Positive Work Environment: Strategies for Engagement and Growth from HR Leaders

Creating a positive work environment is more than just encouraging strong communities; it is a dynamic ecosystem where diversity, inclusion, and belonging meet and thrive. When people feel they are an integral part of their organization, they are more engaged, motivated, and committed to their work.

GoodPlaceToWork said that diversity means being invited to the party, inclusion means being asked to dance, and belonging means dancing freely because you feel comfortable being yourself. This sense of belonging is not just a nice-to-have but a critical component of a productive, innovative, and positive workplace.

In this blog post, we will explore the profound business impact of creating a positive work environment. We will share insights and quotes from HR executives, real-world examples, and practical tips on fostering a sense of belonging in your organization.

The business impact of a positive work environment

A positive work environment is essential for any organization's success and growth in today's business landscape. This success hinges on companies' ability to attract and retain top talent, and strong communities play a huge role in doing just that.

In fact, studies show that organizations that build a strong sense of belonging are five times more likely to attract people who want to stay with them for a long period of time. Moreover, belonging encourages honest relationships, open communication, and commitment to the company's objectives. 

To get beyond these well-known benefits, we talked with HR experts to find out their thoughts on the impact of positive work environments and strong communities on business performance. This is what they had to say:

For Mihaela Rădoi, Regional People Partner at Bolt, open communication and constructive feedback can lead to better problem-solving and personal growth, which are core elements of a positive workplace. This approach enhances employee engagement and encourages mutual respect within the organization. Ultimately, people who feel heard and valued are more likely to be invested in their work and contribute to the company's success.

Mihaela Rădoi Regional People Partner at Bolt

Firstly, we love open communication and promote a transparent work environment. One of Bolt's Operating Principles is "We challenge each other but mean well." We think the best solutions are found through intense but respectful debate. We give honest feedback to help people grow, but we also make sure they know we're on their side. Feedback, learning, and improvement are crucial to our growth, so we promote this open communication approach to all our employees.

Danusia Jugastreanu, Head of HR – EU region at R Systems, ties communities with well-being and supports the idea that organizations should promote a healthy work-life balance to build a positive environment. Companies can improve employee satisfaction and boost productivity and retention by offering flexible work arrangements and a comprehensive wellness program. This is why people-centric companies strike to create cultures where skills and work are valued as much as the people who bring them along.

Danusia Jugastreanu Head of HR – EU region at R Systems

Workplace wellness goes beyond health insurance coverage, a massage room, and a safe working environment. It’s an overarching workplace culture that sees each employee as a whole person. And since software development can sometimes involve long hours to meet deadlines, we work hard to provide a healthy work-life balance through flexible hours, work-from-home and remote work options, and wellbeing activities created in advance for an entire year and addressing a holistic approach for any individual: body, mind, connection, and happiness with each quarter focusing on one of the areas.

Estera Anghelescu, Recruiting and Employer Branding Director at Kaufland shared with us how the company has made its diversity and inclusion values a reality. The impact of their DE&I program was transformative: Kaufland not only managed to create a thriving and positive culture where everyone feels included, but they hired over 500 people with disabilities, adapted 21 cash registers in Kaufland stores across Romania for our colleagues in wheelchairs, and opened other 500 positions across their stores, logistics centers and headquarters, ensuring inclusion at all levels.

Estera Anghelescu Recruiting & Employer Branding Director at Kaufland

At Kaufland Romania, diversity and inclusion are fundamental values that guide our organizational culture and activities. As such, in October 2019, we launched the A.C.C.E.S. program (Employment of Candidates with Special Requirements and Developments), which aims to integrate people with disabilities into our team. To turn this idea into reality, we started within our organization, and we've focused on accessibility initiatives, training sessions on disability awareness, providing necessary support systems and accommodations, and continually improving based on employee feedback. Over the past five years, with an average of 60 applications per month, we conducted more than 1.500 job interviews and hired over 500 people with disabilities. These results are more than just numbers. They are proof of our efforts and dedication to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone can find their place, feeling valued, integrated, and supported.

💡 Continue reading: Your Guide to Building Community At Work

Real-world examples and tips from HR experts

Building a positive work environment involves implementing various programs and initiatives that foster strong communities, employee engagement, collaboration, and personal growth. Here are some real-world examples and tips from HR executives who have successfully cultivated thriving cultures in their organizations:

Corina Făurescu, Booking Holdings Inc.'s Head of People, focuses on building a community around common values like collaboration, diversity, and innovation. The company fosters a sense of belonging and shared purpose by encouraging employees to connect, build relationships, and gather together.

