How can I fall in love with you if you never listen?

Written by Dawn Smedley, Head of Culture at WorkBuzz

It’s Valentine’s Day, and that gives me the perfect excuse to talk about love. That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you feel safe, appreciated, and like you belong.

Most people will tell you “a good listener” is one of the most important things you can be in any relationship. And that applies at work, too.

The workplace really can be somewhere we love – and somewhere we feel loved, too. But it all starts with listening to your employees, understanding how they feel and what they need from you, and acting on that information.

At WorkBuzz, we like to practice what we preach. We survey our employees regularly – using our own platform, of course – and ask them about their experiences at work and what we can do better. And we base all the decisions we make on what they tell us.

We also try to bring our personality and our humanity to every interaction we have with our clients and partners. We hear from them time and again that this is what sets us apart.

If you’ll allow me to indulge myself for a minute, I’d like to share some of the responses we had to our most recent employee pulse survey. Not only because I’m proud of the work we’ve done to build a company culture people love, but to show just how strongly your employees will feel towards your organisation if you get things right.

Guaranteed confidentiality is vital if you want employees to be truly open and honest in their responses – so, naturally, the following comments are completely anonymous.

We asked, “what’s the best thing about working here?”. Here’s what our people had to say.

“Supportive management and the people in general.”

 “The team and positive attitude from everyone.  I love how everyone is pulling the same direction.”

“Everyone is treated the same and you are valued/shown you are appreciated all the time. It creates a great working culture.”

 “I feel included, valued and heard by management and my colleagues.”

 “The team share an energy and drive to get things done. Everyone is happy to help each other to deliver their goals. It isn’t ‘us and them’.”

 “Having a shot at creating something special.”

 “Being on an upward curve and sharing in that excitement with colleagues.”

 “Our team – it makes me really proud when I look around! We have hired really good people, not just from a capability perspective but as rounded human beings who care and who are fun to be with. This also applies to the companies and partners we work with – they buy into this because in the most part they are, too!”

“Our ability to shape our own careers, learn more and grow a business together.”

“The team! I love it that everyone is valued, I like the fun atmosphere and the spirit of everyone working to take WorkBuzz on its journey.”

“Everyone supports each other to ensure that we all feel valued. I feel like WorkBuzz actually care about me as an employee rather than just being a number on a spreadsheet which is how I have felt in previous companies.”

“Having a supportive manager and my team. We go above and beyond to support each other and it means a lot. Not being micromanaged and trusted to do our roles and make it our own.”

WorkBuzz is growing at record pace on our mission to change the lives of one million workers around the world, but we couldn’t do it without our people. We never lose sight of that – and they repay us by propelling us forward with their creativity, positive attitude, and a whole lotta love.

If you want to foster these sorts of feelings towards your own organisation, I’d love to talk. You can reach me at dawn.smedley@workbuzz.com or on +44 (0)7596 228 968.