Toxic Workplaces Part 2

Transforming Negativity: Essential Leadership Skills for a Positive Workplace

As discussed in the previous article, addressing a toxic workplace demands more than good intentions; it requires a strategic skill set. In part two, we explore the practical steps and leadership skills necessary to steer a company away from pitfalls, navigating the necessity of transforming a hostile workplace into a thriving one. From defining and reinforcing company values to navigating the delicate process of personnel decisions, we uncover the intricacies of reclaiming a positive work culture. Learn how to empower leaders, establish clear boundaries, and foster open communication, all crucial elements in transforming a negative workplace into a thriving, supportive environment. Join me on this journey as we explore the practical skills and strategic mindset required to navigate the complexities of organizational culture. 

Introduction 

In the relentless pursuit of success, every leader encounters hurdles, and one of the most formidable challenges is steering a company away from the pitfalls of negativity. This article is a roadmap for fellow leaders, exploring the skills needed to rescue a workplace from toxicity and set it on the path to success. These skills are crucial for workplace leaders, knowing that most businesses fail at the crux of the workplace atmosphere. The same mistakes, time and time again, end up toppling a company, and it begins and ends with leadership. We know that most companies fail within a few years; it’s a treacherous time, and organizations, especially newer ones, need to take all the necessary steps to ensure the longevity of their business. 

Taking Hold of Growth

With any growing company, there are inevitably growing pains in the process. Rapid expansion and transformation, if not adequately managed, can derail the trajectory of a company. Within the 20 years ReEmployAbility has been in business, we needed to pivot several times to continue to thrive. When ReEmployAbility started, our focus was vocational programs, and we eventually switched to alternative Return-to-Work programs. In developing the Transition2Work process, we had to dig in and learn more about the needs of injured workers and the requirements of the field. Part of this significant expansion resulted in growing pains within the organization and for employees. 

Unaligned growth between the vision of those in leadership and those in middle management can quickly result in friction within the organization. Every step of organizational growth needs to be met with understanding and agreement across the board. You don’t want to envision one path for your organization when middle management or other employees intend to move in another direction. A well-run business is like a rowing boat; everyone must be aligned towards the same goals and objectives. This is why consistent and regular open communication is so paramount to the health of any organization. 

Establishing Your Team

To fix the toxicity at ReEmployAbility, we needed to take a good hard look at ourselves and take direct steps to fix and change the environment from the inside out. One of the things we implemented right away was hiring the correct HR personnel to oversee the company.  Most small companies tend to hire HR from within, growing HR organically through their own growth. However, it was critical at this point to hire someone with extensive experience AND someone who fully aligned with my values. Now was the time to ensure that everyone was on the same team.  This misalignment created friction within the organization. 

By hiring an HR director who could see the business where it was and develop a framework for the company to grow, we could get a hold of the negativity and restructure to a point where positivity and open communication were elevated and rewarded. It cannot be overstated how important it is to hire people who align with you on value and share your vision for the company. 

Furthermore, at every level of the organization, CEOs need to hire individuals who will support their vision. I am grateful for my senior leadership team because we are all working together to create a work environment where all employees feel safe and supported. As part of the redlines for my company, we do not tolerate bullying behavior of any kind, understanding that it’s one of the fastest ways to harm workplace morale. All workers have the right to come to a safe place where they feel appreciated and included. It’s essential that when a leader is attempting to fix workplace concerns, they take a good hard look at the people that they’ve surrounded themselves with and see if they are working with you to create the company that you envision. 

Employee Engagement

One of the things that we implemented to create a positive workplace was company-wide engagement surveys. At the end of each year, we conduct an employee engagement survey. The results provide a roadmap and become part of our strategic planning for the coming year. We then hold Focus Group meetings with small groups of employees throughout January. In these meetings, we discuss how we came up with our goals and how they align with ReEmployAbility values, and we address all the good and the concerns that came from our survey. Everyone in our company has the opportunity to share their thoughts. 

So many employers complete engagement surveys that go nowhere. Employees never hear the results. Employees need to know they are heard, and even if the answer is a “no” to a recommendation, we provide the “why” behind those decisions. 

We follow our annual survey with monthly pulse surveys, gauging how our employees are doing. The results are discussed and shared amongst the senior leadership team to allow everyone to be on the same page about the concerns within the company. 