Corina Făurescu Head of People | HR Business Partner EMEA | HR Country Lead at Booking Holdings Inc.

Our goal is to build and sustain a great place to work for everyone, but more than that, we like to think we are building a community centered around common values such as collaboration, diversity, and innovation. We are committed to creating opportunities for employees to gather, connect, and build relationships. Whether it's through a monthly series of events in which we invite our colleagues to connect or one of our ESG initiatives (developed on three pillars: sustainability, social responsibility, and education), like "Adopt a mountain track" or our internal hackathons to generate innovative solutions, everyone has a chance to make a positive impact on the organization or team they are a part of.

According to Adrian Mînză, HR Manager at FEV Romania, it is important to recognize and nurture employees' passions and interests beyond their job descriptions. FEV Romania empowers employees to bring their authentic selves to work by providing flexible learning and personal development budgets.

Adrian Mînză HR Manager at FEV Romania

I have conducted mentoring and coaching programs on the 'tag me a buddy' system that have worked professionally and personally. Program: bring your passion to the office and turn it into a corporate photo session. We have a flexible budget that you can access for learning and passions, even if they are not within the job description – we don't consider that this phrase defines what a person does in the organization; rather, it's the person who defines the role.

Mihaela Rădoi, Regional People Partner at Bolt, highlights the role of fun and friendship in building a thriving company culture. Regular social gatherings strengthen relationships, promote collaboration, and encourage diversity in the workplace.

Mihaela Rădoi Regional People Partner at Bolt

We build a positive work environment by "having fun" as well. That's one of our core values, too. People perform best when surrounded by those they enjoy spending time with. We bring our teams together through annual events for local and global teams (such as Summer Summit, for example). At Bolt Romania, our Workplace team organizes monthly events in the office for our colleagues, and they have the flexibility to adapt and customize events based on our needs. This encourages collaboration and diversity in the workplace.

Marius Ciurariu, HR Director at Provident, shared their initiatives to create diverse opportunities for engagement and learning. Monthly open forums with leadership, large-scale events, and regular social activities provide multiple touchpoints for people to connect, learn, and grow.

Marius Ciurariu HR Director at Provident

Every month, we organize 'Coffee with Directors', an open participation invitation to business updates, and an opportunity to ask our board members questions. We have two major festivals aiming to promote engagement and learning. One is the Summer Festival, a teambuilding event where our employees have a series of activities from which they can choose. We also have a Learning Festival week, dedicated to learning and development, with local and global events. At the same time, we are looking to create contexts in which people can come together: running, cooking day, children's day, board games night, etc.

Ramona Crețu, Head of People & Development at Profi, highlights the importance of recognizing and appreciating employees’ contributions and continuously measuring engagement levels. Programs that encourage gratitude and regular feedback help maintain a positive work atmosphere and allow the organization to respond promptly to employee needs and concerns.

Ramona Crețu Head of People & Development at Profi

We implemented several engagement and collaboration programs, like the "Thank You Button," with the slogan "Together we will restore the power of Thank You!" Profi employees can thank their colleagues for the team effort invested in growing the business and maintaining a friendly and positive work atmosphere. Beyond what Employees Performance Management means as an application, we are deeply invested in measuring employee and partner satisfaction. To this end, we have built Ana, the virtual HR assistant. She responds to the specific requirements of each Business Unit as well as the general needs of the company. We take the pulse of employees' engagement and mood every quarter or as often as necessary through targeted or broad surveys.

Veronica Olteanu, HR and Communications Director at Porr Construct, shares the company's approach to tailored teambuilding and celebrations. By tailoring events and festivals to meet the diverse needs of their people, Porr Construct ensures that everyone feels included and valued.

Veronica Olteanu HR and Communications Director at Porr Construct

Given the high number of employees, we had to adjust to this increase and to design a series of celebrations, instead of just one. This way, we can reach all our colleagues, no matter how far away their locations are. Also, the concept and the activities on the day's agenda are adjusted to suit their needs – these are the little things that make a difference. We pay the same attention to the choice of gifts – the promotional items are selected to ensure they are highly appreciated and generate maximum impact.

Flavia-Carmen Bucerzan, Country Manager, Employer Branding Communications at Bosch, shared the benefits of a hybrid working environment that is not only collaborative but also inclusive, designed to meet people’s unique needs.

