For decades, companies have used engagement surveys and culture metrics to measure employee satisfaction. While these traditional tools have helped organizations understand their workforce, they often fall short in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Why? Because employee engagement alone is no longer enough. Today, true success hinges on something deeper, more transformative—connectedness.
Connectedness is not just a new buzzword. It has become the essential foundation for teams looking to thrive. It’s what enables employees to feel a profound sense of belonging to each other, to the solutions they provide, and to the brand they represent. When connectedness becomes a priority, the results speak for themselves.
Why Connectedness is a Game-Changer for Business Outcomes
Research from Gallup tells a compelling story. Employees who feel truly connected to their organization are 25% more productive, 20% less likely to be absent, and markedly more innovative. Connected employees show up not because they have to, but because they want to bring energy, creativity, and commitment to their work.
Conversely, disconnected employees are twice as likely to leave within their first year. Consider the impact of these departures: disrupted teams, lost time, shaken morale, and soaring recruitment costs.
Disconnectedness isn’t just a workforce issue; it’s a bottom-line issue.
By building connectedness, organizations unlock a powerful competitive advantage. Connected teams are agile, collaborative, and innovative, and connected employees are engaged problem solvers who take pride in their roles.
What Connectedness Looks Like in Practice
Connectedness operates across three crucial dimensions. Here's how to recognize and foster it within your organization:
1. Connection to Each Other
Companies with strong interpersonal connections don’t just have employees—they have allies. These teams work collaboratively, share ideas openly, and foster mutual trust and support. People feel psychologically safe, knowing their contributions are valued.
What this often looks like: Teams that genuinely enjoy working together. Members who share freely, problem-solve together and celebrate wins as a unit. Open communication and camaraderie are the norms.
Warning Sign: A team member has a personal win or struggle, and the team does not exhibit an empathetic response.
Leadership Check-in: One of the clearest indicators of a team's health is how it responds to its members' personal wins or struggles. When a team member shares a success or faces a challenge, and the team fails to exhibit an empathetic response, it's a red flag.
Empathy is the glue that holds high-performing teams together. Without it, collaboration weakens, trust erodes, and a culture of disengagement takes root.
Strong teams celebrate together, support each other, and ensure that every individual feels valued, especially during personal highs and lows.
How empathetic is your team in moments that truly matter?
2. Connection to the Solution
Employees find fulfillment when they see how their work addresses real-world challenges. Whether team members see their role as saving lives or improving customer experiences, simply understanding the "why" behind tasks transforms their level of ownership and contribution.
"When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute." – Simon Sinek
What this often looks like: employees who light up when they talk about their projects, teams that recognize milestones in the bigger picture, and employees who take pride in their impact.
Leadership tip: Regularly remind employees how their individual work contributes to the organization’s purpose. Share stories, celebrate accomplishments, and connect individual tasks to greater outcomes. This isn’t just storytelling—it’s strategy.
Leadership Check-in: In today's fast-paced environment, teams often measure success by simply getting things "done." But this mindset can lead to a significant disconnect from the deeper "why" that drives an organization's purpose.
When teams prioritize checking tasks off a list rather than intentionally crafting solutions that create value internally and externally, they risk losing alignment with their mission and impact.
True success lies in fostering a culture where outcomes aren't just completed but thoughtfully delivered, ensuring they resonate with the organization's goals and the needs of the people they serve.
Are your teams aligned with the "why," or just racing to the finish line?
3. Connection to the Brand
Your brand is more than a logo or product—it’s a promise, a set of values, and a vision for impacting your market and your employees. Employees want to feel proud of the organizations they work for. When your brand has authentic values that align with your team's ethics, you don’t just gain employees; you gain advocates who champion your brand inside and out.
"Connection is why we're here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives." – Brené Brown
What this often looks like: Employees who proudly showcase your brand in their social media profiles and personal networks not because they are incentivized but because they love their work.
Leadership tip: Be transparent about your mission and values. Celebrate wins, own mistakes honestly, and ensure alignment between brand promises and internal practices. Treat team members with dignity and worth; it’s the foundation of loyalty.
Leadership Check-in: Is Your Brand Helping Employees Flourish Beyond the 9-to-5?
A brand's true impact goes beyond its products or services it’s reflected in how it supports its employees' lives, both inside and outside the workplace.
Does your organization offer purpose, meaning, emotional safety, equitable pay, relationships, and growth opportunities? If not, you're at risk of being seen as just another replaceable employer.
Today's workforce seeks more than a paycheck; they crave connection, growth, and a sense of belonging. Brands that prioritize employee flourishing become irreplaceable.
How is your brand empowering your team to thrive?
The Leader’s Role in Driving Connectedness
Connectedness doesn’t happen by accident—it’s created with intentional leadership. Here are five strategies leaders can implement today to strengthen connectedness within their organizations:
Cultivate Strong Interpersonal Relationships. Honor and call out the humanity of your team.
Encourage Open Communication. Allow feedback without a negative reaction or tone.
Reinforce Mission and Values. Daily link projects and tasks to the overarching mission. Remind employees why their work matters.
Invest in Tools for Hybrid and Remote Work. Remote environments require deliberate solutions to maintain connectivity. We use Zoom chat as our "water cooler" and
Set the Standard. Show up with the empathy of a realist and the passion of an optimist.
Real Results from Connected Organizations
The data doesn’t lie. Companies that prioritize connectedness reap tangible rewards. According to Gallup, organizations with connected teams see a 21% increase in profitability and 17% higher customer satisfaction. MIT Sloan Management Review also highlights that connected teams are 5x more likely to collaborate effectively and produce groundbreaking innovations.
But this isn’t just about Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations can all benefit. Connectedness fuels impact across industries and scales—and when your people thrive, your organization does too.
A Challenge for Leaders
It’s time to reflect—how connected are your employees in these three areas?
To Each Other
To the Solutions They Provide
To Your Brand’s Purpose, Finances, and Communications
If the answers feel unclear, take the first step. Ask your team what’s working and what’s not. Create meaningful opportunities for connection. Celebrate small wins. Lean into the power of being personal—it’s through personal connections that leaders achieve extraordinary results.
Connectedness as the New Culture Score
Connectedness is now the metric that moves the needle, driving productivity, innovation, and retention in a way that old culture scores simply cannot.
The workplace revolution is already underway. Are you ready to lead it?
Action for today:
What’s one actionable step you can take this week to strengthen connectedness in your organization?
If you’re ready to craft a roadmap for connectedness tailored to your organization, get in touch. Together, we can build stronger teams, meaningful connections, and a thriving workplace culture.