In episode 357, host Mike Petrusky speaks with Porschia Parker-Griffin, MS, PCC, the founder and CEO of Fly High Coaching. She’s an organizational consultant, career services and strategy leader, and host of the “Career 101 Podcast.” Parker-Griffin shares insights into how the physical workspace can support company culture for stronger collaboration, innovation, and business outcomes. They explore the marketplace today where organizational change, including reorganizations, mergers, and acquisitions, can be significant challenges. Parker-Griffin also talks about employee engagement — currently at its lowest point globally since the start of the pandemic — and how leaders can bridge generational differences to deliver results. She believes being innovative means continuous learning and adapting to new ideas, technologies, and insights to improve processes.
Agenda
- Innovation and continuous learning in the workplace
- Challenges organizations face, such as reorganizations and low employee engagement
- Dynamics between different generations in the workplace
- Impact of the physical work environment on company culture and engagement
What you need to know: Workplace takeaways
Takeaway 1: Innovation means continuous learning and adapting to new technologies and insights
Today’s workplace innovator must be a lifelong learner if they want to stay ahead of rapid changes.
“Most companies say innovation is one of their core values, but you can ask employees within that company, ‘What does innovation mean, and how are you guys innovative?’, and no one has anything to say about that,” Parker-Griffin says. “Learning and incorporating new ideas, new technology, new insights into what you do to do it faster, more efficiently, better for clients and customers, I think really is at the heart of innovation.”
Takeaway 2: Organizational culture and employee engagement are critical for business success and must be actively managed
Organizational culture and employee engagement are not just “fluffy” concepts, Parker-Griffin says, but have direct impacts on business outcomes such as productivity, performance, and turnover. She shared insights from her work and from Gallup’s latest report, which showed employee engagement is at a low point globally, similar to levels seen during the 2020 lockdowns.
“When organizations are going through high-level changes, they want to preserve or enhance their company culture to ensure a smooth transition,” Griffin explains. “Employee engagement leads to turnover, productivity, performance, all of that is wrapped into how engaged and enthusiastic your employees are about their workplace.”
Takeaway 3: Bridging the generational divide involves understanding common values and fostering a learning culture
Parker-Griffin says there’re differences between generations, and companies need to be aware of them. “How someone might communicate that and what behaviors and actions they may take as a result of that can be very different, and sometimes the generation that someone is in leads to certain preferences.”
She also notes that people of all generations generally want the same things: to feel valued, to make a difference, and to be treated fairly. The key to bridging this divide lies in understanding these common values and fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.
Takeaway 4: The physical workspace should support collaboration and innovation to enhance organizational culture
Parker-Griffin argues traditional office layouts don’t meet the needs of modern organizations and can hinder the creative and innovative processes necessary for success.
“The ideal workspace, you know, obviously would change a bit depending on the industry, the organization, the size of the organization, and the organization’s goals, but it definitely makes an impact,” Griffin says. “Just pretty much across the board, having the standard cubicles of the 90s and 2000s, I don’t think promotes the type of collaboration and innovation that really organizations need today to thrive.”
Takeaway 5: Seeking feedback from trusted colleagues can lead to significant improvements in performance
Parker-Griffin encourages everyone to ask their most trusted colleagues for insights on the biggest shift that could improve their performance.
“Hearing from someone else that they trust will give them so much insight that they might not have even thought of before.”
Workplace management insights
- While many companies claim innovation as a core value, they often lack a clear understanding or implementation of what innovation means.
- Organizational culture is crucial, and companies should not overlook it when considering the physical workspace.
- Employee engagement is at its lowest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly affecting business outcomes.
- The integration of different generations in the workplace can lead to unique challenges but also opportunities for growth and innovation.
- The physical workspace, particularly outdated layouts like cubicles, can hinder collaboration and innovation.
- Being a workplace innovator today means being a continuous learner, adapting to rapid changes, and incorporating new technologies and ideas.
- Seeking feedback from trusted colleagues can provide valuable insights for improving performance and fostering a more innovative culture.
Do a deep dive into more workplace insights by exploring all Workplace Innovator podcast episodes.
