Five Minutes or Less: Improving Engagement, Trust, and Culture

Welcome to the Generous Benefits Podcast, where we help employers build people-first benefits that make business sense. I'm your host, Amanda Brummitt. Today's episode is focused on something every HR leader is thinking about, engagement, trust, and culture. But instead of another big initiative, we're talking about what can be done in five minutes or less.

Joining us today is Samantha Hickert, who helps leaders cut through the noise and focus on simple, practical actions that actually move the needle. In this conversation, we explore how small, consistent interactions can shift culture, strengthen relationships, and improve team performance in real time. Hey, Sammy. So good to see you, and thank you for being here today.

I would love it if you could start by just telling our guests who you are professionally and how you got into helping leaders improve engagement and culture? Of course. So when we get down to the root of it, who I am professionally is just someone who's super passionate about making connections. And I start with a three-system approach.

So connections to your inner self, because everything starts with self-awareness. Then connections between others, like your team and the people that you work with, because relationships are the most valuable possession we own and also the most tricky to maintain. And then connection to purpose because finding purpose at work, I think is what we all want. And I've spent a decade working in different branches of HR for healthcare teams from frontline to C-suite on these connection points.

So things like patient experience, one-on-one physician and executive coaching. Development, like developing experiential connections. So think workshops, retreats, full-fledged development programs for physicians, for nurses, for executives, and then wellness programs. So how do we connect what we do to who we are?

And as that work expanded nationally, I saw again and again that connection wasn't just nice to have. It's essential if you want trust, if you want engagement, if you want low, if you want really good retention, if you want low burnout. I mean, any outcome you care about is tied to connection. And so that realization led me to found my own company, Connection Over Everything.

Connection is the most underused leadership advantage we have. So let's take advantage of it instead of letting it be the first thing that gets pushed back to the plate when the plate gets full. Amazing. I love it.

You have such a rich professional history in big healthcare organizations and lots of tangible results. But you're also the first cowgirl I've ever had on the show. So if you don't mind showing us kind of behind the veil, I'd love to hear about your personal life, too. Well, thanks.

The world needs more cowgirls, I think. Funny you should ask, because this morning, before we logged on to the podcast, my husband needed me to help him. I actually got to pull a calf this morning. And to find pull a calf for our people that don't know what that means.

Yeah. So sometimes just like with humans, mama cows need help getting their calf out. And so we don't have, you know, a big fancy suction cup that maybe humans might use. We just grab their little hooves and help the mom pull them out.

And it's, it's so magical. And just to see that, that bonding and that closeness with the animals. So yeah, I have a cattle ranch that I run with my husband out in Colorado. And that takes up like everything that comes with it.

You know, our horses, our cows, our baby chicks right now. My two little kids caught a live bunny the other day. So personally, as all things, you can call it cowgirl. How fun.

Well, thank you for letting us into that little piece of your life. Yeah. Okay, let's dive into our topic at hand. So, you know, most people think that culture is built in these big moments and these big initiatives, but you've shared with me how you see it differently.

So what's that core idea behind building culture in those everyday interactions that are often quick? Because like you said, culture is built in repeated interactions that people have every day. Those big initiatives matter. But everyday consistent behavior, that's what makes culture real.

So I like to think of it this way. A parent might be doing all of this work behind the scenes to support the future of their children. You know, they are saving for college. They're starting investment programs.

They're getting them into the very best schools, sports, etc. But what makes the real difference in the development of the child and what the child really wants is the daily connection with the parent. Like, that's what makes them feel valued. That's what helps them be the best version of themselves and rise to the level of their potential.

And the savings programs just like the great big initiatives that super caring hr leaders and executives are making are important i mean they're pivotal we have to have them but what makes people never want to leave is how they feel coming to work every day and that culture can be built in things that seem small but are stacked over time so everyone knows the chick-fil-a example where no matter what store you're going to they're going to say it's my pleasure serving you their food and And the reason why people will talk about that over and over again, because it is representative of the culture that they have built.

And I've seen this done in clinics and entire hospital systems before, too. Can I actually share some examples with you? Yeah, dive in. So one of the ones that stuck out to me the most, and I saw this in a health care system that had 50,000 employees spread over 15 different states, like countless number of care settings.

