July 1, 2020
Having a strong, positive corporate culture helps employees feel and perform their best at work. But what exactly comprises Company culture? It is the shared set of values and attitudes that forms the core of your Organizational values, a guidepost that shines a light, leading your team of employees ahead. This culture is reflected in the way you treat your customers and employees and even has a bearing on the type of talent your company attracts.
A positive company culture increases productivity and decreases employee churn rate. A negative work culture allows undesirable behaviors and toxic attitudes to fester within your team, giving a discouraging work experience. However, by being intentional with your core values and culture initiatives, you can create a positive work culture that will inspire your team and help your organization move forward, while keeping your employees happy, more engaged and productive.
Here are some tips gleaned from research and case studies conducted on the concept of Company Work Culture:
To encourage individual performance and collaboration between team members, it is advisable to have clear goals and objectives. This gives your team tangible results to work towards. These goals can be improvised based on feedback from the team and KPIs can be adjusted accordingly.
Research gathered by CultureIQ found that employee’s overall ratings of their company’s qualities – including collaboration, environment and values – are rated 20% higher at companies that exhibit strong culture.
Clarify Organizational Goals
In addition to setting goals, make individual team goals, it is important to ensure that every employee is aligned towards the overall long-term objectives of your company. This will help employees cultivate a sense of purpose and a clear mandate to have in mind as they go on with their duties and responsibilities. Also having a clear mission can also make prospective employees more interested and excited about joining and staying with your company.
Encourage Diversity and Inclusivity
A positive, inclusive workplace culture that welcomes individuals from all backgrounds and celebrates their differences would be a dream come true for every employee. Encourage employees to share their cultural backgrounds with the rest of the team through informal introductory sessions or during some downtime at work to promote inclusivity and acceptance within the team.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!
We all know that work can be stressful and daunting at times, and everybody needs that little break that takes their mind off from work for a brief time and helps them come back to it refreshed and rejuvenated. Plan for some weekly team fun events that would help employees unwind a bit and come back to work with a fresh perspective and positive outlook.
As Dale Carnegie said, “People rarely succeed unless they are having fun in what they are doing.”
If you can afford to bring in some lighthearted moments at the workplace and let your team know that you want them to be happy, they’ll return the favor by working even harder.
Make sure that you recognize and reward employees for achieving results. Doing so will encourage employees to continue performing their best and make them feel valued within the Organization. It will also motivate their peers to get up to the mark and bring in some friendly competition that can increase performance levels.
Many companies constantly look for ways to improve employee retention. Such initiatives can reinforce a positive team culture; Every employee represents an enormous investment on behalf of a company and when a good employee leaves it can be a big blow to a company’s morale, bottom line, and brain trust.
Offer a Clear Work-Life Balance
While a cut-throat and a competitive environment, backed by a culture of fear can ensure productivity for sometime, research suggests that the inevitable stress it creates will likely lead to employee disengagement over the long term. It is important to encourage a clear work-life balance among employees by making them feel valued, secure, supported, and respected.
In studies by the Queens School of Business and by the Gallup Organization, disengaged workers had 37% higher absenteeism, 49% more accidents, and 60% more errors and defects. In organizations with low employee engagement scores, they experienced 18% lower productivity, 16% lower profitability, 37% lower job growth, and 65% lower share price over time. Importantly, businesses with highly engaged employees enjoyed 100% more job applications.
A positive workplace is by far more successful than its competitors over time because it thrives on empathy, positive emotions and employee well-being. This, in turn, improves people’s relationships with each other and towards your customers. It also boosts your employees’ ability to face challenges in the right spirit and bounce back from them with a positive attitude. And, it attracts good talent, making them more loyal to the organization as well as bringing out their best strengths. When organizations develop positive work cultures they achieve significantly higher levels of organizational effectiveness — including financial performance, customer satisfaction, productivity, and employee engagement.
Zest - the Leading Learning and Development company, focuses on engaging, enhancing and empowering your workforce with training programs based on our own “Constant and Relentless Improvement Strategies”. Contact us to know how you can create and capture the real value of your business.
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