Let us first explain a little about the sense of organizational belonging.
What does sense of organizational belonging mean and how does it help an organization?
The sense of belonging is what makes the organization's forces think about the improvement of the organization, the growth of the group and its success, instead of thinking about the working hours and getting home faster. In fact, the sense of organizational belonging is exactly the opposite point of thinking that: I just have to do my job as much as I get paid.
The sense of organizational belonging is an experience of a sense of value, being liked and accepted in the work environment.
When employees believe that their contribution, effort and self-sacrifice are appreciated (feeling of worth), their superiors and the organization value them as individuals, not as a means to an end (feeling of being liked) and in the team, They have a place (feeling accepted) and produce better results. In addition, in an age where remote work or better, scattered work is common, if we are not careful, the destructive feeling of loneliness will overcome the sense of belonging.
Perhaps you have dealt with reputable organizations that have created a sense of belonging in their forces, and perhaps not; But based on experience, we can say that brands that prioritize creating a sense of organizational belonging, in addition to the many successes they achieve in their business and goals, are also pioneers in creating a healthy and enjoyable work environment, and human forces They are satisfied and happy.
Now let's see how we can create such an efficient organizational culture?
How to create or increase the sense of organizational belonging in employees, employees and team members?
1- Get rid of the feeling of being a stranger:
Many employees feel like strangers in their work environment. This makes them ignore themselves. The feeling of strangeness is painful for any person and brings a negative experience that affects the concentration and efficiency of the person.
2- Help your employees to know themselves:
Employees who know themselves and their strengths and weaknesses grow faster, communicate better with others, and are good advocates for their group. This self-awareness helps the team have a deeper connection and overcome challenges faster.
3- Inform your employees about the organization's short-term and long-term goals:
Before dealing with this solution, read the story of one client in his own words about his work experience in a private company: "About three or four years ago, I worked as a permanent employee in a company. During the few months that I worked in this company, there was nothing attractive and interesting that could attract my attention! It was just the tasks that were assigned to me and I did them. The problem was that the whole brand had no goal except to sell the product. I didn't even know how many million sales had reached our goal at the end of this month? This confusion and lack of motivation and not having a sense of organizational belonging was one of the most important reasons why I decided to leave that company.
It was until last year that I got acquainted with an educational group and observed their activities from a distance. I found it interesting that this brand had a short-term financial goal every month in addition to a long-term goal. What was more interesting was when you visited the company at the end of the month, you could clearly see the excitement that the forces had to bring the company to its goal. With just one small customer call, 3 members of the sales team would gather around the phone to make sure everything went smoothly and the prospect converted to a buyer!”
According to this experience, it can be said that the first step you need to take in order to create and increase the sense of organizational belonging is short-term and long-term goals. Lack of purpose is the problem that has the biggest impact on employee turnover. Most employees leave companies and institutions that have not provided a clear picture of their goals and how to achieve them.
Remember that after you have achieved the organization's goal at the end of each month, somehow make your staff happy and encourage them to be more motivated in the following months. p>
4- Work on communication between employees:
Besides the importance of the role of management and leadership in the organization, the most important issue that creates a sense of organizational belonging is the relationships that exist between the employees of an organization. In a successful organization, the forces have no problems with each other and are not jealous of each other.
You may imagine that the creation of a sense of friendship among the forces is realized by hiring understanding and reliable forces; But it is not! In fact, it is the leader and manager of the organization who must create this behavioral balance in the organization and, in addition to creating a sense of belonging, spread friendship among the forces; But how? Of course, acquiring this skill, like any other soft skill, has its own training. In short:
Teaching the troops conflict resolution methods, creating a series of rules to eliminate the atmosphere of absenteeism and cheating, training the troops to create healthy relationships and … They are one of the most important solutions.
5- Involve your forces in the work:
One of the best ways to create a sense of organizational belonging is participation. We can safely say that using this technique is seen as a great advantage even in organizations that have many problems. And it changes the results. In this way, you should involve the forces in the important activities of the organization with the aim of improving the results and of course creating a sense of organizational belonging. Let us tell you a story about a western company:
Years ago, the Davita company, which is active in the medical industry, was facing a bad situation and only at one point in time, half of its staff left it. After this incident, a new manager named "Kent Terry" entered the organization. Kent started a new management method. From the very beginning, by calling this organization a village, he involved all the forces in doing the work and increased their powers.
Even he asked for help from a team of several hundred members of the organization just to determine the name of the company! According to a reporter, if you gather all the members of this organization together and ask them, who does this organization belong to? They all shout in unison: "It belongs to us!"
Davita was able to revive this decaying company by increasing employee participation. According to statistics, the revenue of this collection reached about 12 billion dollars from 1.4 billion dollars, and its net profit, which was previously 30 million dollars, experienced a 20-fold jump!
