Why human connection matters in the workplace (and why every team needs Connection Heroes)

The world of work has changed radically in recent years and will continue to do so for many more. Within this state of flux, teams with a strong human connection will outperform those with a more transactional outlook, every time.

Put simply, human connection is good for people and good for profit.

According to a survey by BetterUp in 2023, highly connected employees experience  34% greater goal attainment, 36% boost in well-being, 59% more positive relationships and 92% more professional growth. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report, teams that are highly engaged and connected are 21% more profitable.

However, building and maintaining strong connections across remote and hybrid teams is difficult. According to research in 2023 by Hubspot, even though employees may feel a connection to their company, they don’t feel connected to their colleagues.

Specifically, their global research showed that 70% of employees feel connected to their company’s culture and 69% feel connected to their company’s mission or purpose, but only 34% feel strongly connected to their colleagues.

And this is problematic – as it’s relationships with colleagues that has the biggest impact on engagement, productivity and retention.

Specifically, 66% of respondents who report having a close friend at work say that this impacts their intent to stay and employees would prioritise better relationships with their colleagues over a salary increase (52% v 48%).

In response to this connection crisis, organisations are experimenting with new policies and procedures, new technology platforms and new workflows. Some are working, some are not. Some are having an adverse effect.

But the one common denominator that is essential for any of these to work, and to shift the dial on employee connection, is skills: people need to know how to build and maintain trust and build authentic connections with colleagues they rarely see. 

We can’t just assume our people can magically do this, and we can’t impose old ways of working on today and tomorrow’s workforce: they just won’t accept it.

The solution is to stop thinking about connection events and start thinking about how to create a culture of connection: one where people truly understand and value human connection, where they possess a new set of psychological and practical skills to build connections in a hybrid workplace, and where they are rewarded for doing so.

We call such individuals “Connection Heroes”. They may be leaders, managers, or individual team members, but they all have a deep understanding of human connection, they all actively seek opportunities to strengthen relationships across their teams, and they all have the mindset, skillset and toolset to do this effectively.

Our goal is to train and support a global community of Connection Heroes in workplaces across the world – via our powerful hybrid training programmes and active peer-led digital community. 

It’s early days as we commence training our first 100 Connection Heroes, but watch this space or reach out if you’d like to follow our journey or get involved. It’s going to be fun!