But no matter what care setting you would walk into, this is what you could expect from everyone that worked there. It was as important to leadership as making sure, I don't know, your timestamp was correct. Okay? Like very important.

And the rule was 10-5. So at 10 feet, when you're walking down the hallway, you are going to look up and try to initiate eye contact. You initiate a greeting so hey are you finding everything okay or hey i have time can i help walk you to where you're going or amanda great shoes like no matter what you cannot pass someone in the hall without initiating that connection and what happened was patience never got lost and they saw the culture that was reflected between the connections that the team members make with each other and also like it's really hard to be in a bad self-centered mood when you have to connect with another human being like every time you walk down the hall to go to the bathroom.

Another one I've seen is every meeting must start with a question and each team member goes around to answer. So for example we're sitting in a team meeting and okay before we begin I want everyone to tell me how are you making a difference this week or tell me something good and it might feel a little uncomfortable but what it's doing is setting the tone for everyone that everyone has a voice on this team. Everyone's engagement is expected and valued in not only this meeting, but every meeting that we're going to have.

And have more. Yeah, keep going. Yes. I'm like, do I pause you to take notes?

No, I'm going to go back and listen to this later. Okay. So yes, another one. Teams who end every single workday going around sharing the best parts of their day before they leave.

What you're doing is you're training now your team members to look for the good, like look for the best. And the key is this has to be important to the leader. Like this isn't just become routine where we say it, it doesn't really matter. No, this is like, we cannot walk out the door together as a team until we share this.

And then the last one I can think of right now is probably my favorite. Teams who eliminated, hey, how are you? I'm working on this hard right now because, hey, how are you? In today's like overused method of it puts our brains on autopilot so when i hear that out of my own mouth or someone else's it signals to my brain, we're not gonna have a genuine connection no we're gonna say what yeah i'm good how are you and it's like so quick and then the connection is like done right because now it feels weird re-entering that conversation after we just had that autopilot exchange so i recommend to replace you with this, How's your morning?

What are you doing today? Tell me about your weekend. Or what are you working on right now? Ooh.

Like when I answer the phone, instead of saying, hey, how are you? I say, what are you doing? Because now, instead of good or busy, I get instantly connected with what's going on in that person's world. Yes.

That perfect example that happened with us this morning. You didn't ask me how it was. You asked me what I had done this morning. I shared and then asked back.

And this is how we found out you brought a calf into the world this morning. Yes, yes. Like, Amanda, try this. When you get off the call, the next person you talk to, and then the next, and then the next.

Like, totally replace that habit of, hey, how are you? And just watch your conversations transform into connection points. That is amazing. Okay, I love all of those.

Some other things that we've talked about in the past, rounding, feedback loops, night shift, quick team touch points. Can you take us through some of those? Yeah, absolutely. So I would say when approaching any of them, the very first thing is give yourself five minutes.

Like, I want you to put five minutes on your calendar every single day, and you're going to make a different connection point with that. Because over time, those five minutes are going to stack, and that is going to develop your culture. One of my favorite studies when I'm talking about these five-minute stackable culture builders is from Gallup. So they did a study, and they actually report this study.

They call it the most profound finding ever. They said that 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. And that's a really big deal because it means that managers are not just overseeing the work. They are actually shaping the experience that the people have at work every single day.

So five minutes a day, you can do it. And I would just start with quick connection points. So I'll share my favorite quick connector right now. It's called a pick-me-up.

So you can use this when you're rounding, just one-on-one. You can use this at the start of a huddle, which hopefully you're having huddles every single morning. They're so important. Or at the beginning of a team meeting.

And what it is, is you're going to ask someone like, hey, can you pick up your phone right now and open the photos app? And the very first photo or video that pops up on there that makes you laugh or smile, will you share it with me? And this works 100% of the time. Like everyone loves to share the photos on their phone.

And what you're doing is creating an instant humanity. You don't see roles anymore. You start seeing people and people really feel cared for. And then the other thing is like this spreads across the gamut, whether it's day shift or night shift, but just meaningful recognition.

