Community management will activate your workplace and people

Improving organizational culture — by boosting employee engagement, strengthening feelings of inclusion and belonging, and reducing day-to-day stress — is a major priority for employers right now. One way to elevate company culture is to provide a Community Manager, responsible for and dedicated to building community and enhancing the employee experience. So, including community management in your employee experience strategy is an investment that will positively impact your culture, employees’ well-being, and your employee retention levels.

‍Community Managers are particularly valuable because of their unique ability to foster feelings of belonging, a key contributor to employee well-being and overall engagement and satisfaction. The responsibilities and impacts of community management don’t end there. Here’s a closer look at the Community Manager role and how implementing community management can positively impact your employee and workplace experience as well as your organization’s culture and bottom line.

The Expanded Role of Community Manager

‍Community Managers support employees by promoting employee wellbeing, connection, and productivity. Think of a Community Manager as a mobile host for employees (and their guests). Their purpose is to accommodate and proactively respond to a wide variety of needs, now both on-site AND remote. Typically, these needs include:

• helping employees and their guests navigate onsite amenities
• showcasing the workspace to entice employees to interact (thereby boosting engagement)
• managing on-site vendors (car detailing, dry cleaning, etc.)
• supporting facilities management (FM)
• providing meeting and conference services
• develop and lead engaging and exciting activities and events (educational/fun and social networking) for both onsite and remote employees.

Community Managers foster company culture and build brand awareness by making the workplace an attractive destination and connecting employees to the wider business. They have a unique skill set that allows them to create moments that matter. They anticipate the needs of all guests — listening to problems and questions, acting on requests and capturing data and anecdotal feedback. This creates data on usage, feedback, and trends for stakeholders with the aim of continually improving the workplace experience.

The Evolution of Community Management

‍How Community Managers achieve these goals has changed over the past few years because the way (and places) employees do their work has shifted. These changes cause higher levels of loneliness and disconnection — representing a major challenge in organizational culture. Many leaders responded by doubling down on existing employee engagement strategies, which may have softened the impact of those sudden pandemic-borne changes.

Now, as remote and hybrid work models have endured, those same challenges remain. These circumstances have left many employers grasping for effective strategies to foster connection, communication, and collaboration among a distributed workforce. Enter community management 2.0!

Here are a few of the ways Community Managers address these challenges:

• Planning the event strategy to include both in-person (for micro-communities) and remote (for a broader reach) events.
• Designing and hosting events that educate, socially connect, and build teams to engage employees,
• Promoting on-site amenities and other convenience services,
• Interacting with other departments (HR, facilities, real estate, etc.) to execute on their mission and vision.
• Engaging in continuous communication and listening to employee concerns about workspaces, employee safety, and digital technology.

Why Community Managers are Important

‍Community management can transform an organization’s culture and have a profound impact on the everyday employee experience. When companies leverage Community Managers to support their employees and workplaces, the end result is not just happier employees. It’s also stronger communities, more (and better) connections among the workforce, and a thriving culture where everyone feels included. Culture belongs to everyone — but, regardless of the varying job descriptions and titles, having a Community Manager solves one critical component of an organization’s people strategy: it helps improve the employee experience which increases employee engagement levels. And when it comes to retaining and attracting top talent, that is paramount.

Benefits of Community Management

‍Community management isn’t just a smart business decision or a way to make employees more productive. It’s a move that ripples throughout the organization, positively influencing factors in the short- and long-term.

‍From a business perspective: Community Managers help businesses flourish by building community, which makes culture thrive because employees are happier and more productive. A strong, healthy organizational culture makes it easier to attract new talent as well as retain top employees. Measuring employee engagement before and after adding a Community Manager can help demonstrate the impact. Gallup found that companies with high levels of employee engagement are 23% more profitable and 18% more productive than companies with low engagement.

‍From an employee perspective: Having a Community Manager reduces disruptions in the employee’s day and frees up their time to focus on productive work-related tasks. This is a major win because, according to Leesman, 30% of today’s employees do not agree that their work environment allows them to work productively. Clearing this hurdle can increase employee well-being (through reduced anxiety and increased comfort in knowing things are taken care of). Community management can also enhance employees’ sense of purpose, especially with the use of DEI-centered events.

Keeping employees engaged and happy means helping them to manage their stress levels and work-life balance. The Community Manager helps energize the workplace and creates an engaging employee experience, making all feel welcomed and looked after which results in an air of positivity. Community management can also encourage employees to work in the office more often. Microsoft research shows that a majority (84%) of people would be motivated to come back to the office by the promise of socializing with coworkers. Nearly the same amount (85%) say they would be motivated by rebuilding team bonds.

Unlocking Potential through Community and Connection

‍Community Managers create and manage a range of activities — from fun, collaborative events (like laughter yoga or chocolate tasting) to practical efforts (like updating digital content for employee education). They can make a marked difference in the daily lives of employees, wherever they work, and can give organizations a competitive advantage. Learn more about how a Circles Community Manager can elevate your employee experience and take your culture to the next level.