The Adviser in conversation with HR Leader’s editor, Shandel McAuliffe

The Adviser’s Annie Kane hosted a podcast with sister brand HR Leader’s own Shandel McAuliffe, discussing ways leaders can create a thriving workplace for employees and foster happiness.

Annie Kane, editor at The Adviser: “What can leaders be doing to create a happier workplace?”

Shandel McAuliffe: “The big one that jumps out is always around flexibility. People are demanding more flexibility. They’re demanding to be able to work in the way that suits them and their lifestyle, whether it’s because they’ve got children that they’re looking after, or perhaps they’re looking after elderly relatives, or they’ve got other care responsibilities.

“I’m a very passionate advocate for learning from what we’ve gone through, and then moving forward. I don’t think we can ever go backwards. And I think that trying to fight the current is not going to work,” she said.

“Understanding what your people want in terms of how they work is really important. Because if you don’t, your competitor is just going to poach them. People know that there’s a lot of opportunity in the market at the moment,” explained Ms McAuliffe.

“Communication is key. Talk to your people, make sure you’re staying in touch with your people. People get busy, especially line managers, they’ve got a lot on their plate. They’re busy meeting day-to-day demands, and they forget to check in with their people. [Leaders should] create some new habits around checking in with people … so that they know that they’ve got you there when they need you.”

Ms Kane: “Are there any things that leaders can be doing to foster a better outcome from their team members?”

Ms McAuliffe: “If you want to keep your people, you need to be developing them, you need to be giving them opportunities to learn, opportunities to do new things. And it doesn’t just mean that you are paying for a course for them to do for the next 12 months.”

She continued: “It could be that you put them in a working group that’s doing something very different to their normal day job that’s maybe an hour out of their week each week, but that connects them in with new people, that they’re learning new ideas, that they’re just given an opportunity to see more of the business, and to feel connected to the business in that way as well.

“If employees feel like their organisation is stuck in the past, and that they’re closed off to new ideas, that’s not really a great way to engage your staff. I think you really need to make sure that you are showing them that you’re keeping up with these trends, you understand what it takes to engage people, and you care,” Ms McAuliffe said.

The transcript of this podcast episode, when quoted above, was slightly edited for publishing purposes. The Adviser’s original podcast article can be found here.