Civil Conversations: the new workplace trend everyone's talking about

Of all the conversations, it was clear that SHRM’s big push on civility had hit a chord with many of the delegates.  What started my conversation was the badge that many folks were wearing which stated “1M Civil Conversations”.

If this is the first time you’re reading about this initiative, I’m going to provide a little bit of background and some links to the extensive tools and online information from SHRM.  They have a got a lot of research to back this up so if you’re wondering why now, start with the Civility Index download paper.

SHRM define a civil conversation as “…a dialogue that fosters mutual understanding. Participants don't have to agree—what matters is active listening and learning about each other's perspectives”.  Whilst this definition may be clear and obvious, the research shows that this isn’t happening.  Indeed, in SHRM’s research, a staggering 171M acts of incivility per day which means 2,000 acts of incivility per second!

When I started to read more about this initiative, I came across SHRM’s statement of why Civility is important in the US and it’s worth sharing here again.  SHRM said “Practicing civil behavior establishes a safe and empathetic environment where individuals can contribute their best ideas, knowing they will be heard and valued. Civility is more than making others feel comfortable; it's about creating a dynamic, diverse, and productive workplace where everyone can thrive.”

‘As Rebecca Carter, HR practitioner, observed’ "We should always be seeking to support and encourage civil conversations within businesses, to ensure we are connecting with our people regularly and creating an environment where creativity, resilience and innovation can prosper. As HR leaders, we can proactively lead long lasting change by prioritizing these ways of working."

SHRM has made a commitment to build a more inclusive environment through its extensive membership network who are able to define the shape of the US workplace.  This means aiming for an inclusive workplace with 1 Million Civil Conversations at the heart of the initiative.  You may want to watch a 1 minute video which helps understand this in more detail from SHRM. 

During the conference in Chicago, I had some powerful conversations with SHRM members about civility and how they were planning to challenge their businesses to do better in the future.  My colleagues and I discussed how People First HRIS could support the 1M civil conversations movement through our check-ins module.  We know that conversations are happening but where folks struggle with the agenda and content, we can provide talking points within the check-in to help guide the manager and the employee. 

The transparency of the check-ins and the ability for both manager and employee to start a check-in further supports the 1M civil conversations agenda. With our use of AI we can then use sentiment analysis to give an indication of how departmental check-ins are recorded; as positive, negative or neutral.  This gives managers and HR folks an indication of where more support may be required and helps to reinforce the civil conversations agenda within a business.

We would be delighted to discuss this in more detail with HR leaders who are committed to SHRM’s 1M civil conversations movement. Book a call to discuss how People First can further assist you on your 1M civil conversations journey.