At Torch, our mission is to unlock the potential of people, teams, and organizations. People are at the center of this mission. We believe if we can help individuals thrive, that positively impacts their teams and company’s success. And this mission starts with our own people at Torch. We cannot achieve this mission if we do not help our people do their best work. To that end, we have designed and implemented what we call a People Success strategy based on the science of happiness at work (see diagram).
Diagram of People Success Strategy
The People Success strategy is made up of six pillars, each supporting a different aspect of people success. There are projects that underpin each of these pillars, with the overall goal of creating a best-in-class, engaged, high-performing organization. I look forward to sharing more detail about each pillar with fellow practitioners who are interested in modern employee experience design.
One that I am particularly excited about is People Success Flexibility. As any of us who have moved from a building to a home office know that the lines between work and life have blurred in a way we could never imagine. And I am a believer that those lines don’t need to be walls, because work can be a deep and meaningful part of our life (if you’ve ever emptied the dishwasher while listening to a Brene Brown podcast and dreamt about how you can implement that at work, you know what I’m talking about!). But we need to get smarter about how we work. The “always on” culture of being in meetings or messaging apps 24/7 is not a recipe for success.
So at Torch, we’re trying something different…
Announcing UP (Unlocking Potential) Days!
Every Friday starting in February, we are preserving space for our people to intentionally unlock their potential. We are committing to no meetings so that each person can decide how best to direct their energy that day. We have a scorecard that allows them to think on a monthly basis about what “bucket” of happiness and success needs filling, and ideas for them to invest in that area once per week. Here are the key drivers of happiness and success at work and how a Torch employee might invest in that area:
Examples of Torch ‘Unlocking Potential’ Activities
I am so excited about this work for my colleagues at Torch. And also because we’re in the middle of an opportunity to radically transform the world of work. If you are a leader thinking about this in your own workplace, I would love to share, learn, and collaborate with you. Send me a note or connect with me on LinkedIn so we can embark on this journey together.
The future for Torch, our customers, and the world of work is bright and I look forward to unlocking potential together!
