You’ve probably heard the saying, ‘you’re only human’ and we could easily go on a philosophical deep dive into what it means to only be human, but let’s take this well-known saying and make it employer applicable.
And if you’re an employee, then don’t click away. This is probably useful for you too.
Being only human can be translated into the working world as the human approach, which isn’t complicated. Essentially, it considers the way in which your employees are more than tools to carry out tasks and that they are in fact an important ecosystem of talented individuals with relevant human emotions and capabilities.
Added value
Foremostly, it is important to consider the value your employees feel for the work they do. A pay cheque at the end of each month is nice, but by acknowledging the achievements carried out can give added value. With this you are more likely to retain the talent than replace as your employees are more likely to stay in a place where their skills are appreciated.
Following a few recent polls, we found that a preference of additional annual leave was one of the most popular ways to feel valued.
Put toxic in the trash
Toxic work cultures can be cited as a key reason for individuals jumping ship to finding greener career pastures.
High volume workloads can be inevitable, but when support isn’t offered or appreciation is thin or non-existence, burnout can happen, which can lead to an unhappy and eventually unproductive workforce.
Maybe it is time to evaluate as a company the ways in which you could fix any toxicity in your work culture through anonymous surveys and asking line managers for their feedback on any ideas they have when it comes to work-load
Mistakes happen
Human error is all too real and unfortunately sometimes there is no way of preventing it. Rather going all guns blazing, consider treating the mistake as a positive learning opportunity and how the wider team can support with this.
Perhaps an email was sent with a spelling error; maybe there should be more channels of proofreading before the final audience send to prevent a repeat of this.
Interviewing
One visualisation technic that embodies the human focused approach is by considering who that person is on a fundamental level. For the interviewee this can be really helpful to quash any nerves. For example, you might be being interviewing by a male director who has twice as many years experience as yourself.
Rather than solely thinking of them as this very qualified and daunting person, consider that they could be a father and that after today they are going to go home and see their family. That they will be goofing around like any other normal parent and that this exterior is just for show. That while on paper they could be more experienced, deep down they are like you; have a family and know how to have fun.
Bullet pointers for human focused approach
Right time, right place – sending an urgent email at 5pm isn’t great practice. Sometimes it can’t be helped, and if it can’t express how valued the individual is rather than becoming demanding and unapproachable
How would you react if it happened to you? Put yourself in their shoes and move forwards in a way you would like to be treated
Employees aren’t just a tick box.