Based on Davita's experience, we understand that if instead of hiding the details of the organization's work, you share the situation with the forces as much as possible and ask them to help you improve! You took the first step to create a sense of organizational belonging and improve employee performance. Holding brainstorming sessions with specific topics such as increasing sales, increasing income, improving employee conditions and … It is one of the other measures you can take to achieve your organizational goals.6- The time of strict managers is over. Don't take it too hard!
If you remember in the past, most of the strict and regulatory fathers were admired! Those who created a series of special laws, penal system and … They gave regular, studious and so-called regular children to the society; But today, it has been proven that this method of education is one of the worst possible methods and besides causing behavioral problems in the child, it also causes the loss of creativity.
Such similar conditions also apply to organizations. Today, a successful manager and leader is no longer a manager who sits in his office, frowns when he comes out, and responds coldly to others! In today's successful organizations, the forces that have a sense of belonging to the organization do not fear the manager, but see him as a friend. A friend who, while being disciplined and adhering to order, is interested in them, cares about their comfort and, in some situations, rolls up his sleeves to work if necessary!
We didn't say that you just wanted to eliminate rigid management behavior. Rather, our purpose of telling this technique of creating a sense of organizational belonging was to make you doubt your previous beliefs! Certainly, every manager and leader has a series of strategies for managing his organization that originate from his beliefs. Take a look at your own belief system and re-examine them; Maybe by changing one of these, you will see big changes in the organization.
7-Tell employees about the value of their work, not just their income!
The last technique that we want to mention about creating a sense of organizational belonging is related to the discussion of employee motivation. Part of the motivation of your organization's employees depends on how good their job position is, another part depends on how much their financial income is and how much they hope for their job.
But even all these things together cannot create motivation and, as a result, create a sense of organizational belonging. So what is needed to create motivation and a sense of organizational belonging? Create a platform of mutual reliance and trust.
Your forces need to know where they are in the world and what valuable work they are doing? Team members, departments, and decision makers all need to be on the same page so that they can understand the common goal of the unit. Why that goal is important and how they will achieve it together. Team members should be able to explain how their role will affect success or failure.
You will understand better with an example:
The director of the company that we mentioned earlier and told about the way they set goals, had a good skill in creating this motivation. This company operates in the field of selling personal success training. Their manager reminds the troops from time to time that each of you by selling an individual success training package, a conflict resolution training package or behavioral trainings and… You are saving a human being and even a family!
Such a goal makes other forces not work only for money and care about the value they create. In fact, they know that as this brand expands, as it grows bigger and as its sales increase, more people will be freed from awkward and uncomfortable situations! Or another example:
Instead of talking about the company's billion-dollar revenues, the CEO of DELL is proud in some interviews that so far many people have been saved from death and their lives have been changed due to access to the company's products and information. is.
Here, it is better to think about the question, what is the motivation of your forces to work in your organization? What effect will they leave on this world? Are they themselves aware of the effect they leave?
You must respect the curiosity of an employee who pays attention to the minutiae of his job. Encouraging and seeing these people in the team will bring great results.
8- Be grateful:
Most employees spend time working at home, on holidays and weekends. For this reason, it is necessary to recognize employees who prioritize the interests of the team or organization. This appreciation does not cost the organization and is very effective.
9- Create positive spillover and synergy:
Positive emotions are contagious. When employees feel healthy, their cognitive thinking and creativity improve and they are better prepared to face stress and failure. It is in such a work environment that talented people tend to work.
10- Use a tool for interaction and encourage socializing outside the work environment:
One of the main factors to increase communication is the use of an organizational tool that strengthens internal communication and communication with customers with the capabilities of instant messaging, online chat, work and project management. In addition to saving millions in the cost of commuting and paperwork, interactive tools increase the productivity of employees and always keep different departments of the organization and decision makers in the same mindset.
Most of the time, the phrase "combining work with fun" doesn't seem like a good idea, but to create a good working relationship in the workplace and increase team cooperation, combining work with fun outside the work environment is a unique idea that leads to strengthening It becomes mutual reliance, teamwork and communication.
Summary
Contrary to what many managers think, increasing efficiency in the organization in the current world conditions is no longer achieved by being strict and imposing scary and punitive laws. Organizations are more productive that have succeeded in creating a sense of organizational belonging among their employees! Therefore, spending some time to create a sense of organizational belonging and promote the behaviors resulting from this culture can be beneficial for the future. The organization should be very fruitful and fundamental changes in growth and productivity should be achieved.
Don't forget one point that we don't need to go strategically to increase the sense of organizational belonging. To achieve this goal, using very small or large moments of workplace experiences are always available, and as soon as employees feel the space of solitude, leaders and managers can easily create person-to-person communication. Simple things like calling and checking on employees make a big difference.
Also, due to the problems of human desires, organizations need to be determined to create and increase the sense of belonging. Probably, many people in the workplace are not aware of the impact of this feeling. When you decide to recreate this, some people resist. But remember that a sense of belonging creates passion in every human being.
Moving to create belonging can be costless in many cases and is a good reason to experience it and see its effects in the process of advancing the organization's goals.
If you have any comments about this article, we are waiting for you in the comments section.