So very first thing, ask people how they like to be recognized and then use that five minute calendar appointment to text or to email or to write a note to recognize them and get creative with this. So if you don't have direct reports or a line of sight to them, reach out to the leaders and get like specific, like, what are you recognizing them for that's specific? So remember the rules of recognition, timely, specific, sincere. You know, I had a leader once who wrote a letter to my spouse telling him, thank you for sharing me with them and just like specific differences I was making at their company.

Yeah, like I'll keep that letter forever. Yeah, I mean, you can send a Starbucks gift card. I did it this morning. It took me literally less than a minute and it shows up text message right on someone's phone.

So the big thing is set that five minute timer like that cannot be moved. That is in stone in your calendar. And get ready to just feel so good about how creative you can get in that five minutes a day. Because if you would do it every day, that consistency over time, that's how culture is going to grow.

Yeah, I love your recommendation to put it on your calendar. I naturally I don't need a lot From other humans I'm an introvert I come in I do my business And I like other people But I just don't need A lot of it, But knowing that many people on teams I've worked with do, I found when I put that time on my calendar, like it was something I needed to do. And then I would go around and it was good. They got what they needed.

I got what I needed. And it really, I think, helped them to feel heard because otherwise I would have kind of just ignored them. And that would have been natural, but it wouldn't have felt very good to them. Yeah.

So that calendar part just really seals it in. Yeah, I think so, too. And just non-negotiable. Like that one just doesn't get moved.

Yeah, definitely. And I love your making sure we remember the night shift, both in health care, but also we, you know, our guests are an audience. Listeners are across industries. So a lot of times we forget the people that don't work that day shift and making sure to find time for them.

I once worked with a CEO and it was in a hospital and he rounded holidays, weekends, nights, whenever. And he rounded on the highest paid surgeon in the facility, knew their name, but he also knew the name of the lady that took care of the trash. And he knew her kids' names and he knew that she worked two jobs to put them into college and people on that campus would bend over backwards for him because he actually cared about them. Well, yeah, that is so cool.

A CEO comes to mind like that too. Like she does not miss a day rounding. You also made me think I've seen these love letters to night shift and day shift. It's fun because you could have a shared board and a shared space, whatever that looks like for you.

Maybe it's a break room. And the day shift writes love letters of gratitude to the night shift. And then there's always a standing question that says, how can I help? To which the night shift will answer and vice versa.

And I mean, again, it takes five minutes, but the key is as the leader, like we can't make this cool for a week and then it doesn't become valuable or worse. It becomes like a passive aggressive space. Like what matters to you as a leader? You set the tone.

So if that matters to you and we're not missing that because it's so important to create that culture of connection between those two shifts, then it'll matter to your team, and they'll have a lot of fun with it. Yeah, absolutely. And it has to come from that leader because it trickles down. That's just what happens, and that's how culture is built.

What about a lot of us are running thin, and we're stretched, and our cup isn't full, but as leaders, we still have to really make that investment in our people. So if they've just got a couple minutes and very little bandwidth, what do you recommend? That's a really good question so i think the very first thing i would do is start rounding and whatever that looks like like maybe like keep that five minute calendar appointment to make connections and then asking um really good questions when you are out there so again like we're not doing the hey how are you it's like what's giving you life right now like what's what's taking away your energy and what's giving you energy um what are you working on right now I also think, you know, this may not be five.

Well, actually, it can be five minutes. And it's often the number one starting point and like the biggest bang for your buck, in my opinion, is to start serving your team so you know where to start. You have got to be collecting feedback on a regular basis. So have you heard of Project Aristotle?

No. Tell me about it. It's so cool. So Google studied what makes teams so successful.

They found that the best teams weren't defined by talent, education, credentials, like whatever you want to say, numbers of the team, like you may stack your roster. But what really matters is their level of psychological safety. And a great way to test psychological safety is by getting feedback often, like outside of that annual employee initiative. Because what it's going to do is tell your team, Your voice matters here.

It's safe to tell the truth here. And someone is listening and something might actually happen because of what you say. So if you're going to focus on one thing as a leader, I'd start here. And what I recommend is like a one to three question survey.

And you can literally print this out for people to quickly circle the one to three question answers at the beginning of their shift, drop it back in a box. Or there is a great company called Polefish. And you can make a poll, takes less than five minutes, send it out to your team for free, like text, email, and it takes them 30 seconds. And I know this because I do this all the time.

