Increasing the experience of belonging in your organization will improve it's mission capacity. It will make it a healthier, more enjoyable place to work. It will reduce conflict and increase attendance and employee retention. And it will increase customer satisfaction. It will also spread to the families, friends, and communities of your employees.
Belonging is both an organic process and a built structure. The materials we build belonging out of are relational connections and stories. Stories from the lives (stories) of people - including all their past and present experiences, perspectives, and expectations about the future.
Belonging is both an organic process and a built structure. The materials we build belonging out of are relational connections and stories. Stories from the lives (stories) of people - including all their past and present experiences, perspectives, and expectations about the future.
The Process
- Leadership meeting to assess company needs and readiness for belonging focus.
- Past and current organizational circumstances and relationships between leadership and employees.
- Current issues, concerns, and capacities
- Schedule availability
- Program design: utilizing the information gleaned in the leadership meeting, we will design a program to fit your organization's specific needs.
- Implementation: either a multi-week implementation in 2-3 hour increments or a concentrated experience over 1.5 - 2.5 day retreat.
- Story Guide Training: Our presence in the beginning will be augmented by an individual or group who will continue leading and supporting the work of building belonging after we leave. Connect Ed will support the knowledge and skill development of this guide over the course of six months or a year after our program implementation.
- Generative Mission Development: Once an increase in belonging has occurred, many organizations find that they have renewed and expanded capacity. Connect Ed uses the Appreciative Inquiry process to engage and launch that capacity and help it reach its fullest potential.
- Evaluation: Many companies get all the hard work done and data gathered in the beginning, only to see the energy and effectiveness wane in the months following. For sustainability and growth to be a true and durable expression of the organization, they must be constantly evaluated and altered by those who are doing the work. Connect Ed offers an Empowered Evaluation process that turns data analysis into a real-time opportunity to tune and refine the cultivation of belonging everywhere the organization has influence.