Reinforce good acts
It’s certainly a nice gesture to say, “Hi, how are you?” to the person you are walking by in the hallway. If it’s an employee who happens to be a few steps down from upper management, it probably means even a little bit more to be personally greeted by the boss.
But if you really want employees to feel that you care about them and value their role in your organization, you need to show it through actions that are both regular and genuinely meaningful.
“You have to be visible, and you can never ask someone to do something that you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself,” Walli says. “You can’t just sit on the fifth floor and dictate to your people. Try to interact with your folks. Go to department meetings. Go to employee recognition meetings.”
When you’re there in person in a situation where an employee is being recognized for his or her performance, it says a whole lot more than if you just send out congratulations in an e-mail or add a note in the company newsletter.
It shows that you thought enough of that person and what he or she did for the business to take the time out of your busy schedule to be there.
“Many times, it’s just that personal touch with people to let them know that you really do care,” Walli says.
Consistency also goes a long way toward ensuring your message is received. If you treat your employees one way and clients another, it could lead to problems.
UnitedHealthcare embarked on a new plan last year to let its clients know that the company was thinking of them. The company began sending Personal Health Messages to its clients through their online accounts to remind them about upcoming screenings that were available or recommended for that particular individual.
“By personalizing the support we provide our customers, we can make a positive impact on the preventive care they receive, which ultimately will lead to better decisions and improved health,” Walli says.
The idea of expressing care for others is obviously very pertinent in the health care industry where people’s lives can be at stake. But the same principle of showing compassion and understanding to others can easily be applied to the corporate world of any industry.
“We’re in the business of helping people navigate through the health care system,” Walli says. “You can certainly look around at examples of people who do things well in your company who also are active in the community. Our mission is to help people live healthier lives, and we have to do the same thing here at work.”
Being healthier in the workplace means things like having open lines of communication, rewarding people for exemplary service and creating an environment where people feel good about coming to work.
People also need to know about the good things that their peers have done. It often encourages them to do the same.
“We need to reinforce how important it is,” Walli says. “Sometimes I found that people didn’t know what other people did. They weren’t quite sure what the job was of people on another floor. You can have a lot more cooperation if people have a better understanding of what folks around them do.”
