In these times of change, any company, especially one with a new brand, pays increased attention to communications. At WELLGO, we love learning new things and are happy to share experiences and interesting cases with colleagues and partners from other companies, which is why we accepted the invitation from the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce to participate in a discussion on "External and Internal Communications as an HR Tool."
One of the first topics of the discussion was how the format of internal communications has changed, what is important for employees and leaders, and how internal communications affect employee morale and service quality.
In our view, respect, honesty, providing a favorable working environment with development opportunities, adequate compensation, clear tasks, and a transparent evaluation system remain the most important factors for employees.
At the same time, a full-fledged dialogue between employees and the employer comes to the forefront—top-down communication, where information could simply be "communicated," no longer works. Employee participation in the company's life, discussion, and agreement on set goals, involvement in strategy development, decision-making, and creating the future of their company becomes the key to successful modern company development and high-quality services.
It's equally important to establish well-organized processes without bureaucracy, so that one doesn’t get bogged down in correspondence and approvals, and to have quick direct access to decision-making leaders.
As before, open and honest communications about strategy, results, successes and failures, changes, and new requirements help all employees understand the reasons and consequences of decisions and have the opportunity to express their opinions. We are convinced that only through joint work and constructive dialogue can every employee contribute to achieving the company's overall goals.
Another pressing issue in the business community is how to improve the balance between work and rest, especially in industries like logistics, where work continues 24/7.
Every cloud has a silver lining—COVID-19 gave us hybrid work formats. Our task is to make the most of these opportunities by providing flexible start and end times, teaching people to use online tools effectively, optimizing the company's IT systems, and providing timely support from management.
We strive to create trusting relationships where there is a fair distribution of rights and responsibilities between parties—employees know their efforts will not go unnoticed, they have a voice, they will receive fair compensation for their work, and there will be genuine interest in their proposed ideas. For their part, they will consciously and qualitatively perform their tasks, strive to work towards the common goal, fulfill obligations to the company, and protect its interests.
The WELLGO team is still at the beginning of the journey to create a comfortable work environment, but the first results are already in. Here’s what we’ve managed to achieve:
Promoting Professional Well-Being: Today's employees want to work in a company where there is room for growth and self-realization:
· We approach employee development through annual evaluations and goal-setting; · We conduct engagement surveys to understand how our colleagues feel; · We establish quarterly and annual bonuses—it's nice to be appreciated for your work; · We organize training both within the company and externally.
Enhancing Social Well-Being: We aim to reduce the stress caused by ongoing changes and create a comfortable and safe environment:
· We have onboarding and mentoring programs to help newcomers feel at home; · A hybrid schedule allows employees to agree on a convenient schedule for office visits and working from home; · Cozy and modern offices for comfortable work; · We hold Town Halls—open meetings to discuss results and future plans; · We have multiple communication channels so everyone is informed about the company’s events; · We don’t forget about celebrations—we celebrate important events together.
Striving for Harmony of Body and Soul:
· We provide health insurance from the first day of employment, which includes psychological support; · Each employee has an additional three paid days off per year for personal matters; · We hold weekly workouts and participate in marathons—not only is it beneficial, but it's also fun!
We are confident that it is impossible to build a strong team ready for new challenges and achievements without continuous development and improvement not only of business processes but also of the personnel. This means there’s still a lot of interesting things ahead for us—and we eagerly look forward to implementing the most daring ideas and projects together with our employees!