Stories

Companies often say, “We are more than just colleagues- We are a family.” What are the elements within a company that can make this statement true?

Ever since the masses within the population started to migrate to cities back in the industrial age in search of work and sustainable growth and development within their lives, we have seen a significant change of process, relations, job descriptions, and methods of operations over the years. Society has transformed its working class into a system that operates on a scale grander as opposed to half a century ago.

Most of the industries in this day and age have evolved a working model that is more ‘work smart, not hard and this has shifted both the mindsets of the majority of employees as well as incentivized the innovations employers and business owners aspire to adopt within their organizations.

At some point in our lives, we have found ourselves working with, or for somebody; whether an individual or an organization. This might be for whatever personal reason; paying the bills, chasing a career, job security and sustainability or even for the love and passion of keeping busy and being productive. We find ourselves on most mornings in a week disabling (and some of us snoozing) our alarms, dragging our feet to the bathroom so that we can get ready for the day ahead of us.

Is it not crazy to imagine that most of the time we spend in a typical week is spent at the office? And if some of us are not at the office, we are running errands on behalf of the organizations that employ us. This would mean that the relationships that we forge with our colleagues and our predecessors need to be sufficient, sustainable, respectable and most importantly, genuine. Often in most company speeches, you tend to hear a term that is repeated countlessly, “We are more than just colleagues, we are a family.”

Now, while some of us may roll our eyes sarcastically or make memes about it after work, there is usually a message being communicated there. From both the employee and the employer. Do we ever take a minute to sit back and try and figure out what those ten words might really mean? Let us objectively discuss three factors that both sides might consider as family accommodative within the workplace setting:

What makes workplace colleagues family?

1. Are you a supportive Employer/ Employee?

Under what circumstances would you consider a fellow workmate a family member within your organization? Is it because you have your lunch breaks together? Do you have similarities both in and out of work? Do you share the same visions for the future? Did you befriend each other during the interview sessions and grew the relationship from there onwards?

There are so many things that one can think to add to the paragraph above. Each of us comes with a story, a desire and a goal to work on in order to further ourselves and those who mean something to us. Fortunately or unfortunately, we still have individuals that carry the, “you’re born alone and you will die alone” mentality. This is not so sustainable if we are being honest. We all need support one way or another. Even if you were ‘born alone,’ you still needed your parents’ support to grow and nurture you to be this individual sitting in front of a panel seeking a job, don’t you?

There is power and progress in support. Effective support. Support breeds motivation and that breeds vision which then breeds action, perseverance and results. The system is more complex but that is a simple way to envision this model. Every morning that you wake up and go to work, make a habit of creating a supportive mindset. You’ll be surprised how many of your colleagues and even clients will gravitate towards you.

• Are you there just to work and go home?

Many of us out here (myself included) would much rather just get to work, plug in our earphones, put on our favorite 80’s and 90’s soul playlist, crack a few jokes with colleagues and just dive into the work in order to meet set targets for the day. But is that all there is for to coming to work? Is that all we really want? There is a saying that goes ‘all work and no play makes Jill a dull boy.’

Sure, some work settings have a little more of a serious atmosphere than others, but that does not mean that we need to be robotic in our daily operations. Between the hours you leave your house and come back in the evening, you should always ask yourself at the end of that day; “how many people have I made smile today? How many have I been kind to? How many did I genuinely support? Did I create value in someone else’s life, other than my own?”

Nowadays, life is moving too fast. Days go by and it often feels like you blinked and three years went by. It is important to live in the moment in whatever situation you find yourself in. We already established that we spend most of our time at work. Why would you want to be so manual, so synchronized, and so robotic when you sit in that chair? Please, as you reflect on this, keep in mind that your organization still expects you to perform to the required extent. All play and no work might also make for a distasteful track record.

• Apart from just work, do you make an effort to grow the relationships with your colleagues?

This goes back to similarities, common interests, and forging more than just an “at work” relationship. Call centers, for example, deal with a majority of different people on any given day and in my experience, call center agents have some of the funniest, wildest, and most unimaginable stories due to the variety of people they engage with on a day today. It is the same with many other organizations. If you are insightful, you can socialize with colleagues and use some of their challenges, experiences, and success stories to grow yourself within your organization. Do not be malicious in this activity though. It has to be a genuine approach. Nobody likes a manipulator.

Seek out mentorship from the individuals in the organization that is in the position you would want to be in. Learn from them and always be eager to take on responsibility- and not just for a pay raise or other incentives. Maintain a marathon mindset. Responsibilities breed experience and experience breeds rewards- not just in the workplace, but in your setups on the side that you wish to turn into passive income streams (assuming you have one in mind). You never know, your seniors often end up being the ones who open the doors that you pray for to open. They are beings just like you. Respect them but don’t fear them!

