Enabling Employees to “Be All They Can Be” Through People-Centered Initiatives

By Lisa Murphy

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are top priorities for most companies when it comes to human resources initiatives, but GCON is going one step further and incorporating “belonging.” The addition of “belonging” to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEIB) efforts not only help ensure diversity within the GCON workplace but also ensures people feel they are an integral part of the team. In essence, employees feel like they belong and are working for the right company. To solely feel included may not be enough to retain employees, which is why belonging is such a key aspect of building a positive culture. In addition to building a positive workplace, DEIB is key to improving employee morale and business success. Psychological safety is another aspect which we strive to uphold. Instead of focusing on pushing our employees out of their safe space, GCON is working on understanding unconscious bias. We want our employees to be their true selves and for their co-workers to accept them as they are.

Talent mapping is another incredibly valuable concept candidates are looking for in the job market. According to Business News Daily, 63% of workers left their jobs because of the lack of career advancement opportunities within their company. The younger generation workforce strives to have more conversations with management to plan their career path. They want timelines and clearly defined goals they must attain to reach a promotion or to level up from their current position. While older employees might not need a roadmap for such advancement, younger employees demand it. GCON has recently incorporated the talent mapping strategy to enhance retention and upward mobility.

Another unique component of our corporate “culture of caring” is GCON’s approach to giving back. One of GCON’s core values is to support our communities through service to charitable organizations, and the importance of this value is communicated across GCON. Every year, full-time employees are given 40 hours of paid time to volunteer with charitable organizations in their local or global community. Some employees sit on nonprofit boards, some volunteer for local food banks and others travel to countries such as Africa for service projects. This has proven to be an attractive benefit and garners a lot of interest during our college recruitment discussions. The goal of this program is to help every employee be the best they can be and to maximize their impact on the world.

A novel approach we employ to combat the drain on mental health that employees face today is to offer free counseling and mental health coaching. When we first offered mental health as a free benefit, many employees still were not taking advantage of it due to the stigma that surrounds mental health. Oftentimes, employees in the construction industry view themselves as tough, strong and hardheaded, making it difficult for them to take the first step in being vulnerable in asking for help. Internally, we worked on a strong triage system to connect our employees with the resources that GCON offers, allowing our employees to learn more about mental health benefits while being put on the path to change. Through these efforts, our workforce now knows that there are resources for them at any time.

Finally, the last tool that has improved our culture is our adoption of the Predictive Index (PI). This individual analysis system helps us determine how an employee shows up to work, their natural strengths and motivating needs. It’s directly tied into our application process and is an initial tool we find to be very successful in screening applicants to determine job fit. Our retention rates have improved as a result of using the PI and our employee relationships are stronger than ever before.

While we strive to be an employer who excels in our industry, we will never stop putting our people first. Without GCON employees we cannot meet our goals and would not be a company that feels more like a family than an employer. Human resources initiatives are not just how employees can become all they want to be but also how GCON can become everything we want it to be.