Creating a company culture is an evolving process. It’s no surprise that it’s easy to get bogged down by what you should do versus what’s right for your company. Developing a positive company culture is vital for your business. The mission of your company culture should help you reach your team-building goals by providing objections, expectations, values, and encourage team-building goals to guide your employees.
When your business’s core values are established and shared, you can increase employee engagement, decrease turnover, build a strong brand identity, elevate productivity, create a healthy team environment, and more. Not only does company culture improve the workplace, but it also can positively impact your customers and their experience with your company. Employees will provide better customer service when they are satisfied and content with their job. Studies show customer retention rates are higher when employees are highly engaged with their work.
So, in 2023, set realistic goals for your company’s internal personality and take actionable steps to make these goals possible. Here are our top 3 suggestions, with “how-to’s” built right in.
Improve Communication.
Communication is the cornerstone of company culture — it’s the heart of every successful business. Without effective internal communication, your employees won’t feel valued or feel that their voices are heard and recognized. Good communication ensures that your team has the information they need to perform well, build a positive environment, and eliminate inefficiencies.
You want to reduce miscommunications as much as possible within the workplace. Expert Market provided several statistics that show how communication plays a pivotal role in the workforce. They found that 20% of employees said poor communication is one of the main reasons they couldn’t complete a project on time. Additionally, the lack of communication is one of the main causes of workplace failures, according to 86% of employees and executives.
Therefore, it’s best to encourage your employees to speak up and share their opinions while you provide regular feedback for your team. Here’s how you can avoid all-out war.
For starters, send out regular surveys. Ask employees what’s working well and what they are struggling with. Be sure to include multiple-choice and short-answer questions; keeping it anonymous may help employees open up. Similarly, sharing feedback with employees about ways to improve their work and encouraging them to set goals can provide greater support. Plus, it keeps you engaged with employee impressions and growth.
You can also develop weekly or monthly meetings with your teams. Allot time for your employees to reach out to you if they have questions or concerns. This will help you strengthen your relationship with others, encourage vulnerability, and show them that you care about them and how you feel. In turn, they will feel more comfortable knowing their voices are heard and valued. But you also want to take action — listening to your employees’ concerns and suggestions is important, but if you want them to continue to communicate with you, ensure that you hear them by making changes in the workplace to accommodate their needs.
Create Professional Development.
Employees who strive to perform better and learn more make for better team members, and when you provide opportunities for them to grow, you’re not providing them with an exit plan — you’re giving them an incentive to stay. Create clear and organized professional development opportunities, be they monthly workshops or opportunities for higher education. Your employees will feel supported in their personal goals, and you will retain talented, knowledgeable employees.
Ensuring that your team members can grow within the organization as well as in their personal lives will nurture your relationships with them and is one of the reasons for the importance of professional development. Your employees will be able to stay updated with the latest trends and feel more involved with the company.
On top of creating monthly workshops or opportunities for higher education, you can also create internal mentorship programs. This will encourage your employees to feel more involved within their work community and provide them with a higher level of happiness and satisfaction at their job. Check out these businesses that are using mentorship programs and how it’s positively impacting the company as a whole.
Improve Perks.
This seems vague, but employee perks go beyond dental benefits and pizza parties. Look for ways to strengthen your team’s bond while improving the benefits they get for working for you.
If your team is suffering from a lack of engagement and struggling to create team building goals, incentive programs could help boost their motivation, productivity, and team morale astronomically. These programs can come in many forms: health reimbursements, additional time off, more work flexibility, reward programs, free gifts, and more.
For example, if your company loves a local sports team, host a yearly outing to one of the games. This is a chance for your employees to bond while also providing a perk they will love! Another example could be providing more personal days. This is a great idea for remote workers or employees with young families! To find what works for your business, search within your current culture to find clues about what employees want. (Or, create one of those surveys we mentioned!)
Perks can make your company unique and boost your retention rates and recruiting potential. They can also give potential employees insight into your company’s work culture and values. While improving your perks will help you stand out to potential employees, it can also impact your current employees. About 68% of employees stated that workplace perks are just as important as health care coverage, 401(k)s, and other traditional job benefits.
It’s important to note that company perks shouldn’t be the only strategy you’re implementing to improve company culture. You don’t want to use these rewards and incentives as a way to cover up or bandage poor company culture. Instead, perks should be used to show that you value your team and reward them for their contributions, hard work, and dedication.
Overall, the benefits will pay off tremendously when you keep your company culture top of mind and implement improvements to help you and your team at work. In 2023, look into your company’s culture and see what you can improve on. Communicate with your team and see what would be helpful to them and their colleagues. Then, make those adjustments to set your company up for success.
If you’re looking for more ways to nurture relationships with your employees, customers, and other businesses, look no further. Our Nurture Report is full of expert tips, tricks, resources, and strategies to help you boost your business. Fill out the form below to download your FREE copy today!
Recent Comments