9 fundamentals to create a healthy, inspiring & empowering workplace

Do you want to create a great company culture in which employees are fully enabled to thrive? An environment where people want to work, now and in the future? And where together, colleagues achieve optimal performance? 

Proud helps People Leaders (HR departments & Leadership teams) to work together on creating healthy, inspiring & empowering workplaces. Because every employee wants to be engaged in their work, and every organization wants to be able to book excellent results. Proud boosts company cultures based on the Proud Model below: 

9 fundamentals to create a healthy, inspiring & empowering workplace

Do you want to create a great company culture in which employees are fully enabled to thrive? An environment where people want to work, now and in the future? And where together, colleagues achieve optimal performance? 

Proud helps People Leaders (HR departments & Leadership teams) to work together on creating healthy, inspiring & empowering workplaces. Because every employee wants to be engaged in their work, and every organization wants to be able to book excellent results. Proud boosts company cultures based on the Proud Model below: 

Proud’s model on company culture:

To create a healthy company culture:

1. Start with the right people in the right place

Having the right people in the right place is fundamental for a healthy organization. This starts with identifying (and sometimes re-identifying) which people you need and why. From there, you will be able to choose the right future employees, further develop your existing workforce and provide real clarity on roles and responsibilities.

Proud helps you with analyzing your current and desired workforce, from a systemic perspective. This means that we dive deep into the why of your organization, the phase it is currently in and the need for certain roles and departments. We also identify what is not (longer) serving the organization and how systemic change can help you to transform back to an energetic & healthy organizational system.

2. Ensure inclusivity, safety & well-being in the workplace

When you’ve got the right people on board, you need to ensure to create and maintain a working environment where everyone is able to thrive. Make sure that all employees are and feel included, focus on well-being and pay continuous attention to the social- & psychological safety within your organization, so that everyone can be fully engaged at work without obstacles.

Proud supports People Leaders (HR departments and Leadership teams) to improve these aspects if needed in the form of consultancy, training, workshops or project management. But we are also here for your employees. As a certified external Trusted Advisor, Proud is available for those employees that for some reason prefer to (first) discuss matters in a confidential manner with someone independent from their organization. 

3. Facilitate future-proof working conditions

Our world of work is rapidly changing. With an increasingly tight labor market, five different generations in the workplace (that all have different preferences and expectations) and technological developments that are changing or even replacing entire jobs, the need to focus on a sustainable & future-proof workforce has never been so high. This does require organizations to re-think the working environment and labor conditions they offer for their employees. 

Proud guides organizations through these changes in the world of work. We help you to understand the impact of these changes on your specific organization and from there, support you with developing a strategic, sustainable and future-proof people approach.

To create an inspiring company culture:

4. Set clear & challenging goals

When you’ve got your basics in place, ensure that the goals of the organization are crystal clear. Each individual working in the organization, should fully understand how they can contribute to the organization’s success, and thus, when they are successful in their job. Also, ensure that you really challenge your employees. If your organization offers the right environment and support, there is nothing wrong with setting challenging goals. The way employees experience their workload is based on the balance between the energy they put in their work, and the energy they gain from it. Clear and challenging goals, stimulate energy! 

Proud can help you with identifying whether it’s clear to employees how they can and should contribute to the success of your organization. If it’s not, we help you to increase clarity and direction. This may need a systemic approach (in line with point 1 above). In the end, both employees and employers want to be successful and achieve great results!

5. Be purpose- & value driven

In today’s society people increasingly choose their jobs and employers based on their purpose and values. This does not just apply for the younger generations. In general, most employees want to contribute to a higher purpose, which they feel connected to, and work within an environment that works and collaborates based on values, in line with their own.

Proud supports organizations to translate their purpose and values to their employees in an understandable manner. If desired, we help you to integrate these in all your employee journey touch-points and communication. We will also cross-check if the purpose and values as defined, are actually applied and experienced that way within the organization. 

6. Communicate, connect & collaborate

If you want to maximize the potential of your workforce, ensure to invest in clear communication, connection and collaboration within your organization. Does everyone have the data and information they need to make the right decisions? Do people know who their stakeholders are? Do teams work within their team only or do they optimally collaborate with others in the organization? These factors have a significant impact on the results of individuals, teams and the organization as a whole. 

Proud can assess these factors for you and help you to increase transparency, clear communication and optimal collaboration. Whether it is on an organizational level or within an individual team, Proud is here to coach and/or guide you through this process. 

To create an empowering company culture:

 7. Stimulate continuous growth & powerful feedback

The most powerful way to stimulate continuous growth within your organization is creating a culture in which everyone understands which standards apply, and provide each other with constructive feedback, always. Not just the manager, not just once a year, but every day your colleagues will help each-other to develop themselves. Sounds like a long-shot? The steps described above, do lay the foundation to build such an environment. 

Proud trains and supports teams and organizations to develop a powerful feedback culture. We also coach managers on an individual level or support People (HR) departments to stimulate feedback within their organization. More needs regarding learning & development? We’ve got you covered for many training & development topics via the Proud Academy (also in-company). 

8. Build trust & grant autonomy

Trust is extremely important when it comes to your company culture. Other than ensuring a safe working environment, clear and transparent communication and other ‘trust factors’ described above, trust also matters when it comes to amplifying performance. Give employees the autonomy they need to do their jobs, and let them do it their way. Trust, and employees will answer with ownership and responsibility. 

Proud supports organization to develop trust within the organization on many levels. Trust in the mission, trust in the leadership team, trust to be treated with respect and in an equal manner. Trust is fundamental in many ways and should always be a priority for People Leaders (HR departments and Leadership teams) to keep a sharp eye on. 

9. Focus on strengths-based working

Finally, strengths-based working is fundamental to amplify performance and boost happiness at work. Too often we focus on what employees should do better, and let them waist energy on tasks they are just not good at (and probably never will). Organizations that focus on strengths first, ensure they know exactly what each individuals strengths are, and fully support employees to maximize these strengths in their daily jobs.

Proud is certified as a Clifton Strengths Coach by Gallup and provides training & coaching to individuals and teams that want to identify their top talents and start integrating strengths-based working. The powerful Clifton Strengths Assessment is part of these training and coaching sessions and may provide life-changing insights that benefit both employees and the organizations they work for. 

Like to learn more about the 9 fundamentals to create a healthy, inspiring & empowering workplace?

Join the Proud Academy training program coming up in February 2025! (Both in Dutch & English).

Obviously, the 9 fundamentals amplify each-other, so you want to embed all of them in your strategic, sustainable and future-proof people approach. During this 3 day+ training program, we’ll guide you through these fundamentals so you are ready to boost your team- and/or company culture!

On a mission to create healthy, inspiring & empowering workplaces

Contact
+31 (0)6 15275663
info@proudpeoplecompany.com

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3011 GX Rotterdam

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