Like it's earthquake that I start. It doesn't sound like a five-minute activity, but it really is. The whole thing takes less than five minutes. And I actually even have the questions memorized because I do this so much.

Do you want to hear that? Yeah, I want to hear all of them. I'm all about practicality. So number one, I feel motivated.

I feel more motivated to work here now than I did on my very first day. Notice we're kind of like going towards the positive, but still like asking for genuine feedback. app. I have ideas on how to improve things here that I haven't shared with leadership.

And there are problems here that people talk about privately, but not openly. And so you just circle, like they'll circle strongly agree to strongly disagree, write a comment if they want. And that feedback matters for engagement because your people have good ideas. And like they're the ones doing the work every day and they want you to ask them.

They want you to care. Yeah. So this is such a good way to connect with your teams quickly. There was a leader last month who I was working with and she truly thought there was not a single issue on her team.

Like, if you asked her, her team was engaged, they were happy. Of course, they're safe to share ideas. They're empowered, like you name it, the whole thing. But when I interviewed her team, there was one person out of 15 who was not actively looking for another job.

And it really kicked out the culture at the end of the day. I know. And she had no idea. Like, she could have lost all of those people had she not gotten that feedback, first of all.

So she had a place to start building that culture back up. Yeah. Okay, so you get the answers to those questions. And now we got to do something about it.

Because if we don't, now people are going to be even more frustrated. So how do you put that into action? Do you start doing like really good one-on-ones to dive into those? Yeah.

So I love how you said, how do you start it? And the first thing you do is you backed with humility by saying, hey, I asked you all these questions because I cared. And because I care, I'm going to fix like what was revealed here and lean into what is going really well. And we're going to start small and let them know like the culture is not going to change overnight.

This feedback is not going to change overnight. But here are the steps that I'm doing. And I'm going to show up consistently. And now your five minutes a day, like maybe we take a break for a month on the recognition piece, unless that's part of the feedback that you received.

But that five minutes a day is going to your brainpower to creatively work through the feedback that you just got with your teams. And those five minutes are just going to continue to stack on top of each other and you're going to see a difference. And so will your team. Yeah, that humility is huge.

Yeah, because nobody expects the leader to have all the answers. They expect them to care enough to go seek the answers. Oh, you nailed it. Okay, these have been amazing, and I love that they're tangible.

Like, I can literally take them and put them into action tomorrow. What else do you have up your sleeve that we can borrow? Yes, I do have some more up my sleeve. So something I can think about right now that is a tool, it's just a cheat sheet to connection.

I'm telling you, if this was a part of everyone's onboarding and ongoing routines, it would be a game changer for culture. Or rather, if they taught all this to us in like the sixth grade, just for human interaction. I completely agree. I mean, heck, I can start with my four-year-old now.

I feel like she's going to be more emotionally intelligent than me by the time she's 10 because I give her my 30-year-old wisdom. So yeah, so what this is, is a personal user manual. And it is going to be a template that asks the team a series of questions. And their answers are going to give the leader a cheat sheet on how to best understand them, communicate with them, how they like you to work with them, how to motivate them, what kind of rewards matter to them.

And so you put questions like, tell me about your working style. Or do you like email, text, or I am if I need to reach you? How do you like to receive feedback? What do you just not have the patience for?

What kind of recognition do you value? Like is a Starbucks gift card totally meaningless, but a leadership scope on a project that's priceless to you. I worked at that company that would constantly give me Starbucks gift cards. And it's like, I don't, I live two hours from a Starbucks.

Thank you. You know, I actually worked, made me think I worked with a team earlier this week and the leader wanted to give some feedback to a team member, but they were scared. Like they did it before, like a total disaster. The team member cried.

They felt like their trust was never the same. And so I talked to the team member about some of those questions that I would see on this personal user manual. Like, how do you like to receive feedback. And if someone wants to help you, how can they approach you?

And this team member, she told me, she's like, listen, I have an Enneagram type one. Do you know what that means? It means that my inner critic is the loudest voice in my head. Like she's a rule follower.

