Response HR

17/02/2023

Random Acts of Kindness Day 2023

In what ways will you be kind to yourself and others today?

17/02/2023

CULTURE MATTERS - GROWTH MINDSETS
Often our colleagues have more strengths than were initially apparent at point of recruitment, people really are greater than they think. When those become known, leaders should encourage them whenever possible. If you hired someone as an administrative assistant and find out they have an affinity and talent for writing, find ways for them to help with a marketing campaign or writing a piece in the company newsletter or for the website.

I always remember sitting in a company induction, after commencing a new role and the CEO came in to meet everyone and share some words of encouragement. One of the things he said was, go make some mistakes, in fact if you don’t make a mistake in your first 6 months here, this might not be the company for you. Mistakes, missteps, and unintended consequences were celebrated, both for the learning that they brought but also for the bravery it instilled in the workforce, the entrepreneurial spirit, to try something new, share ideas, step outside of your comfort zone even if it didn’t work out as they hoped.

EASY ACTION
Instead of chastising someone for making a mistake, discuss what they learned from it, something positive that came from it and opportunities to do better next time.

STEP IT UP
Work with your team on having a growth mindset, this allows us to look at areas where we can grow, rather than where we feel we have failed or have no aptitude. What we tell ourselves is so important, be mindful of the language you use, be kind and if it helps imagine you are talking to the 5-year-old you. We’re typically kinder to that version of ourselves, and unlikely to say, “you are so disorganised!” and more likely to say “let’s work on our organisational skills”

ACTIVITY
Be the Change
At the beginning of this month, ask the team to think of an area where things could be improved at work. It can be a physical space or an effort in creating a better culture, for instance, making the break room more inviting by adding colour, or the office environment tidier etc. Task each person (or ask for volunteers) with something they are going to do to make the improvements happen and encourage team members to work with each other towards the end goal. At the end of the month, celebrate accomplishing the task!

16/02/2023

CULTURE MATTERS - SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
Make space for open discussions in the workplace. When you encourage open dialogue, you create opportunities to better understand each other, to build stronger more collaborative relationships and it typically generates new ideas too. In order to promote a safe and positive environment for the whole team, develop a system where everyone gets the chance to voice their ideas and opinions, build in a feedback mechanism too so the team know that their ideas and feedback have been listened to and are considered / actioned.

EASY ACTION
Change your meeting structure to allow for everyone to have an opportunity to speak and voice an opinion or a new idea. Thank them for sharing.

STEP IT UP
Try spending time together outside of work, if possible, even on a lunch break. Your employees are human, and as such they enjoy social time too. Take time to do a non-work-related activity together. Create ways to engage with each other and get to know one another on a more personal level. This can help rejuvenate the team while creating bonds and stronger relationships. When your team feels comfortable with each other, it creates a positive and safe working environment.

ACTIVITIES
A Little About Me – An activity which is great for new teams or where there have been changes.
At a team meeting pass a bag of sweets around and ask each person to “take as many as you need, but don’t eat any yet.” That’s all you will tell them. If they ask, just repeat the instruction. Once everyone has some sweets, ask them to share one unique thing about themselves for every sweet they took. Important Note – it might be best to avoid sweets with peanuts, you don’t want to find out about a peanut allergy during this activity!

Best Future Self
To understand your team’s future career goals, and to better support them, ask your team to write down their best possible future at work, writing it down will make it more likely to be realised but helps you to support them and demonstrates that you are taking their career aspirations seriously. You could do this by asking; In an ideal world, three years from now, at work:
1. What projects are you working on?
2. Who are you working with?
3. What position do you hold?
4. What else is going on in your career that is contributing to your fulfilment and success?

Return to this activity once a year to sharpen your teams focus on achieving what’s important to them, to help you support them in achieving their goals and to celebrate any progress they’ve made so far!

15/02/2023

CULTURE MATTERS - MODELLING BEHAVIOUR
Model the behaviour you want to see in others, when we do our best, others follow suit. When we show respect and care for our colleagues, they will likely return it and you can always keep your head held high knowing you are putting your best self out there. Be who you say you are and allow others to do the same.

EASY ACTION
One of the easiest things we can do is greet those around us with “good morning” or “how are you?” Acknowledgment of others is a powerful thing. When you feel seen, you feel included. When you feel included, you feel purpose and companionship. All of that from saying “good morning”!

STEP IT UP
Work with your team on setting shared goals. It’s great to get your team to agree to the goals set in a management or executive meeting, but what if you actually include them in the goalsetting process? How much more engaged do you think they would feel? If they feel part of the process, they will more likely feel ownership of the goals. Consider working together on creating SMART goals (specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, timely) and build a collaborative action plan to attain those goals.

ACTIVITIES
Mindful Listening
In a team meeting you could carry out a brief listening exercise to highlight the importance of how we listen to each other. This can be quite insightful for team members and demonstrates the difference between hearing what someone has said and really listening to what they are telling you.

Shout-Outs
Start a team meeting with a one to two minute ‘shout out’ for a colleague. Let them know what you appreciate or respect about them and call out a specific time when they have been helpful or done something meaningful for you, a customer, or a colleague.

