In 2021, workers across the country left their professional roles in record numbers; indeed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 47 million people walked off the job across 12 months — an even more staggering figure than that of 2019, the previous record holder, when around 39 million people left their workplaces behind.
That the Great Resignation has continued unabated despite a nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, though, begs the question of which factors have most compelled Americans to pack up their desks for good. Many publications at first speculated that wage dissatisfaction was a driving factor. Countering this argument, however, was Hired’s 2021 State of Tech Salaries report, which reported an average annual 5 percent increase in compensation over 2020. Raises alone, it seems, weren’t enough to combat widespread turnover.
Research using employee data increasingly points to a more reliable predictor of workplace attrition: toxic corporate culture. From a lack of transparency between employees and higher-ups to feeble efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace to slim opportunities for professional development, unhealthy work environments can take many forms.
A recent MIT Sloan Management Review report outlined that such cultures have been both the leading cause of attrition during the Great Resignation and 10 times more likely to contribute to a mass worker exodus than compensation. With this in mind, it’s clear that addressing toxic corporate cultures and fostering healthier alternatives for workers should be a top priority for tech employers seeking to both attract and retain top talent.
That’s the conclusion that team leaders at Strive Health, LLC and AIR Communities — two fast-growing Colorado companies — have reached while working to expand their headcount and scale their corporate cultures accordingly.
At AIR Communities, a real estate investment trust, Andrea Young believes that her role as senior vice president of technology is expressly enabled by a people-first culture. “By valuing relationships, we build highly collaborative teams and embrace our responsibilities, all while enjoying the journey and creating moments that matter,” Young said.
Meanwhile, as Strive’s director of information technology, IT industry veteran Brian Welch said the healthtech startup is already reaping the benefits of investing in the kind of open communication and companywide transparency that enables healthy teams. “By caring for others, we build significant trust among our teams,” Welch said. “I know that care and trust are fundamental to a strong, positive culture.”
Below, Welch and Young discussed their pride in their company’s cultures and how fostering healthy work environments is enabling companywide growth.
Strive’s healthtech platform is merging advanced technology and in-person care to create a new standard of kidney care, identifying patients earlier and prioritizing the right care at the right time. The company has grown fast in 2022, having doubled its market presence and increased its headcount by 600 percent over the past year; in accordance with that expansion, cultivating a strong company culture has been a high priority for the company’s so-called “Strivers.”
What are the key characteristics of a good team culture, and what are some ways you and your team bring them to life?
I have been in the IT industry since 1995 and have experienced a variety of cultures in the workplace. I believe a strong company culture holds space for every team member, with ideas and influence being bidirectional. At Strive Health, our company culture is rooted in five core values: “care for others first,” “innovation,” “resilience,” “tenacity,” and “fun.” These values were intentionally selected to represent the work we do, the diverse patients we serve and the unique skills every Striver brings to the table. I firmly believe we started our values with “care for others first” because we are all here to support and develop each other so that Strivers, partners and patients can all thrive. As we layer in our other values, we cannot help but have fun through in-person gatherings, a monthly tech review and weekly happy hours. We are committed to getting to know each other in and outside of work, empowering our full selves.
We started our values with ‘care for others first’ because we are all here to support and develop each other.”
How do you ensure members of your team continue to feel challenged, engaged and excited by the work they’re doing?
Every month, our tech-review meeting welcomes new Strivers, celebrates successes and discusses challenges we face as a team and company. Our leaders ensure that we know company and team priorities and are open to feedback around communication and delivery, so we are empowered to succeed.
These threads of communication create excitement and encourage team members to share new ideas. While our technology team members do not work directly with patients, knowing that our work directly impacts our “kidney heroes” and their ability to deliver quality care creates positive challenges we want to solve. Couple this with the need to always stay on the cutting edge of technology, and the team remains innovative and engaged. Strive is open to trying new things, and we encourage our team to learn something new and find a way to implement it to improve processes and experiences.
Do you have any unique team celebrations, traditions or rituals to celebrate successes?
Our chief technology officer is highly engaged with our team. During our tech-review meeting, he ensures we personally welcome new Strivers and celebrate successes. He always provides specific feedback, gratitude and praise that empowers people to acknowledge each other’s wins and push each other to grow.
On a company level, we have a monthly All-Striver meeting to bring everyone together for updates, celebrations and an “ask me anything” session with our leadership. During these meetings, one of our frontline kidney care providers kicks us off with a patient story. These stories set an incredible tone for the rest of the meeting and remind us why we all strive. Once a quarter, we use these meetings to celebrate Strive Value Awards, honoring unique Strivers for their cultural contributions. As our company grows, these scheduled touch points remain critical to fostering a strong culture with shared values.
AIR Communities is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages apartments across the United States. Previously AIMCO (AIV), it has been named a Top Workplace in Colorado by the Denver Post for nine consecutive years.
What are the key characteristics of a good team culture, and what are some ways you and your team bring those characteristics to life?
At AIR Communities, culture is our heart. Our values include, “live with gusto,” “we own it,” “we value relationships,” “we create moments that matter” and “we drive innovation and change.” In a technology role at AIR, my team is often at the front end of driving change, and all our other values come into play in terms of how we can contribute to organizational success.
It’s important to help team members understand the ‘why’ behind the work they are doing.”
How do you ensure members of your team continue to feel challenged, engaged and excited by the work they’re doing?
In addition to living our values, it’s important to help team members understand the “why” behind the work they are doing and how it aligns to both our strategy and our collective success. It’s important to help team members understand how their unique role has an impact. Even something as simple as creating a positive onboarding experience for a new team member by helping them navigate their productivity tools can enforce why we are considered a best place to work. There is interest from across the entire organization in driving innovation and transformation, and that’s exciting to us in technology.
Do you have any unique team celebrations, traditions or rituals to celebrate successes?
Within IT, we have adopted Agile practices that keep us in touch with one another and provide us with the ability to celebrate our team successes as we go. Generally, there is real enterprise intention around recognition from the top down, from regular town halls to CEO breakfasts. In our Denver HQ office, we have an area named the “town square” where our culture has opportunities to come alive through formal and informal interactions. Every Monday and Friday, we host a companywide standup to report on business performance, including celebrating successes. Finally, the AIR Gives program provides team members time outside of our day-to-day to pursue passions of our choosing and impact our local communities across the U.S.
