Company culture is way more than a buzz word. Culture is found in the way your business operates day-to-day. It’s found in how employees, clientele, and investors interact with one another. It even shows up in the innovations or lack thereof you incorporate in your business model. In short, company culture is a driving force that directly relates to the success of your company. If your business is suffering in this area and needs to hit the reset button, here are four ways to do that.
Lead by Example
If you own a company, leading by example should be a no-brainer. What we often forget, however, is that leadership doesn’t stop at corporate policy and work ethic. Leadership extends to every area of life and every area of corporate culture you want to see change.
It only takes one person with a highly negative attitude to walk in and spoil the office environment for everyone else. If, however, you want to change the office environment, you may not have the option of firing Negative Nancy. Instead, step into the shoes of a positive person and bring the entire office up with you. The more positive you are in your day to day interactions, the more positive your office environment will be. This is known as the law of attraction. Like attracts like, so if you are giving off those “positive vibes,” you’ll gather people around you attracted to your positivity.
Infuse your workplace with the positive energy you want your employees to exude themselves, and you’ll soon see a drastic improvement in the overall tone and culture of your workplace.
Set Specific, Intentional Goals
Employees need several things defined if they are to thrive in the workplace: their roles, their goals, and the reason behind them both.
No employee wants to work blindly on a project with vague objectives, hazy outcomes, and no clear reason for it. By setting specific goals with intentional outcomes, and a crystal-clear reason for the project’s importance, your employees will be able to get on board and, most importantly, behind a project and give 110%. If you want to increase employee productivity, satisfaction, and even see innovation increase, show your employees what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Share Employee and Company Success
Many employees feel like cogs in a wheel. They faithfully execute their roles, complete projects, and submit all necessary documentation to their department head. After a while, it can feel like their job isn’t important, or their role isn’t impactful. Sharing company success is vital to helping employees realize they are a part of something important and that their role is bigger than they realize. Demonstrate how important each person is by tying company success to individual projects or initiatives. Employees won’t automatically see how their financial report on cost-saving measures to produce Part 42B saved the company a few thousand dollars – unless they are told. Share successes and, as appropriate, award them for those successes.
Support Employee Wellbeing
As vital as on-the-job training and workshops may be, equally important is training and workshops that help your employees stay mentally and physically fit. Burnout is a major issue facing employers. If the people who work for you invest so much in their jobs that they burn themselves out, you’ll have fantastic employees who no longer have any motivation for any part of their role. Instead, offer incentives for mental health and wellness and show people who work for you that you care about their lives inside and outside the office.
