How to get buy-in for your 2022 people strategy
Highlights from our recent webinar with expert panelists in the workplace wellbeing space.
Some workplace wellbeing strategies are fantastic on paper but struggle to gain momentum. Why is this? And how can you encourage reluctant people to get involved? We tackled these questions and more in our recent webinar: Getting Buy-In To Your 2022 People Strategy.
This webinar was jam-packed with practical advice from our expert panelists:
Peter Braine – Executive Director of Pitcher Partners in Melbourne
Alison McLaren – Executive Director Business Performance, Valuer General at the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
Jess Bowers – Workplace Wellbeing Solutions Lead at Mentemia in Auckland
Mike Lovegrove – Head of Market Development at Mentemia in Wellington
Below are 5 top takeaways from their insightful conversation.
1. Align your culture
As Alison McLaren says: “Workplace wellbeing is entrenched with culture – you can’t separate the two.”
Jess Bowers echoes this viewpoint, acknowledging that for most workplaces “wellbeing is a culture shift and fundamental change”.
“You need to look at how you can tie your wellbeing strategy into the culture of the workplace and your mission or vision,” says Jess.
“It comes back to the old saying of ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’. It’s all very well to get buy-in to the strategy (and that’s not easy!) but to really be effective the strategy must align with the workplace culture.”
2. Engage everyone
For a workplace wellbeing strategy to truly succeed, it needs buy-in from all levels and all people.
“Engage people from the very start,” advises Jess.
“Ask people – what’s going on for them? How can the workplace support you? I’m not saying the execution is easy, but these are the questions you need to ask from the beginning.”
3. Build trust
“Buy-in comes from authenticity and trust,” says Peter Braine.
“And that really relies on the team believing in the leaders.”
Peter believes trust is built by being honest with your people.
“I’ve always been fairly open about my personal experiences and I think that’s helped build trust in those who work with me,” he explains.
“It enables them to also be open and honest with me. It’s a way to get a team really humming.”
Alison agrees with Peter, saying authenticity is “one thing we can’t overplay”.
“People want authentic leaders. I regularly tell my team it’s okay to not be okay. I’ll tell them if I’m struggling. Leaders need to walk the talk,” says Alison.
4. Communicate and collaborate
According to Alison, “the most successful workplace wellbeing plans are always executed by those who are collaborative and those who are fabulous communicators”.
“Communication and collaboration delivers results. They’re two things I just can’t emphasise enough.”
When communicating, Jess advises using the language of the people you’re speaking to. Identify what’s important to them and how workplace wellbeing will support their goals.
5. Give it time
Since workplace wellbeing requires a significant culture shift, it won’t happen overnight.
“We’re taking a ‘gently gently’ approach,” says Peter.
“We keep building on the small building blocks we had at the start.”
Jess agrees taking it slow is important because it ensures you get buy-in from all levels. It also gives you a chance to collect and implement feedback.
Alison adds that “we’re dealing with a global trauma” (referring to the Covid-19 pandemic) and adjusting to the ‘new normal’ is going to take time.
“We’re not going to go back to how we were two years ago. People will be in various states, from fabulous to barely coping. Acknowledge that’s going to be the scenario and put strategies in place to manage that,” says Alison.
Mike’s 30-second summary
Mike Lovegrove did a fantastic job at leading this conversation and summarising the session at the end. Here’s how he summed up getting buy-in from key people in 2022.
“Happiness equals productivity – your wellbeing strategy creates happier, healthier people. If you can attribute wellbeing to some form of business outcome, you’ll be able to increase buy-in.”