4 powerful techniques to build a strong sense of community

Have fun rewards in place

The concept of rewards is fundamental in creating a sense of community. Just as gaming websites use leaderboards, levels, and badges to keep players engaged and connected, businesses can employ similar strategies to build their internal community. 

This could include:

• Personalized achievements: Like unlocking unique cosmetics as part of exclusive clash CS2 cases, consider implementing an achievement system that recognizes individual milestones. It could range from work anniversaries to project completions.
• Peer recognition programs: Platforms such as Bonusly have shown that peer-to-peer recognition can increase employee engagement, with various studies and real-world implementations showing improvements ranging from 14% to 20%. Employees award points to each other for great work which can be redeemed for rewards.
• Healthy competition: Foster friendly competition with sales targets or innovation challenges. Celebrate winners in company-wide communications and with tangible rewards.

Incorporating these game-inspired strategies appropriately into the workplace ethos means companies can create an environment where employees are motivated not just by their paycheck but also by the camaraderie and recognition that comes from being part of a team.

Embrace transparency

Transparency has a ripple effect in fostering trust within a business community. 

So rather than keeping employees in the dark about how things are going, bring them into the loop with a few of the following:

• Regular financial updates: Share key financial metrics with team members, and also consider implementing transparency over pay. Given that modern employees are looking for more job opportunities 134% more frequently than five years ago, you can’t afford to shield anyone from honest figures.
• Open-door policies: Encourage management to maintain an approachable demeanor where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas and concerns without fear of retribution.
• Clear progress updates on goals: Whether weekly or monthly, updating your team on how close you are to collective goals keeps everyone aligned and creates a shared sense of purpose.

Transparent practices are a means of informing and involving employees in the company’s journey, making every success – and failure – a collective experience.

Cultivate collaborative cross-pollination

The cross-pollination of ideas and skills across different teams can lead to innovation that no siloed department could achieve alone. Just as diverse ecosystems are the most resilient, businesses that encourage cross-departmental collaboration create a robust community. 

This should include:

• Interdepartmental projects: Set up projects that require input from various departments, which can result in a 15% uptick in working speed and a 73% improvement in the end result, according to Deloitte research.
• Job rotation programs: Allow employees to spend time in other departments, broadening their understanding of the business and building interdepartmental relationships.
• Regular cross-functional meetings: Create spaces where different teams can share what they’re working on and seek input from unlikely sources.

Fostering an environment where knowledge is shared freely across borders within your company lets you help set up a community with diverse perspectives and communal learning at its core – which all leads down the road to rampant profitability as well.

Facilitate connections through storytelling

Storytelling may usually be talked about in terms of its customer-facing brand building and marketing potential, but it’s also a potent tool for bringing your internal community together. Here are some things you can do in this context:

• Share origin stories: Encourage leaders and employees to share stories about why they joined the company or pivotal moments they’ve faced. This builds empathy and a deeper connection among all team members.
• Host ‘Narrative Lunches’: Organize regular sessions where different team members can narrate personal experiences related to work or life.
• Celebrate customer success stories: Make customer triumphs part of your company lore, emphasizing everyone’s role in these successes, and thus reinforcing a sense of shared purpose.

Integrating storytelling into your business fabric fosters an environment rich with meaning and connectedness – where every individual contributes to the ongoing narrative of your organization’s journey.

Conclusion

People like to be listened to, and this is never more true than in the case of company culture-building. 

So as well as taking the aforementioned techniques and tips into account, it’s a good idea to move towards a stronger sense of community in your business by also checking up on how things progress once changes are made – rather than guessing that you’re on the right track without looking for unambiguous evidence of this.