I hope that after those three points, the idea of a “work family” seems a little less obnoxious or cliché. There are so many other things that can be integrated within these three points, though I would like you to try to think of a few ideas of your own that you can implement towards working to build more stable, genuine, and sustainable work-family relationships. I will leave you with this quote I often ask myself when I am looking to make an amendment to my ethics, “if one mind can change the world, imagine all that could change if a group of collective minds fused their thoughts, ideologies, and aspirations?” Think about it.

Written By:

Ian Mwangi

Imagine a primary or high school student on the road to college without digital skills. The limited capability to conduct research, connect with relevant teachers, peers and stakeholders on the journey to their aspired career can be inhibiting.

Ikumini Primary School 

On Friday, 9th July 2021, our team of customer service executives traveled to Machakos County to celebrate with the students of Ikumini primary school as they held their thanksgiving mass for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) class of 2020.

The school is located in Mwala sub-county and has a total enrollment of 179 pupils. In an event graced by the area assistant chief as well as various alumni of the school, the TeleSky family donated computers to the school to aid the current exam candidates prepare for their exams.

Kaloleni Secondary School 

The team also visited newly opened Kaloleni secondary school with a current enrollment of 68 students, the school’s first candidate class will sit for their exams in 2021. The team donated computers to contribute towards the setting up of the school’s first computer lab.

Customer Service Pros got to interact with the students and community. They reiterated to them the importance of all children getting an education as well as the kids getting sorely needed digital literacy skills. The kids were eager to start putting the computers to good use and the smiles on their faces were all the gratitude we needed.

Students in the two schools had previously struggled due to lack of enough computers and equipment to cater for the ever-increasing numbers. We hope that the team’s efforts will go a long way towards alleviating that and give them a platform from which they will be able to achieve their dreams.

Have you wondered how some companies have employees who have great commitment to their jobs? Well then you can probably go ahead and read this article as I try break down factors that keep employees in a company motivated. It is key that employers forge the right relationships with their employees. When employers have already fostered a great relationship with their employees, employees will always be keen to go over and beyond to support the organization at large.

As a manager do not shy off from asking for new suggestions that could help boost up employee spirits in the work environment. Something that particularly works for companies is having an Open Door Policy. The main purpose of an open policy is to encourage growth, high performance and success throughout the organization.  

The policy is meant to encourage employees to not shy from pitching suggestions/ questions to the management. The main goal for companies that want to practice this is to use it as a morale booster and establish an environment of trust. The company can encourage that employees do activities together as a team without putting emphasis on the hierarchy. It is about setting the right balance where the employees still respect the management but at the same time are still able to freely express their needs and concerns. Having that right balance in the workplace ensures that employees are able to still be themselves without fearing their seniors. Relationships are the core ingredient of a company’s success. You definitely don’t need a set of employees who fear those in the management .Let us remember that there is a huge difference between fear and respect. With the right leadership balance, respect will always take a permanent place in an open door policy type of work environment. Work will always be a fun environment and employees will always be able to yield high results. Did you also know that this Open Door Policy is what brought forth the open office spaces just to break the rigidity at work and promote office collaboration?  Now you know.

Another way to keep employees motivated is ensuring that the manager is able to brainstorm with his or her team. This creates a sense of importance among the employees as they are able to feel like their opinions are valued. Every opinion plays a great role not only in team work but just giving them the satisfaction and assurance of how important they are to the growth of their company. Your employees are your VIP; do not make them feel any less. Listening is also another way to foster trust and encourage your employees. Always LISTEN as they will tell you exactly what is on the ground.

Accolades.  Accolades sounds like a huge deal however managers can learn how to appreciate a good job. It is important that the management appreciates any good work done. If there is great a performance from an employee you can ensure that you try reward them, could be a tiny gift but it goes a long way. Other employees will get motivated and try ensure that the next month they are able to be the best. A small token of appreciation here and there could act as a motivational factor. Everybody loves it when they are appreciated.

Fun activities. Our company has a beautiful culture whereby we do funky Fridays. This is where we dress up. We all choose a coordinated color code for our dressing.  We all look forward to seeing what members of the team will wear. This is a fun way to ensure that we break the boring traditional monotonous dressing restricted to the work environment.  Monotony is boring.

Games.  “All work without play makes Jack a dull boy”. Office Games are a great way to engage employees on a boring afternoon or when spirits are low and need a little bit of a boost e.g. Two truths one lie. Each member comes up with two truths and one lie which they tell to their colleagues and those colleagues should decipher which is the lie. This is a great way for colleagues to get to know each other.  You can always look up more games that will suit your company.

Another great way to motivate your employees is showing them that you TRUST them.

             “Trust is earned when words meet actions!”

by Chris Butler

Do not talk about trusting employees when your actions have no weight.  Lack of trust in the employees is a huge factor that contributes in lack of motivation among them. As a leader you need to be able to trust and believe that your employees have the company’s best interest at heart without following them around or being on their necks. I have always been a keen believer that whenever someone trusts me enough with a task, I am obliged to do my best to always prove why they ever trusted me with the task in the first place. Let staff own their day to day responsibilities in the workplace. What does your company do to ensure that the employees stay motivated? Let us know.