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A positive company culture has become one of the best ways to land and keep high-performing, experienced, and dedicated employees:

  • 47% of active job seekers cite company culture as their driving reason for looking for work.
  • 46% of job seekers cite company culture as very important when choosing to apply to a company – out of a total of 88% of job seekers indicating that culture has some importance to them.
  • 35% of U.S. workers said they would decline an offer for the “perfect” job if they felt the company culture was not a good fit for them.
  • Employees who do not like their company’s culture are 24% more likely to quit.
  • Employees are 26% more likely to quit their job if they sense a lack of respect between coworkers.
  • 60% of U.S. employees would accept a job they love that pays half their current salary over a job they hate that pays double their current salary.

Source: (1)

The benefits of fostering a positive company culture are obvious. However, the modern concept of a good culture, along with effective ways to improve their own, eludes many leadership teams. But this does not have to be the case for your organization! Start by learning about desirable company culture traits and how you can incorporate them, below.

MAKE-OR-BREAK COMPANY CULTURE TRAITS

Creating an environment that motivates and engages employees does not have to be an unsolvable mystery. It’s a simple matter of prioritizing the right traits.

1-Demonstrating Mutual Respect

Relationships that lack respect on both sides are not healthy ones. Professional relationships are no different. Whether you are interacting with the CEO or the newest entry level employee, it is imperative to treat that person with respect.

This is how you – along with your peers – will (literally) lead by example. Employees look to leadership for their cues, even if they do not realize it. If they see you being respectful to every single co-worker, regardless of where they sit in the organization’s hierarchy, employees are likely to emulate you.

2-Building Strong Relationships Between Teammates

In addition to respect, a sense of camaraderie is crucial for helping workers feel like they are truly part of a team. For this reason, teambuilding is a concept that has real merit; it is not just a warm and fuzzy notion.

One excellent way to forge bonds between team members is to hold offsite teambuilding events for them. These meetings might be one day or a full work week; the length of time is not the defining factor. The purpose of these gatherings is to complete teambuilding activities. When a meeting planner picks the right exercises for your group and the meeting is managed well, these activities can be highly effective.

3-Recognizing Good Work/Valuable Contributions

Everyone wants to feel like their efforts are appreciated by their employer. And not just the end result, either. Find ways to reward the hard work that goes into assignments, not just successful outcomes.

Think about it: one employee does not necessarily have control over the entire process. If you only recognize successful end results, you overlook the good work that might have gone into a project that did not turn out well. It is not the fault of the employee who put their best foot forward.

Get creative when it comes to acknowledging your workers’ contributions. Instead of giving them the standard raise, promotion or gift card, consider incentives like:

  • A trip to an appealing destination.
  • Reservations at the chef’s table of an exclusive high end local restaurant.
  • Catered food and beverages in the company’s box at a sporting event.

These are just a few examples of the many options you have when it comes to giving employees recognition they will remember with fondness for a long time.

4-Making a Commitment to Transparency

Trust is one of the key tenets of a working environment that feels safe to employees. Taking an open and transparent approach to what is happening at the company is one of the best ways to earn the trust of workers.

Come up with a transparency plan and follow it no matter what developments might arise. The one exception is information that might be distressing to employees. In this situation, it is imperative for leadership to thoughtfully determine what the least stressful way of conveying the news is.

Do not exclude key details when sharing company information. Workers are almost certain to read between the lines and draw negative (and false) conclusions if you leave information out. Designate one or two members of leadership as contacts for employees who might have questions.

5-Supporting Employee Autonomy

Micromanaging never works well as a management tactic. It causes resentment and makes recipients feel suffocated. Instead, show employees that you trust them to do their job well. Managers should make themselves available if their team members need them, but it should be clear that you trust employees to make this call themselves. Taking a sense of ownership over their work empowers people and gets them excited for their next project.

6-Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere

The main purpose of the workplace is not socializing, but employees still notice whether they feel included or not. This is the reason why creating a sense of belonging and a welcoming atmosphere is important, even for remote workers. The more included employees feel, the more likely they are to engage with their team and their work, and to feel happy with their job.

7-Staying True to the Organization’s Core Values

If you take the time and use the resources to put your organization’s core values in writing, you need to run the company according to them. Otherwise, leadership risks looking like a hypocrite and like you do not back up your words with action. Employees are wary of leadership they do not feel is credible, so this is an impression you want to avoid making at all costs.

8-Give and Receive Feedback Regularly

Most workers want to know how they are doing and how they can improve their performance. Having goals to work towards gives people a sense of purpose and receiving positive feedback for their efforts is gratifying. These feelings both cultivate engagement.

Leadership must also be open to receiving feedback from their employees. It goes back to the mutual respect discussed earlier. No team member is better than anyone else, regardless of their title. And no one is perfect.

9-Be Flexible with Employees’ Time

Your employees have a life outside of their job. They might have kids, pets, a serious medical issue or similar circumstances that require them to take time away from the office. Give your workers flexibility to take care of matters in their personal life. Taking a couple hours off or a full week off will not prevent good employees from getting their work done well. In fact, they might even produce better results because they are not distracted by loose ends in their personal life. Furthermore, employees will remember and appreciate the flexibility you showed them.

10-Make a Significant Investment in Company Culture

It’s not enough to include details on a website to attract and retain talent; your organization needs to live it. Leadership should put time, energy and money to demonstrate that what exists in writing is echoed in real life. Show employees that you are investing in building a positive company culture and do so continuously. This is not an annual or quarterly endeavor; building and strengthening company culture is an initiative you should work on year-round.

A BETTER CULTURE LEADS TO BETTER PERFORMANCES

What you will get out of your company culture is what you invest in it. When you make the effort to work on your culture and involve your employees in the endeavor, you will motivate them to work harder and encourage them to contribute. Engagement levels will rise and successful outcomes will increase.

 For more information about planning an effective teambuilding meeting, contact Gavel International to learn about how outsourcing can help streamline your process.

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SOURCE(S):

1 https://builtin.com/company-culture/company-culture-statistics

Jim Bozzelli
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