At a past job, Rachelle Carpenter led an HR team whose desks were situated at the back of the office, behind a locked door. The physical barrier did not make for a connected work environment.

“One of the first things I did was change that, and they all came out on the floor.” Being in close proximity with the employees helped the HR team to listen, gain trust, and connect, she says.

Carpenter was one of four experts speaking on a panel on “Enhancing Employee Well-Being Through Whole-Person Management” at From Day One’s recent Denver conference. Carpenter recalled a time when a boss who listened made a big impact on Carpenter. With her husband deployed in the military and two boys at home, she needed flexibility at a time before remote work was commonplace. 

“The care my boss showed for me so that I could both be successful in my role and continue growing in my role versus being stagnant, and taking care of my children while their dad was in Afghanistan, was something that meant the world to me,” she said.

Now at Apryse, a software company Carpenter has the opportunity to pay that thoughtfulness forward. The company is remote-first, and what she has heard from employees is that they crave connection. So Apryse holds regular in-person events, like picnics, where everyone can meet up and connect. 

And if workers are in the office and they experience water-cooler moments when ideas come up on the fly, it’s important to document these. “When we see those moments, we capture them, then we share them,” she said. It helps remind people that they can connect with each other and foster a feeling of togetherness. 

Humanity in Business

Companies need to focus on employee wellness from the top down. Judith Alemendra, a group VP at TTEC, a customer-experience technology company, put it this way: “Our purpose as an organization is to deliver humanity to business.” But how to do that, especially in a large company? At TTEC, engagement surveys are offered quarterly, but getting this information in real time is crucial. Employees can also give feedback anytime. 

“You don’t have to wait for a survey to be connected to your people. You can have focus groups, conversations, one on ones,” Almendra said. “All of those are forums in which you can continue to gather information,” she said. 

This is where leadership learns what is most important to their people, because it’s going to be different from organization to organization. Gathering the info is only part of the equation. It’s the part that comes after that is crucial to enhancing employee well-being. “The action-planning after the survey is probably the most important component,” Alemendra added.

Previously at TTEC in the U.S., many employees were single moms, so childcare was important, and as an organization they focused on that. After the pandemic, however, Alemendra said employee needs have changed somewhat. Employees who are returning to work at the office are worried about their pets at home. As part of its benefits offerings, the company launched a new app which provides a discounted service for someone to check on your pet. It’s all part of keeping up with what employees want and need to help them feel safe and productive at work.

“A lot of our programs and benefits, we look at them every year make changes based on the feedback that we get from our employees,” Alemendra said.

Gaining and Keeping Trust

While managers need to respond to individual workers needs, it’s also important that employees can voice their sentiments anonymously. Said Jessica Hitt, a VP in HR at TIAA, “We spend a lot of time making sure people understand the anonymity of our employee engagement surveys. We do a lot to protect that.”

Because gaining the trust of employees can be difficult, companies must take care not to undermine it by failing to follow through. “If you have the opportunity to do something, and you didn't do it, why would I ask you to solve this next thing?” 

Another thing for company leaders to keep in mind is explaining benefits to their employees so they are aware of what the organization already has to offer them. At TIAA, Hitt explained that their Business Resource Groups connect employee identities and affinities with relevant benefits and program. “Right now, this is our Disabilities Heritage month. So we're doing all sorts of events talking about Alzheimer’s, or preparing your family for retirement, or an aging workforce,” Hitt said. “Right there, we could slip in information about our benefits, or we could talk to you about retiring with dignity aligned to our whole philosophy. We try to be creative, but consistent. It’s all about the consistency of messaging and taking advantage of every avenue.”

The Bottom Line

Some companies may say that giving extra benefits to employees sounds good, but how is it sustainable? Mel Faxon, the chief operating officer and co-founder of Mirza, a family-care solutions provider, broke down the numbers. In a 1,000-person organization, parents, on average, miss about nine days of work per year due to childcare-related needs. At $20 an hour, that equals about $432,000 in just lost productivity from parents missing days of work. 

“If you take that same spend, and invest it in stipends,” Faxon said, “you can offset costs for each of those parents about $1,500 for the year. Plus, you can then take advantage of federal tax credits that are about $150,000 a year (23 states offer incentives).” So the company is spending less than half the loss incurred by parents missing work, which doesn’t even take into consideration employee retention and other positive impact.

At Mirza, the company offers its employees eight care days a year, which says volumes to workers, Faxon said. “It’s giving people the reassurance that when life happens, that is the priority.”

Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.