The Spark: Stop overcomplicating employee engagement
At Solid Form, the spark started as a question around employee engagement, kindling a flame under a team that craved more robust and creative projects.
If you're familiar with Kinesis, you know that we're on a mission to transform purpose-driven organizations and elevate those using business as a force for good. The Catalyst Community is our way of doing just that — bringing together forward-thinking leaders to discuss the greatest challenges and opportunities facing small business.
Each year, we bring that community together for an annual summit to share big ideas and bold new strategies. This year's event was certainly a day to remember!
Catalyst 2021 focused on the future of work, and more specifically how we shape that future to be more human-centered. With employers struggling to attract new candidates amidst ‘The Great Resignation,’ we’re in need of a new approach to recruiting, retention, and culture. The day served as a space for purpose-driven business leaders to connect, share meaningful insights, and take away actionable strategies to implement right away.
In fact, there were so many relevant and thoughtful takeaways, we just couldn’t keep them to ourselves. That’s why in typical Kinesis fashion, we’re ‘sharing the good.’ In case you missed out on this year's summit, here were some of our favorite soundbites from the day.
In transitioning to a more human-centered way of working, we’re able to focus on creating better experiences for humans across the entire organization. Our keynote discussion framed the summit around three human-centric business principles:
With the current workforce shortages, it’s clear that recruiting strategies need to change. In this session, we explored innovative approaches to recruiting and hiring to help businesses attract candidates. Here’s what some business leaders are implementing in their organizations to widen the candidate pool:
Employees are evaluating their current workplaces with more scrutiny than ever before, extending from culture to flexibility to purpose. In this session, we explored how to enable people to be their best selves at work and contribute in meaningful ways. A human-centered approach begins to take shape when we:
It’s a candidate’s market, which means organizations need to do more to stand out amidst competing job opportunities. We discussed the importance of a good employer brand and how to apply lessons from traditional marketing strategies to attract more right-fit candidates. Our three favorite insights included:
As DEI has emerged as a table stake initiative in the business world, there’s been an over-emphasis on diversity in hiring…although it’s only a tiny piece of an employee’s experience. In this breakout, we explored how to create a workplace that is safe and supportive for every employee, especially after they’re hired. Here are some lessons learned:
The nature of work has changed radically, introducing a wave of new challenges from technology to communication. We discussed ways to embrace this evolution by moving beyond Zoom best practices to creating sustainable, collaborative environments that work for everyone. A few key takeaways:
We all had high hopes for 2021, but in some ways this year has been even more difficult. We’re just now coming out of the other side, but the way we work has fundamentally changed. At the close of the summit, business leaders shared their hopes for realizing big transformations, building more partnerships, and establishing deeper connections to the work. Whether that’s through reimagining business models, expanding customer bases, or talking candidly about barriers that exist, it’s imperative that people are centered in this work and feeling invested in that change.
Catalyst 2021 left us feeling energized and ready to put what we learned into action. With an agenda that was fully shaped by attendees and conversations that were candid, meaningful, and full of big ideas, the event truly lived up to its name. We’re grateful to be part of a small business community that continues to reimagine what work could look like, starting with humans at the center.
Want to get involved, or stay in the loop about next year's event? Learn more about the Catalyst Community.
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