Handling repeating patterns or potential problems holistically while maintaining individual anonymity is possible through our monthly engagement surveys. At ReEmployAbility, our pulse surveys often get over 90% of participation (which is astounding). During every monthly company meeting, we address pressing concerns and respond to common questions brought up by employees. Discussing any concerns publicly is a great way to create visibility and communication across the entire company. The best disinfectant is visibility, and this level of visibility promotes trust with employees that we are telling them everything they need to know to do their jobs well. Our employees trust us, knowing we disclose everything we can for company health. 

Overcoming Negative Glassdoor Review

One of the issues we inherited from a hostile workplace was a barrage of negative Glassdoor reviews as we tried to rectify and correct any issues with our work environment. We took the reviews seriously, reviewing them together with other members of the senior leadership. After a point, we realized that the best thing to do was to ignore outside negativity and do everything we could do internally to proactively change the workplace environment. By focusing on what we could control and sidelining what we couldn’t, we realized that our leadership had far more power to effect change than we had previously used. 

Now that our culture has improved, we’ve changed our approach. We’ve responded honestly and transparently to each review, and we’re encouraging current employees who have experienced the shift and those who feel it when they walk through our doors to write reviews demonstrating their current experience. 

We still get the occasional review from former employees, but now we approach the response with a new level of confidence, knowing that we’ve created a great work environment. 

Defining and Reinforcing Company Values 

The first step in transforming a negative workplace is to define and reinforce company values. It’s not just about putting words on paper; it’s about embedding these values into the organization’s DNA. In order to take care of the company environment, I needed to sit down and reevaluate the values I wanted to carry with the organization. 

ReEmployAbility Values are: 

• Passion 
• Partnership 
• Entrepreneurial Thinking 
• Service 
• Integrity 

I chose these specifically because I wanted the values to carry ReEmployAbility and to be strong enough to create cohesion among employees. Our employees are held up to our values, and we discuss them at every Company meeting, on one-on-one monthly meetings, and when we shout out to our employees, recognizing their excellent work. Our values are what enable us to continue to do the work that we do. 

One of the ways that we were able to take charge of the situation was to sit down and come up with clear expectations and guidelines for everyone in our organization – beyond just the customary “Code of Conduct” for employees, ReEmployAbility also has a “Leader’s Conduct” which outlines how we expect managers to lead employees. 

 Leadership Guidelines: 

• We have an obligation to provide great leadership to our employees. 
• We are privileged to develop the people we work with. 
• We provide a positive space for employees to learn and grow. When mistakes happen, we correct them gently. 
• When policies are violated or values not adhered to, we provide corrective action in a way that the employee can make the expected changes. 
• We encourage positivity and praise in a group setting, and conversely, correction in a one-on-one setting—with dignity and respect. 

• There is no situation where employees should be made an example of for their mistakes or actions. 
• We are responsible for the engagement and enjoyment of the workplace for the team. Our attitude and engagement set the tone. 
• As we focus on the wellness of the whole person, the natural consequence will be an increase in productivity and loyalty. 
• We need to be known for being empathic leaders who helped positively shape the career of the people we work with. 

Established conduct for leaders is paramount to ensure that we treat all employees fairly and that all leaders understand that our priority at ReEmployAbility is for the health, safety, and well-being of all individuals at the company. 

Creating and adhering to leadership guidelines will raise your workplace standards and set the tone for how you’d like your organization to run. 

Just as important as communicating what your organization stands for, it is just as crucial to communicate what will not be accepted. Employees should understand that when it comes to issues of integrity, there is zero tolerance. Our employees are just as clear about the lines that will not be crossed and the consequences if they are. Some of our redlines include concerns with bullying, harassment, ostracization, and falsification of records or work. Everyone at our organization understands the importance of honesty, integrity, and partnership for the work that we do. 

Empowering Leaders and Establishing Clear Boundaries

To combat negativity, leaders must empower those around them. Empowering leaders means fostering a culture where every team member feels a sense of ownership and responsibility within the company. Clear boundaries are the foundation of a healthy workplace, and as a leader, you must establish and enforce them consistently. 

We discuss and review leadership expectations with all newly hired managers, directors, and leaders at ReEmployAbility. Additionally, these expectations are set when anyone is promoted to those positions internally. Having that sort of clarity within expectations allows every person, from the newly hired admin to a senior leader with decades of experience at the company, to understand what is required. Setting and maintaining clear expectations allows a business to run like a well-oiled machine. 

