The one thing that we all care about as human beings – feeling cared for and to be heard.
A culture of caring creates an environment of trust. When your people trust that you care about their experiences more than the performance reviews, they’ll be more open to sharing their ideas, leading to better plans for change. And when they trust that you care how your plans will impact their lives, they’ll be willing to do the hard work of change.
When people consistently feel genuine care at the workplace, it is only natural that they will choose to give back to the company with more drive and motivation.
For me, this is when a workplace becomes a Joyplace.
I personally experienced this when my grandmother passed away in 2015. This was my early years at 95%. I was away in Genting for work, facilitating for one of our personal growth trainings. I was very close to her and my sister didn’t want to call me directly to let me know the news. She knows that I’d be devastated and it might interrupt the training.
Instead, she reached out to one of my colleagues back in KL via Facebook and asked him to pass the news to me when the time is right. My colleague assured her that he will make all the necessary arrangements to get me home as soon as possible and asked her not to worry. He immediately informed my CEO, Janet Lee who was with me in Genting.
When the news reached me, a taxi was already waiting at the hotel entrance to bring me back home and another teammate was already on the way to take my place. Janet accompanied me to my hotel room, helped me pack my stuffs, and was with me till I got onto the taxi safely. Everything was handled for me by my team in no time, just so that I can be back home and be there for my family.
That was just one of the moments I felt genuinely cared for at this workplace. People come first, no matter if it’s our employees, families, clients, or vendors. People always come first at 95%.
I have been working at 95% for 6 years now and I know I have another ‘family’ at work. And we got each other’s back no matter how difficult things get. We work hard together. This is my Joyplace where a high trust culture nurtures collaboration and creativity, encouraging employees to be their best version.