Flavia-Carmen Bucerzan Country Manager, Employer Branding Communications at Bosch

At Bosch Romania, collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. Our hybrid working model, built on flexibility and trust, is truly valued by our colleagues. When they choose to work from the office, our spaces are carefully designed in line with the Inspiring Working Conditions concept to foster collaboration and creativity. We also prioritize creating a strong sense of belonging, and our colleagues value team atmosphere the most. We cultivate an inclusive and collaborative environment through team-building activities, parties, family days, and community-focused initiatives on parenting, sports, reading, self-development, wellbeing, etc.

These examples from thought HR leaders demonstrate the diverse ways organizations can build positive work environments. From fostering open HR communication and supporting personal passions to creating engaging social events, these initiatives bring everyone together.

How to measure the impact of your HR initiatives

Measuring the impact of your HR initiatives is crucial to understanding their effectiveness. There are multiple ways to determine your initiatives’ success, such as analyzing data to understand the financial impact, leveraging studies and benchmarks to support these initiatives effectively, or translating actions into tangible benefits.

For Adrian Mînză, the business impact of community initiatives is determined by monitoring metrics like attrition rate, employee satisfaction, event participation, and social media engagement. Through this analysis, HR leaders can identify trends and correlations that highlight the success of their efforts. 

Adrian Mînză HR Manager at FEV Romania

We look at the KPIs of all processes, and we like to think that the upward trend of each KPI is due to the accumulation of initiatives we have in the area of engagement at all levels and on all HR fronts together with team leaders. Examples: attrition rate, employee satisfaction survey, event participation rate, implementation of new ideas, increase of social media engagement (on exclusive content coming from colleagues).

Corina Făurescu, Head of People at Booking Holdings Inc., gave us an example of a metric that can be easily measured by companies of all sizes to demonstrate the business value of community initiatives: employee engagement. 

Corina Făurescu Head of People | HR Business Partner EMEA | HR Country Lead at Booking Holdings Inc.

At Booking Holdings Romania, employee engagement is a metric we look at consistently and carefully all year round. We monitor employee sentiment and trends via the two engagement surveys we deploy twice yearly, generating actionable feedback for the leadership team. We are proud to have a very high engagement score due to a mix of a people-first approach in our business strategy, inclusive people practices and programs, and a continued investment in our employees.

For Veronica Olteanu, on the other hand, it’s essential to balance quantitative data with qualitative feedback. Objective metrics like response rates and satisfaction scores provide clear benchmarks, while subjective ones such as participation in initiatives and internal brand ambassadorship offer deeper insights into the cultural impact of community-building efforts. 

Veronica Olteanu HR and Communications Director at Porr Construct

As you can well imagine, construction is a people business, and we measure effectiveness in objective terms (i.e., figures) and subjective terms (i.e., employees' feelings/perceptions). We count the response rates among relevant KPIs (it's worth mentioning that, at the level of the entire Group, PORR Romania ranked first on blue-collar response rates in the employee satisfaction survey). The satisfaction rate (measured as a result of such surveys we conduct yearly) is a straightforward indicator. The participation rates at different initiatives suggested by the company, the willingness to give interviews, the swift replies we receive from colleagues for any information requests, and the sense of pride and joy they feel when they see their projects posted on Social Media; all play an important part.

Flavia-Carmen Bucerzan, Country Manager, Employer Branding Communications at Bosch, shared the importance of having a feedback-driven culture in measuring the impact of community initiatives. The most effective way to determine the success of your HR actions is to gather feedback from team members and act on it.

Flavia-Carmen Bucerzan Country Manager, Employer Branding Communications at Bosch

Our company has an integrated feedback culture. We regularly conduct employee surveys to gather feedback from our colleagues about their experiences with existing projects. We also track the level of participation at events and activities, and I can confidently say that all community events generate high interest among our colleagues. Additionally, we carefully monitor employee satisfaction changes and proactively adjust our community initiatives to meet their needs. In recent years, our eNPS (employee net promoter score) has consistently been over 70%, indicating that our employees happily recommend Bosch as an employer to their friends and acquaintances. This makes us extremely proud.

By combining these methods, organizations can understand how their initiatives perform. Regularly reviewing these metrics and adapting strategies based on the findings will ensure your people thrive.

Foster success through a positive work environment

We hope that these insights from HR leaders demonstrate that when employees feel a true sense of belonging, they are more committed, motivated, and ready to contribute to the organization’s success.

As you reflect on the strategies and examples from this article, consider how you can strengthen your workplace. Start by evaluating your current initiatives and seeking feedback from your team. You could also consider letting HR tech help you along the way. Mirro’s workplace community & DEI software is the right tool to bring everyone together and make it count.