The common values, attitudes, and ideas that underpin your company are known as your work culture, and they are represented in how you interact with both clients and staff.
A good workplace culture increases productivity, lowers turnover, and enhances employee engagement. It also influences the kinds of individuals you draw in for available roles.
You can establish a productive workplace culture that will motivate your staff and support the success of your company by being deliberate with your core values and cultural initiatives.
Decide on core values
Evie Graham, founder of Waste Direct tells us: “Identify your primary values first. These need to serve as the cornerstone of all activities inside your company. Set aside as much time as needed to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Make sure to engage HR representatives, long-term staff, and leadership so that all important parties can contribute. Ultimately, you have to have a succinct set of values that appropriately capture the culture of your business now and your long-term objectives.”
Adhere to a certain workplace culture
Consider the kind of workplace culture you want to establish. Take into account everything from the office’s physical design to how often staff members communicate with supervisors, coworkers, and C-Suite members.
You may then begin creating specific rules and procedures that support these intended interactions and employee experiences.
Build solid connections with your coworkers
Antony Marceles, founder of Pumex shares: “Employee engagement is influenced by having good connections at work, although this is not always the case.
It takes time, effort, and sometimes focused icebreakers and team-building exercises to develop solid connections with coworkers.
Furthermore, workers shouldn’t develop the habit of dispersing as soon as their boss comes near the water cooler.
According to a study, it may actually be more advantageous to do the exact opposite—businesses should be establishing environments that promote and even spark “collisions.””
Job security
Since no company included job security in our previous research of how they define their core values, managers don’t usually consider it to be a component of corporate culture.
However, when workers evaluate business culture, job instability is a major concern. The worse a company’s culture rating, the more workers discussed layoffs, outsourcing, or the prospect of losing their jobs.
Encourage inclusivity and diversity
Cody Carlson, an employee at CarFinanceToday encourages DEI. He says: “Employee happiness, engagement, and creativity are all boosted in a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs should be implemented by businesses to foster an environment where all workers are treated with respect and feel appreciated.
This entails promoting diverse recruiting procedures, offering training on prejudice, and guaranteeing equitable chances for professional advancement.
Diverse viewpoints improve decision-making and problem-solving skills, resulting in more original and practical solutions. Creating employee resource groups, celebrating cultural diversity, and holding inclusive activities all help people feel like they belong.
Organizational culture is strengthened and top talent is drawn in by a dedication to DEI.”
Set a good example
A key factor in determining the culture of an organization is leadership. Workers turn to their leaders for direction on expectations, values, and behavior. Leaders set the tone for the whole organization when they continuously live up to the purpose and values of the firm.
Setting an example for others to follow entails acting with integrity, responsibility, and respect at all times.
It also entails paying attention to what staff members have to say, acknowledging their efforts, and creating a supportive and trusting atmosphere.
Employees are more inclined to emulate leadership when they conduct themselves in a way that reflects the company’s values, fostering an environment where principles are not merely spoken but also really lived.
Put in place a tough zero-tolerance policy
Harrison Tang, founder of Spokeo says: “Giving staff members the chance to freely discuss problems they are having, both within and outside the office, and to get the help and resources they need is an essential component of a strong workplace culture.
Make sure HR staff members can adjust their schedules to accommodate private discussions as necessary, and think about setting up an anonymous hotline as a safe and discreet means for workers to report instances of sexual harassment at work.”
Reorganizations
Almost nobody has anything positive to say about reorganizations. 97% of workers in the Culture 500 sample used unfavorable language when discussing reorganizations.
A company’s culture score increases with the number of persons who mention reorganizations.
Although there is a slight association between the mention of reorganizations and job instability and layoffs, the data shows that employee worries about this matter relate to more general strategic difficulties for businesses.
Employees are much more likely to talk about organizational change happening too quickly, strategy inconsistencies over time, and a lack of clarity about the company’s changing strategy when they bring up reorganizations.
