The Surgeon General of the US released an 80+ page report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”. The report goes on to identify that loneliness and isolation represent a profound threat to our health and well-being in the U.S…in fact, more impact than “smoking 15 cigarettes a day”.
My first thoughts went to the many of us who are working remotely. While I love the location freedom and flexibility it adds to my life and that of my staff, I couldn’t help but think about people managers and their important role in businesses.
What is your business doing to ensure social connection and community with your remote teams? How is your leadership empowered, equipped, and operationalizing a commitment to the health and well being of your team. Are you checking in often? Daily? Are you looking at more than just the KPIs?
This report is a call to everyone to make the small changes necessary to stem the tide of loneliness in our world. What can you do today to reach out to someone – your family, a neighbor, a colleague? It starts right there.
But I also believe it opens a unique opportunity for brands to consider their target audiences. Is there a space where your business can help meet the needs of your target audience?
One of our clients serves families in the healthcare space with a very niche program to help children with learning to eat orally after tube feeding. The private community we have built online is uncanny. With thousands of members, there is 60-100% daily engagement of that membership – in a free group – on a social media platform. That tells me that the group is meeting a deep need for the audience – to connect and be seen and understood. The amount of UGC in that group is inspiring and provides hope to thousands of other families…and a place to connect with families all over the globe who “get me”.
It’s a model I believe many other businesses can follow.
There’s never been a more powerful time to be a human-centric brand. I believe we all can make a difference and help turn the tide on this public health issue. The culture of our agency is working hard to value health and wholeness, to place humans at the center of everything we do.
The leadership short here?
Does your brand audience has a specific need you can meet through a community or connection? What does that look like? How can your healthcare organization connect better with your audiences?