Why culture is so important

In today’s world, where good talent is more in demand than ever, attracting and maintaining top talent is more than a paycheck alone. In fact, a high number of employees say that it is the culture that has kept them in the role, not a pay rise or promotion. Because of this, it’s more important than ever that you create and nurture a positive workplace culture.

Positive culture leads to a number of benefits within your organisation including:

Promoting better outcomes: Staff who are happy and secure, and feel like they are valued and encouraged generally produce better outcomes than those who don’t feel this way. Ultimately this will mean success for your business, as your team will want to work together to achieve the best outcomes and results.

Less staff turnover: As mentioned previously, workplace culture is the thing that makes employees stay in a role, take on a role, or leave a role, more than anything else. We spend a large majority of our lives at work, we want to enjoy it! By creating a positive workplace culture, you’ll see less staff turnover.

More happy staff: Happy staff means a more motivated and productive team. Your team will love coming to work, and it will show in the results.

Ways to improve company culture

Worried that your organisation isn’t living up to its potential when it comes to creating a positive workplace culture? Start by assessing whether your current company culture addresses these following issues:

1. Clearly defined company goals and values

It’s imperative for an organisation to have a team working together towards one set goal. It is important to establish clear and concise company goals and values for the foundation of positive company culture. This goal should be echoed consistently during all company meetings, and discussed by team leaders. For example, when setting goals within each department, discuss how this work will contribute to the overall company goal.

By allowing your team to understand how they are contributing to organisational success, you’ll have employees who feel like they are more valued and aligned.

2. Foster positive group norms

So that your team can reach a place where positive group norms become apparent, team members must first work together to show one another respect and communicate in a way that is open, clear and honest. You must do this through effective interpersonal relationship building. Interpersonal relationships are an essential part of both our social and professional life and a key contributor towards culture. They provide sources of support and guidance, as well as inspiration through collaboration. Teams can work on building their interpersonal relationships in various ways but some examples include having safe spaces where employees can express how they really feel without judgement, by doing team-building activities outside of the office, and having constant communication amongst the team. By doing this, positive norms become apparent and teams will work together to encourage and foster one another.

3. Be open and transparent

Organisations that are open and transparent with all of their staff members, not just the leadership team, will make team members feel included in the overall decisions and direction of a business. It’s essential that an organisation includes both their successes and failures when communicating business-wide, which can lead to better decisions from individual departments when moving forward. It’s important that organisations also give their team members the opportunity to openly express their feelings and concerns on major business decisions, in a safe space free from judgement. A good way to do this is to host a weekly all team meetings where employees from all departments can inform the rest of the business on their process, with allocated time for the wider team to ask questions and make comments and suggestions.

4. Build strong team relationships

As discussed in point two, it’s vital for your team to create interpersonal relationships if they want to succeed. Teamwork is more important than ever, with many tasks and projects having multiple inputs from not only different team members but different departments. By knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses, teams can be there for one another to build up the projects and each other. Using appreciation and motivation can have a huge impact on team culture.

5. Make on-boarding memorable

Introducing a new employee to a new organisation can often be a daunting experience for your new hire. By doing things which make them feel welcome and included before their first day in the office, you can make them feel safer and more comfortable. You can do this in the form of having a quick conversation with them about what time to show up, what to wear, and telling them what their first day may look like. By creating this sense of belonging from the start, greater work will be achieved sooner.

6. Offer flexibility

We know that the traditional 9-5 day doesn’t suit all workers, and that each individual’s life outside of work is different. Many having family commitments and some are simply just at different stages of their lives. By being flexible with start times, finish teams and giving your team the opportunity to work from home when it suits them can lead to more positive outcomes. Not only does it create a more diverse workforce by catering to different needs, but it creates a space where employees feel valued and listened to. With advancements in technology and the use of the cloud, flexibility is easier than ever. In fact, pitching yourself as a flexible workplace will often give your organisation a competitive advantage over your competitors, as many candidates are naming it as a factor when choosing a career path.

7. Listen to feedback

We can’t stress this point enough! Your employees are the most important part of your company, and it’s vital that you listen to what they have to say. Not only do your employees need to see that they are valued, but listening to employee feedback is a great way to improve things internally. Because the leadership team might not be on the ground working on specific projects, by listening to your team you’ll hear issues that might not be so obvious, meaning you can squash them before they become a deciding factor in your staff leaving your team, or they have a negative impact on your culture. Taking feedback is a great way to find underlying issues and strengths and builds your team culture.

Are you ready to improve your workplace culture?

We live in a world where the fight for talent is more prominent than ever. Candidates need to connect with more than just the job description. They want a culture that fits with their beliefs, ways of working and makes going to work each and every day an enjoyable experience. Culture can make or break your workplace, impacting your productivity and overall morale, and will reduce your overall employee turnover.

Want to learn how technology can improve your candidate experience? Learn more here. Or request a demo here.