Navigating Personnel Decisions

Often, transforming a workplace involves making tough personnel decisions. From addressing toxicity at its roots to making strategic hires that align with the company’s values, leaders must navigate these decisions with finesse. 

On top of establishing clear boundaries with company leaders, we hold them to those standards in how they work. That may include re-coaching certain leaders or coming together for leadership training or workshops to realign how we are doing business. By supporting our leaders at ReEmployAbility, we ensure they meet all our employees’ professional needs. If we find any discrepancies between our expectations and how an employee behaves, we take the time to coach them, so they better align with expectations. If necessary, leaders need to make the difficult decision of letting go of employees that no longer align with company standards. I’ve found that when I’ve made the tough decision to let specific individuals go, other problematic individuals usually choose to leave as well. By holding all employees to strict standards, we can ensure that the workplace is equitable and that individuals are not offered preferential treatment based on relationships, tenure, or likeability. For a workplace to be fair, it needs to be fair to everyone. 

When we’ve had to make difficult personnel decisions, we’ve found that it is very often met with relief from employees. Typically, our employees are the first to recognize when something is not working as it ought to be. They have more confidence and trust in us as leaders when we make tough calls sooner rather than later. 

ReEmployAbility Ambassadors

At ReEmployAbility, we have a small group of elected employees who are ReEmployAbility Culture Ambassadors. This small group meets monthly to discuss events and ways to make the workplace more positive. Within this group, we can quickly see what is working and what isn’t within the organization. The Ambassador meetings also allow individuals across the organization to have their voices heard more directly. Not only does the culture council enhance inter-departmental cooperation, but it also focuses on proactive ways to make the workplace more inclusive. 

From suggestions taken from Ambassadors, we started decorating each employee’s desk for birthdays, hosted potlucks, and have taken part in after-work events like axe-throwing or 5Ks. 

This is another foundational way to infuse more direct involvement within the organizational structure, creating a more robust bond between employees and the company. Creating cohesion and sociability is vital to generate a positive work environment. 

Fostering Open Communication

Communication is the lifeblood of organizational culture. In a negative workplace, a lack of communication can fuel misunderstandings and resentment. Leaders must foster an environment where open communication is encouraged and embedded in the company’s ethos. We’ll explore strategies to create a space where employees feel safe to voice concerns and share ideas. 

All ReEmployAbility employees know that we have an open-door policy from our Senior Leadership. Any employee in any department can go to any leader in the company to bring up questions or concerns. It’s not uncommon for a service specialist to stop by my office or for individuals to go straight to our HR Director if they have any ideas for the company. We pride ourselves on the collaborative nature of our organization, knowing that we can only be as good as we are collectively. 

The Path to a Positive Workplace

As a business founder and CEO, I’ve navigated the intricacies of transforming negativity into positivity. The skills outlined here are not just theoretical—they’ve been battle-tested in the dynamic business landscape. In the final installment, we will explore what a positive workplace looks like, detailing the characteristics and elements that contribute to sustained success. 

Even with all the directives we had made to strengthen the workplace, it still took us nearly three years to reach a point in our company culture where we had changed the trajectory of the workplace atmosphere. These long-ranging changes take time, dedication, and focus to correct but are well worth it at the end of it. However, these directives have created tangible results in our company and are readily evident. 

 The Light at The End of the Tunnel

In the third and final part of this series, I will discuss what we are doing right and how much ReEmployAbility’s company culture has grown. 

We’ve strengthened our culture within the past two years, resulting in positive changes and industry awards. Make sure to check back on the final installment to see how a positive workplace thrives and makes your work even better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel; as a leader for your company, you have the power to create a positive workplace where your employees are excited to come to work every single day. I’ve seen the possibility firsthand. 

Let’s Continue the Conversation

What skills do you think are effective in transforming workplace culture? Please share your insights in the comments section below, and let’s create a collaborative space where leaders can learn from each other’s experiences. Making each other better makes all of us better. 

In the next part of the series, we’ll be focusing on what a positive workplace looks like and how we know that what we’ve done has worked to transform ReEmployAbility. In the time that we’ve taken to change the culture, we’ve learned more than I thought and have grown in the process. 

#LeadershipSkills #PositiveWorkplace #CompanyCulture #TransformationalLeadership #BusinessSuccess