than ever.
In a disconnected and virtual world, people crave human connections. For many people, March 2020 seems to have dragged on for more than four years, as work from home became the accepted norm.
Four years is enough time to develop research into the effects of working in an environment that is isolated from colleagues, one that has no water cooler chats or shared lunches.
“Statistics across various sources show that, in this new workstyle, 69 percent of employees don’t feel a strong connection to their colleagues, a quarter don’t feel like they belong in the company, and half of all staff resign because they don’t have a sense of belonging,” says Roland Glass, Chief Commercial Officer at Kindred Technology.
Research from Gallup, initiated in 2022 and updated this January, shows that having someone you can consider to be a “best friend” in the working environment is important for several reasons, including mental wellness.
A best friend at work is someone who you can call when you just need a chat, or who you can grab a coffee with. Ideally, you should be able to share workspaces such as working from each other’s homes. While this is still a professional relationship, it’s one that closely mimics the sort of friendship that would have developed naturally in the office.
Gallup’s blog indicates that there are a few reasons for having a close colleague at work, including for social and emotional support, staying connected to the team and being able to ask any questions even if they seem dumb, as well as not wanting to let your close teammate down. Being valued at work is important as feeling that your teammates don’t appreciate your contributions leads to stress, says Roland. He adds that human connection helps people deal with work pressure as well as conflict.
“There are business advantages to encouraging these relationships. People who have a close connection with a human being, instead of just engaging via screens, are more likely to be productive,” says Roland.
Roland adds that there will also, as a direct consequence, be collaboration among team workers, leading to creative ideas that could result in a different way of looking at a challenge, and solving for a solution.
Mimicking an office environment, in which colleagues would typically bounce things off each other, is difficult in a virtual world. However, having a close relationship with someone on the same team means that you can get as close as possible to this environment.
Perhaps more importantly, Gallup’s research shows that those who have a close connection with someone in the same company are more likely to view the business in a positive light, speak highly of it to others, and are less likely to leave.
“This is important because it costs substantially more to replace a staff member, especially in a high-demand sector,” says Roland. “It’s also important to consider that this cost isn’t just a payroll number. It also includes training, which is hard to quantify, as well as the hours spent on searching for and interviewing candidates,” Roland adds.
A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that replacing a staff member will cost the equivalent of six to nine months of an employee’s salary to find and train the new hire.
This, however, could be the low end of the range, with a study conducted by the Center for America Progress indicating that the cost of losing an employee can be anywhere from 16 percent of their salary for hourly employees, to 213 percent of their income for a highly trained position.
The Society for Human Resource Management suggests going back to basics when developing a retention policy – all the way back to onboarding.
A personally tailored, connection-driven, approach to onboarding new staff that helps them feel at home while also ensuring that they have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities, as well as a potential development path is vital.
It’s important to ensure that new hires feel secure and welcome in their new company, especially as work now needs to be managed in conjunction with home lives, which could see colleagues working odd hours. “Thorough onboarding means that staff members will feel invested in the company and will do their best, and plan accordingly when it comes to balancing home and work,” adds Roland.
It isn’t, however, always possible to forge connections in person. That’s where Enboarder comes in. Just as technology made it possible for people to attend conferences hundreds of kilometres away without getting on a plane, so too is it possible to help colleagues work almost as closely as they would across desks in a virtual environment.
The automation platform helps HR and recruitment teams create interactive onboarding journeys through using solutions that make new hires feel welcome and concepts such as gamification that helps to ensure current staff are retained. “Enboarder lets companies onboard staff in a way that is personal, exciting, and unique to them,” says Verna Agenbag, Customer Success Lead at Kindred Technology.
“The process is done through vibrant and interactive tools that make people feel right at home and immediately connected,” says Verna.
In this way, companies can ensure that, from the get-go, employees feel welcome and have that human touch that helps them feel like they belong, says Roland. “This will immediately improve productivity and retention, key aspects for companies in the current socio-economic environment.”
