Driving performance through a culture of belonging
We had the pleasure of hosting 16 CHROs at our New York City offices last week, where two speakers shared their experiences on driving performance through a culture of belonging.
Yogita Naik, most recently the CHRO for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and Jessica Laufer, a leading communications strategist, led the discussion with facilitation from Brad Law and Michael Illert from Frazer Jones.
Performance and productivity have become central topics for CHROs in 2024. As organizations transition further into a post-pandemic state, with clearly defined in-office hybrid work schedules and the completion of significant workforce reductions in 2023, CHROs are redirecting their focus to culture and its role in driving performance and profit.
The question becomes: “How do we shift from ‘survive’ to ‘thrive’?”
How do you foster a culture of belonging?
Yogita and Jessica had the opportunity to collaborate during Yogita’s tenure at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. They worked to bring core principles to life through the company’s retreat, emphasizing inclusivity and the value of each employee.
This involved:
- Delivering diversity, equity and inclusion training
- Moderating discussions on the organization’s client work
- Highlighting the importance of employee contributions to the success of various initiatives, and the organization as a whole
Their approach, which was aimed at enhancing understanding across the organization and building synergy among core functions and global offices, included integrating guest speakers, newly published authors, panel discussions and team-building activities.
Educating the workforce and logical thinking alone are insufficient. To drive change, you must win hearts. You and your executive leadership team must actively listen to employees at all levels and engage in bottom-up design of the organization’s strategy, effectively co-creating the culture.
As you progress your people and culture plans in 2024, take a moment to pause, and ask yourself…do your employees feel like they belong?