Criticism made her feel like a total failure. So knowing this, this is going to completely change the conversation that her and her leader are going to have. So the leader, they need to celebrate the wins of this person, lean into their strengths, avoid criticism, just get really curious to find out what's going on for this person instead of just jumping in to correct that behavior. So that might sound something like, I don't know if I've told you enough, but I mean, Amanda, I love having you on this team.

Like, you are so valuable. Can you tell me what it's been like here for you lately? Like, really, I want to know. And, you know, this might not be a small action at first.

Like, filling out the personal user manual, it takes 15 minutes to fill out. But it is a tool that then leaders can use going forward when they do only have five minutes of time and they want to make that connection really intentional and actually land on any given day. Most definitely. Okay.

And where can they find this? Is this on your website? Do they need to engage you to get it? How does that happen?

Yeah, I would love, you know, I have a copy of it. I would love for them to connect with me, connectionovereverything.com if they want. But when you think about the personal user manual, I mean, this really is something that you can make.

I would say, what is it that you want to know from your team? Think about a time in your leadership where you felt like you really made a positive impact or you were influential. And journal about that for a minute. Like, what were the circumstances?

What kind of questions did you ask? How did you approach that person? And then tie a question to it so that you can find out like, what's really meaningful to you, Amanda? What's really annoying to you?

When did you have your best day so that I as your lyric can try to replicate that? I mean, simply put, just each huddle, each team meeting, each rounding session should just include something like this, like an intentional question. What has been taking up most of your energy and activity. So write down five things that are going to put you in a good mood and partner and share with someone.

People love to give advice. So give each other advice. Like you can do this at the start of a team meeting. Hey, what's something that's been challenging for you that you want to share?

And then ask everyone, like, this is the situation. How would you all handle it? It creates so much connection with your team. So I kind of going off on a, you know, tangible tangent.

Yeah, a beautiful, tangible tangent. Yeah, I mean, I just think it's I heard this morning, good leaders respond to conversation and great leaders make room for it. So it's all about just getting really, really curious about your team, asking good questions and making time for that connection. And it's going to feel not on autopilot like we're on.

And that's the point, because people, especially this younger generation, I mean, they'll stay for culture, even over pay. We have the data to prove that. So these five-minute connection points are just so worth your time. Yeah.

Oh, amazing. Okay, Sima, you have given us so much good advice. If you had to pick just one last thing to leave our listeners with to improve trust and culture starting tomorrow, what would it be? I'm not beating a dead horse here, but really consistency and visibility.

Visibility builds credibility, and credibility builds trust. When leaders are making themselves visible to the people that they lead and making what matters visible to the people that they lead, they will create more opportunities for connection. And when they're doing that consistently, people will begin to experience them as someone who's present, someone who's reliable, someone who's actually invested, and that builds trust. And when you have that trust, your people will do, they'll follow any initiative that you want.

They will go, they'll move mountains for you. I've seen it firsthand. If leaders are intentional and it just starts with five minutes a day, and the key is just consistency and authenticity. Yeah.

Oh, that is beautiful. I think in a traditional workplace, I know exactly what you mean when you say visibility, door open, rounding, being available. What does that look like in a hybrid or remote workplace? How do I show I'm visible and available?

I mean, we all have phones, right? They're attached to us at all times. And I probably felt more connected with my leaders and my people in places that have been fully remote than I have in everyday back-in-office interactions. So don't that get in your way.

I mean, establish a standard that everyone is comfortable with, you know, a mode of modality to reach out so you're not texting someone about every small thing. But really, if you can make and negotiate and make an agreement on terms that work for both of you in communication, just keep that consistent. And yeah, I mean, I've had leaders who I haven't met for years, and I would just do anything for them. And I've seen their teams do the same.

And I think it's because they're showing up consistently, whether that's a five-minute call every day, sending that quick text of gratitude, asking really good questions. Like all of the skills that we know work in office, they work over the phone too. True. That is very true.

Okay, thank you for that. That very simple but brilliant reminder that it's all the same skills, just showing up and being available. Yeah. Well, Sami, thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for sharing all your recipes with us on how to improve culture and improve just interactions with other humans. I really appreciate you and your time. Thanks for having me. This was fun.

big thanks to Samantha Hickert for reminding us that culture is not built in big moments it is built in the small everyday interactions leaders have with their teams this is the generous benefits podcast where we keep it practical personal and people first so.