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Five Pillars of Community

Today’s associations, businesses and communities are facing an intense period of digital transformation, increasing the need for people to feel belonging. The changing world has led member organizations in every industry to reassess their purpose and sometimes redirect objectives.

Success in this evolving environment is accepting and adapting to the change. Now is not the time to be stagnant or revert to comfortable pre-pandemic mindsets and activities — organizations must embrace this digital transition while looking for new ways to define their business in the digital era.

Introducing a framework like the Five Pillars of Community to your organization, in conjunction with utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) recommendation software to enable deeper connection, is thus imperative in the current and future digital arena. In the fast-changing setting of the workplace, adopting a common mindset builds community and maintains a team-oriented environment as a strong foundation for your organization. Implementing the following 5 Pillars of Community are key components in differentiating those that succeed from those that thrive in the digital scene.

1. Direction and Desired Outcome – Providing every member of the organization with a clear outline of objectives is crucial to ensuring the whole team is working towards a common success. Identifying a path to desired achievement and goals is a valuable tool in creating a community in the virtual workplace

2. Shared Responsibility – Identifying that each member shares a level of stake in the outcome of decision making, is imperative in keeping an engaged community while combating the added distractions of employees telecommuting from various environments.

3. Personal Value – Human nature causes people to ask the question of “What’s in it for me?” When organizations have a clear recognition and reward system for consistently high performing members, productivity goes up. Employees are the backbone to any company/organization- showing that their work is valued and appreciated will circle back for the greater good of the community.

4. Progress Awareness – Tracking progress towards goals and objectives through establishing clear performance metrics is necessary to monitor and gage progress and improvements. Being aware of both individual and overall company progress maintains a level of accountability and provides updates on development.

5. Ongoing Ecosystem – In the traditional workplace setting, an ongoing ecosystem does not require as much change as it does in the digital setting. Today, the major shift from office to home has caused an entirely new workplace to evolve. The shift means that reliable virtual communities are vital and powerful intelligent tools are necessary to meet demands and ensure productivity.

In a constantly shifting environment, organizations and their members, employees and followers must be ready to embrace the new digital landscape. In order to be successful, employee communities must have access to the right tools and motivators to accomplish the end objectives with high productivity rates. Adopting the Five Pillars of Community is a great option to set yourself and your organization up for success in the ever-changing digital era and evolutionary workplace environment.

Josh Hotsenpiller is a premier thought leader on human connection and CEO of JUNO, an events and 365 engagement software platform. He is a TEDx alumni and U.S. Department of State speaker ambassador. Josh and his partners launched JUNO out of a decade-old community software company called CrowdHub. The mission is to enable deep connections to people, content and experiences for virtual and hybrid events, and to help clients realize 365-day community engagement. Connect with Josh at linkedin.com/in/joshhotsenpiller/.
Bea TijerinaFive Pillars of Community