Best Practices

Another way to contribute to changing the UNFPA culture for the better is by sharing some of your team/office/unit's best practices for how to demonstrate Our Principles in the day-to-day work life. These best practices can serve as an inspiration for other parts of the organization. Below, you will find several examples of some existing best practices for workplace culture that are already helping foster a positive and healthy workplace culture at UNFPA.

Thank You to all those who have shared their best practices!

Communication and Information-Sharing

Reminders regarding proper email etiquette and polite conversations.
Use of IDocs to provide equal and transparent access to information such as inter-office memos and field missions.
Creation of a "UNFPA Portal" for the specific office/team which serves as a centralized repository of essential information with useful links, workflow details, team profiles and their key activities, and the most used documents templates, etc.
Syncing of Google Calendars to provide timely notifications for essential events and deadlines (through the ‘Go Track’ app).
Creation of an office WhatsApp group, ensuring a fluid flow of information and fostering efficient, professional, and friendly communication.
Setting up of a WhatsApp to share photos of field missions, including during humanitarian emergencies and peacebuilding support.
A business unit or Country Office specific newsletter (covering key highlights, missions, social media posts, and more).
Start each week with a very informal meeting where everyone briefly shares what they have on their agenda for the coming week.
Make a habit of responding to the majority of emails within 24 hours.
Creation of “Ground Rules for Communication.”

Staff Well-Being

Creation of a wellbeing taskforce and/or a work-life balance committee.
Mental and physical health sessions with professionals to help staff achieve work-life balance, manage stress, and overcome personal issues. These sessions could be a mix of individualized sessions that ensures confidential care while providing timely counseling services for prevention, surveillance, detection and supportive care to all staff and varied team sessions ranging from Qi-Gong sessions, mindful meditation, breathing exercises, and staff team-building activities away from the office.
Organization of listening and support sessions for team members to support each other through difficult times, fostering strong colleague relationships. During these sessions, team members have the opportunity to provide and receive feedback on various aspects of their work and personal development.
Regular organization of collective sport activities such as hiking to ensure fitness (physical and mental) among the staff.
A regular office stretching ritual every day at the same hour.

Recognition and Appreciation

Celebration of team members through annual recognition ceremonies, where they nominate peers for "Team Awards."
Regular messages of appreciation from management to boost team morale and reinforce the value of collaboration.

Meeting Etiquette

Use team meetings to get a better understanding of each team member’s workload, e.g. using the traffic light system (see Toolkit - Module 1).
Avoid or reduce the number of last-minute meetings and meeting changes.
Take turns taking meeting notes instead of delegating this task to the most junior team member.
Introduction of regular meetings between programme and operations teams.

Networking, Team-building, and Socializing

Tradition to bring back food specialties from travels.
Arranging monthly breakfast/lunches/happy hours.
Regular team-building exercises to fortify the bonds among team members.
Collective social and recreational activities outside the office such as escape rooms, artistic evenings, visits to galleries museums and watching major sports tournaments together.
Monthly celebrations of birthdays and other life events.
Culture exchange initiatives (meals, storytelling, visits at colleagues’ homes, etc.)
Organization of a series of integration activities that bridge the gap between colleagues in different field offices/organizations in a country. These activities could include a book club, internal and inter-agency parties, sports competitions, etc.
An e-interview to get to know colleagues better.
Facilitation of cultural integration to the non-local staff through language teaching.
Weekly gathering to share a 'café convivial', organized by the staff for the staff, and aimed at covering non-work related topics. This space promotes networking and helps build relationships at work.
Annual retreats to foster team unity and problem-solving skills.
Daily coffee break where all colleagues gather daily for 15 minutes to share a cup of coffee while sharing light moments away from the busy schedules. This gathering is facilitated through voluntary monthly contributions from staff. These sessions provide an opportunity for everyone to check in on each other's well-being, discover common interests, build trust and facilitate a supportive and harmonious work environment.
Make it a habit to dedicate 30 minutes monthly to connect with a colleague whom you do not know well.
Introduction of “team traditions”, e.g., community beach cleaning days
Strengthening the "team culture" by pairing employees randomly.
Analysis of the team culture using the team culture assessment tool.
Introduction of an innovative conversation with staff through one-hour walks on a fixed day and time every week.
Introduction of a "Weekly Culture Awareness" initiative to help promote the UNFPA aspirational culture and engage all personnel in dialogues about Our Principles. In the monthly all-staff meetings, there is a space to conduct one of the activities from the UNFPA Toolkit on organizational culture or to have a discussion around one of the case studies in the toolkit.

Feedback

Twice a month, anyone can schedule a moment to talk about any issue, idea, challenge or problem with the Representative of the CO.
Introduction of a digital suggestion box to allow employees to voice their opinions anonymously, resulting in a wealth of valuable feedback and actionable insights for organizational enhancement. This is answered by the senior management team in one of the all-staff meetings and afterwards, there is an opportunity to discuss the issue further.
"Fridays of failure" or "spaces of confidence," where each person talks about successes, failures and uncertainties.
Regular training sessions, meetings, and discussions on sensitive issues. This helps foster an environment where every voice is valued, contributing to a more inclusive workplace culture.
Creation of a direct channel of communication with Chief/Director/Representative in order to ensure that all members of the team feel equally involved in and supported in all areas of the workplace, as well as to promote a safe space, where everyone feels safe and free to raise concerns.
Introduction of a Honesty Box to further facilitate honest feedback from staff members without fear of reprisal.

Problem-Solving, Innovation, and Knowledge-Sharing

Reflection sessions on what works and what does not work.
Interspersing reflection sessions in programme team meetings - one following the usual agenda of status updates on our work and the following week, “reflection” sessions on an agreed topic with rotating chairpersons.
Problem resolution spaces.
Informal brainstorming sessions.
Establishment of a "Peer Review Mechanism" to ensure highest work standards and mutual accountability, amplifying our collective commitment.
Monthly or quarterly meetings where a colleague or a team of colleagues present in more detail to the rest of the team/unit/office what they are working on.
Identification of innovative corners, utilizing the available spaces, equipped with essential infrastructure and internet connectivity, to enable free interactions among teams as well as jointly brainstorm on different opportunities for resource mobilization.
Consider making changes in the office layout and/or seating plans to promote teamwork and break down silos.

Best Practices from 2023 Culture Award Winning Teams

Benin Country Office

Asukas of Innovation - Benin - Best Practices - Workplace Culture

Best practices _UNFPA Benin CO

Papua New Guinea Country Office

Beating the Odds - Papua New Guinea - Best Practices - Workplace Culture

Best practices_UNFPA PNG CO

Viet Nam Country Office

Rise and Shine - Viet Nam - Best Practices - Workplace Culture

Best practices_Viet Nam CO.pdf

Venezuela Country Office

Best practices_UNFPA Venezuela CO

Supply Chain Management Unit

Best Practices - SCMU Culture Crafters Collective.pdf

Colombia Country Office

Best Practices_UNFPA Colombia CO

DHR Communities in ASRO, EECARO, ESARO, and WCARO

Best practices_UNFPA DHR.pdf

Please use the survey tool below to share any other best practices that you believe could contribute to improving the workplace culture at UNFPA.

This page will be continuously updated as more examples of best practices are received.

Best Practices ES.pdf

Best practices FR.pdf

Spanish Translation of the Page

French Translation of the Page

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