Between economic hardship, a shifting legal and political landscape, job and stock markets in constant flux, civil unrest, ongoing recovery from a global pandemic, and rapidly changing AI technology it’s safe to say that companies are still caught in a holding pattern of uncertainty that started with the pandemic five years ago.
Constant volatility doesn’t exactly make strategic business and workforce planning any easier. If your company and leadership team are struggling with change fatigue, your employees are as well.
It is important that leaders don’t allow survival mode to become the new normal. Since 2020, employee burnout rates have consistently remained above 50%, climbing as high as 85%, depending on the source. Burnout leads to lost productivity, increased turnover, and lower quality work, often destroying HR budgets in the process.
According to The Financial Times, chronic stress and employee burnout cause approximately 12 billion lost working days yearly, costing the global economy roughly $1 trillion. While these figures are alarming, they present an opportunity for NH employers who genuinely care about both the health of their bottom line and well-being of their teams.
What’s the opportunity? To make well-being a foundational component of your workplace culture, employee experience, and organizational strategy. In addition to endless data showing the significant benefits of this, it also ensures your employees are equipped to do their best work in a sustainable way. If you’re ready to make thriving and not surviving your new normal, empowered employees are the answer.
A Values-Driven and People-First Culture
Bringing a people-first and values-driven culture “off your walls and into your halls” is a recipe for resilience, especially in uncertain times.
With record numbers of employees affected by people shortages in their company—working long hours, and reporting increased mental, emotional, and financial stress—it makes sense that companies that put people first set the bar for success. Employers who invest in the health and well-being of their employees outperform their competitors by nearly every measure of success.
Among them is DEW Construction, a Maine-based firm with offices in NH and a fixture on Business NH Magazine’s Best Companies to Work For list for several years, with back-to-back years in the top 10. Their people-first and values-driven approach to business demonstrates a blueprint for companies looking to “Build What Matters Most” — a thriving company culture and employee experience.
Step 1: Identify and Embrace Mission, Vision, and Values
Thriving companies are built from the ground up on a culture and employee experience rooted in their mission, vision, and values. Your mission and vision should clearly and simply explain why you exist and where you hope to go in the future, and your values should guide how you get there.
Identifying your core mission, vision, and values is the crucial first step of this blueprint because they must be your North Star if you want to thrive, especially in uncertain times. “Our core values, mission statement, and vision statement are a direct contributor to the type of people that we have here. Our people love working for our clients, and our clients love working with our people,” says Taylor Woodward, president and CEO of DEW Construction.
Step 2: Develop Accountable and Supportive Leadership
When you integrate your mission, vision, and values into your day-to-day operations, you’ll naturally develop an accountable and supportive leadership model. A strong focus on and alignment with mission, vision, and values leads to aligned and transparent strategic planning, decision making, and communication.
This type of leadership is proven to encourage increased trust, collaboration, teamwork, innovation, and well-being, creating an environment where people feel valued and supported.
At DEW, leadership models their values of work-life harmony by prioritizing their own balance, taking regular time off, and encouraging their teams to do the same. Woodward expects his leadership team to submit at least one vacation request per quarter, so they don’t overwork themselves. This sets a strong example and makes it clear that personal well-being is highly valued and expected.
Step 3: Nurture a Values-Driven Employee Experience
The employee experience, which directly impacts the customer experience, begins in the hiring process and continues throughout an employee’s tenure at your company. Cultivating an empowering employee experience is an ongoing practice that directly affects a company’s ability to attract and retain the best talent in the marketplace.
Nurturing the employee experience can include prioritizing cultural fit in the hiring process, encouraging an “open-door” environment, holding regular company-wide meetings to ensure transparent communication, and regular 360 performance evaluations to encourage alignment with and accountability to the company’s mission, vision, and values.
It also includes giving employees opportunities to pursue professional growth through workshops, mentorship, and leadership coaching. When employees feel they’re building long-term careers at a company that values their experience, it improves job satisfaction, engagement, and morale, and minimizes turnover and burnout costs.
Step 4: Create a Culture of Well-Being
The final step in the blueprint for a thriving culture and employee experience, even in uncertain times, is to invest in employee well-being. This goes beyond offering traditional health insurance benefits and well-being activities like employee step challenges or company walks. Steps and walks are great, but well-being is so much more than that.
Employers should consider investing in employee assistance programs that support employee mental and physical health, financial planning, and child and senior caregiver support.
Another great investment is to offer paid time off specifically for wellness, just like you would do for volunteer time, that doesn’t count against employee vacation or sick time. Implementing culture clubs or lunch bunch groups, or setting up a corner for employees to show off their creativity are great ways to foster community and connection, which are both linked to well-being.
While it will look different at every organization, DEW gives us a great example of what a culture of well-being looks like in practice. “We expect you to make every soccer game, basketball game, or whatever it is with your kids. We expect you to stay home if you have a sick child. We expect you to be there if your loved one is going through something challenging. We’ve structured ourselves to have the necessary support to allow people the time they need without dinging their vacation time when they’re going through something tough,” Woodward says.
Building What Matters Most
While no company is immune to chronic stress and employee burnout, a blueprint exists to create a thriving culture and employee experience in any economy. The key is to figure out your mission, vision, and values and then take them off the pretty artwork hanging on your walls and breathe life into them in your halls. By prioritizing a people-first and values-driven culture and employee experience, you can attract and retain top talent, while minimizing turnover and burnout.
Jennice Chewlin, founder and CEO of Chewlin Group and one of Business NH Magazine’s 2024 Startup Stars, helps organizations with the health and well-being of their workforce. For more information, visit chewlingroup.com or contact hello@chewlingroup.com.
