Sarah Clackson

In my many years working in the creative industry, I once heard someone say, “creativity is just the fluffy stuff.”

Now it might come as no surprise that I fundamentally disagree! When done well, creativity can be incredibly powerful, especially when backed by a robust strategy. It’s the best way to cut through the noise, drive change, and bring your culture to life. It can create movements and be the difference from landing a message successfully to one that falls flat.

Creativity starts with emotion…

Think back to when you’ve watched a great film or read a book you couldn’t put down. How did it make you feel? You’ve probably felt some level of emotion. You invested in the story and became part of a world outside your own, even if just for a minute. That’s the power of creativity. It makes people feel. And it can create a lasting impact.

Communicating internally should be no different. When people feel something, it creates stronger connection and meaning. Just because you work for a corporate company doesn’t mean the people behind the scenes are corporate too. Employees are real people. We all want to have purpose, feel a sense of belonging, to be heard, and to be valued. We want to know that what we do really matters. Our emotions play a huge part in whether a day at work is a good one or one you simply want to forget. And that comes down to the way we communicate.

At Home, we know that better days mean better business. It’s about making work really work, and that means getting creative throughout the entire employee experience–from hire to retire. It’s about taking people on the journey in new, exciting and innovative ways whilst remaining human and authentic. Whether it’s creating impactful campaigns or helping leaders support and deliver the best employee experience for their teams, the right creative output can connect hearts and minds.

As employee experts, we build high-performing cultures through strategy, creativity, and experience. After all, strategy without creativity is an unexecuted plan on a page, and creative without a strategy behind it will lack direction and meaning. To get the best results, the two go hand in hand when creating impactful experiences your people will love and remember.

That’s where Home can help. Come on in, our doors always open.

At Home, our vision is to make every employee experience a great one.

But, unfortunately, sometimes the feeling we experience before work, especially on a Sunday evening, can be the total opposite. We’ve all had them at one time or another – those pit of your stomach work dreads when we think about the week ahead. Feeling this way is not healthy, and neither does it create a healthy work culture.

So, what exactly is causing people to feel this way about work?

Is it not fully understanding what’s expected of us? The feeling we’re not valued? The worry that we don’t fit in? A manager who just doesn’t listen? Home’s recent piece of global employee experience research – The Work Project – found that all these things and more result in repeated bad days at work. Leading to unhealthy work cultures, where people don’t feel good, and can’t do their best work.

The Work Project found that 1 in 4 people have felt discriminated against at work, whilst 1 in 3 don’t feel listened to. Belonging and listening are two important levers that contribute to a healthy work culture. When they’re not done right, those bad days will increase along with the number of talented people looking for their next job. We need to start listening to people about their day-to-day experiences to understand what’s really happening and where things can be improved.

Work with meaning.

Another key lever is purpose. When we understand the part we play in the wider company strategy, it’s easier for us to find purpose and meaning because we know exactly how we can make a difference. It feels good by bringing out the best in us.

I’ve been at Home for over 20 years and within that time I have experienced several roles from designer to being on the leadership team. No matter how long or little someone has been with you, or what position they hold, everyone matters. As leaders, we need to be human, build trusted relationships and understand the individual needs of others. We can do this by asking the right questions so we can provide a supportive, safe and engaging environment where everyone can thrive, do their best work and have more good days than bad. No more Sunday night dreads.