Little-Known Ways to Build a Resilient Workplace

First of all, what is a “resilient workplace”?

The Oxford dictionary defines resilience as “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions”.

Partner this with a healthy workplace culture are those organizations that can bounce back and even prosper after a business disruption. How does this happen?

It starts with the organization’s willingness and readiness for change. 

Willingness is the organization’s ATTITUDE to change. More specifically this willingness correlates to management's mindset for change. Building a resilient organizational culture needs to start from the top. That said, we need to recognize that leaders are human beings like the rest of us. Leaders make mistakes and are far from perfect. Those leaders who acknowledge their missteps, ask a lot of questions and are transparent about business strategy will create greater team cohesion along the way. This cohesion is imperative when something goes sideways. This is where resilience comes into play.

Readiness is the organization's ABILITY to change. Once again, this readiness correlates to management's ability to change. When it comes to building a resilient workplace culture, there needs to be sound knowledge on how to approach this change. This may mean outsourcing a specialist who can support the organization in the change management process. Understanding what practices are in place versus what practices should be in place is key to knowing how to move forward. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. This goes back to leaders are human beings and cannot be an expert in every avenue of business. Be honest and recognize if this is an area that needs to be outsourced.

In addition to the willingness and readiness, there are four common elements to creating a more resilient workplace culture:

  1. Self-Awareness

  2. Anticipation of Challenges

  3. Strategies and Preventative Measures

  4. Building a Connected Community

SELF-AWARENESS 💭

PositivePsychology.com describes self-awareness as the ability to see yourself clearly and objectively through reflection and introspection. As a leader, how much of my true self can I share? Is emotion OK? What if I am triggered at work? These are common questions that arise when we talk about self-awareness. There are a number of self-directed resources available to support personal and professional development, but this could also be an opportunity to provide your leadership team with one on one or group coaching. Mindful HR Services specializes in workplace mindfulness facilitation in support of creating greater self-awareness.

ANTICIPATION OF CHALLENGES ⚠️

Look at both internal pressures and external pressures. Where are potential pain points that could contribute to workplace stress? Internally review your strategic plans. If you are a unionized environment, will you begin collective bargaining? Will there be a significant change in senior leadership, like a new CEO or Board Chair? It is equally important to look at external challenges. Can you forecast challenges that are external to your organization like the potential for economic fluctuation? Are your competitors growing? This may be a good opportunity to use a SWOT analysis to review your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Leverage what you have, look for areas of growth and although nothing is for certain, what is on the horizon that may disrupt your goals and objectives as you see it now?

STRATEGIES AND PREVENTATIVE MEASURES 📝

What preventative measures could be put in place to mitigate potential pressures? What tools and resources do you currently have that you can leverage? (e.g.) Employee and Family Assistance Plans, wellness programs, community engagement initiatives etc. What ideas do your employees have? This goes back to transparency of business plans. Talk openly about what you foresee as challenges and get your employees involved in problem solving. Online surveys, town halls or email communications are a few ways to instigate communication. If you are looking for a more robust tool, consider Crowdbridge. This is a crowdsourcing and forecasting tool that provides the opportunity for all employees to engage in online discussions with full transparency.

BUILDING A CONNECTED COMMUNITY 🙏

We are social beings and interaction is good for us. Building a workplace culture where we can count on each other for support creates greater awareness of the challenges of others. Leaders need to role model this behaviour. Those who support a connected community or collective care will contribute to a healthier, happier and a more engaged workforce. Some ideas are wellness initiatives like checking in on a colleague, nutrition challenges, meditation programs, and celebrating successes. Activities like this will support psychological safety where sharing is the norm. Here are some ideas on how to cultivate a culture where everyone feels heard, valued and appreciated.

While we cannot predict the future, we can work towards building a more resilient workplace culture through a variety of preventative and strategic actions. Those who have done the work ahead of time will be recognized as an employer of choice, will rebound and although there are no guarantees in life, perhaps even flourish after business disruption.

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