14/02/2023

CULTURE MATTERS - TRUST & BOUNDARIES
Trust and boundaries can be difficult to talk about and often more difficult to put in place. Trust doesn’t occur without boundaries and boundaries can’t exist without trust. Take the time to set personal and team boundaries, it’s important to consider the needs of individuals as well as the whole team. Negotiating boundaries across and within teams develops buy-in, reduces conflict, and builds collaborative relationships.

It is essential that you trust your team. Avoid micromanagement or taking over tasks for which others are responsible. Instead, nurture an environment of trust and give your team freedom (with responsibility, of course) and this will create positivity throughout your employees.

EASY ACTION
Review The Seven Elements of Trust (BRAVING - Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Non-Judgement, and Generosity) by Brené Brown with your team.

STEP IT UP
Read “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown and try being vulnerable, living your values, braving trust and learn to rise!

ACTIVITIES
Think about a person or a group of people at work with whom you struggle to set boundaries. This could mean that you keep them at a distance, or you open up too much to them. Think about (or write them down if it helps) some specific actions you can take to improve your boundaries. Perhaps it’s saying “no” more often or letting that person into your life a bit. How do you think the other person will respond to these changes? How will your workday look different once these boundaries have been established?

Step things up and create a sense of togetherness and belonging by finding a local organisation, charity or social enterprise that could use your help. Schedule a day when everyone can volunteer together, or in small teams.

Gratitude Ping Pong
Have your team share what you are grateful for with one another. Ask your team to break into pairs and have a small simple office object for them to gently toss back and forth (No Sharp or Pointy Items! we're talking a Stress Ball or a Tunnocks Teacake etc) For two or three minutes have them pass the object back and forth, each time sharing something for which they are grateful. When the time is up, bring the group back together and ask them to share how they felt during the activity. Ask if anyone is willing to share some of the things they said, ending the day by sharing gratitude and a bit of fun can't be a bad way to wind down for the day or weekend!

Today is a great day to have a great day! 🌻

13/02/2023

Over the next week I will share with you some ideas on cultivating a positive and kind workplace culture where people want to show up and do their best.

SETTING THE TONE
The first thing we need to do is set the tone for what we expect from others. What do you think employees say about your company, the team, and their work environment? Is it supportive, fair, encouraging, flexible, communicative, kind and compassionate?

Gratitude is an easy and powerful way to set a tone. Expressing and receiving gratitude is meaningful even when it is a simple ‘thank you’. Taking the time to reflect on the things for which you are grateful at work is also important.

EASY ACTION
Start by taking a kindness pledge as part of your people strategy! By stating that you believe in creating a workplace that has a foundation of kindness you are letting your employees know that you mean what you say and say what you mean.

STEP IT UP
Review your company’s mission and values. Sometimes these words become stale or irrelevant. People come and go. Times change. Companies grow. So should your values and mission. If they are relevant and powerful, make sure people know what they are! Find ways to familiarise your employees with what your company stands for and how it is reflected in their work. Your mission and values tell everyone (inside the company and outside) who you are and what you believe. It is the touchstone for setting a tone for your employees, customers, clients, and contractors.

ACTIVITIES
Take the concept of gratitude and bring it alive in your organisation. Spend 5 minutes writing a letter of gratitude to a colleague. It can be a couple of paragraphs or a couple of sentences. Make it sincere and be specific about how that person has made a positive contribution. Then, deliver it! It’s a powerful way to create connection and strengthen relationships. Not to mention, you will both feel great afterwards.

You could develop a kindness recognition scheme to acknowledge those who exhibit this behaviour within your organisation. Make this a team activity by encouraging colleagues to share acts of kindness, in doing so they will learn from their colleagues positive actions, and as we know behaviour breeds behaviour!

Go forth, be kind! 🌻

12/02/2023

Creating a Culture of Kindness in the Workplace

We know that World Kindness Day is November 13th, and Random Acts of Kindness day is February 17th, but a little more kindness in the world at any time of year can only be a good thing right?! 🌻

Growing and cultivating a positive workplace culture is key to a company’s success. Creating a workplace where people feel connected, have a sense of purpose, demonstrate kindness and are valued, appreciated and recognised for their contributions makes for stronger teams and a more successful organisation.

When a company or team is focused on building kind, encouraging, and positive work environments there is a windfall of good stuff happening including happier, healthier employees, more effective teams and achieving organisational success.

An engaged workforce is a healthy workforce and employee wellbeing has never been more important!

If you'd like to learn more ways to include kindness in your employee wellbeing strategy, please reach out and I will be happy to help. I'll also be posting on the matter all week with helpful tips on how to create a culture of kindness in the workplace!

17/11/2022

With the increase in businesses adopting working from home practises and the World Cup around the corner, it's important to ensure your team know exactly what is expected of them when working from home during this huge sporting event.

We have included some helpful tips below! Should you need support with your Hybrid Working Policy, or any other policy for that matter, Response HR can help!

15/11/2022

Need help with Employment Issues?

We know that when you’re running a small or medium-sized business, hiring an internal Human Resources team is not always realistic or affordable.

At Response HR, we can meet all your HR needs by providing high quality and affordable HR and employment support!

www.responsehr.co.uk

Hiring an internal HR department is not always realistic or affordable. That’s why at Response HR we offer accessible HR, Training & Coaching services, tailored to your budget and requirements.