Company culture is vital to the success of a business. It’s a magnet for people who you surely need for your organization, as well as more talented and brilliant workers who would love a more relaxing work environment.
These awesome employees tend to perform a lot better and become less burned out because of the freedom and atmosphere offered with great company culture. When workers stay longer, this leads to a lower turnover rate, which then results in better co-worker relationships.
Improving the culture in your organization, however, isn’t easy. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to fix all the problems in company culture. You can, however, take actionable and easy steps to change the culture for the better, both in the long and short term.
Here are a few suggestions that will help you establish good company culture:
- Coach Employees
Feedback, whether formal or informal, helps workers understand how their current behaviors at work measure up to company standards. Employees should not have to wait more than three months to obtain feedback from their manager, supervisor or team leader. When workers do not receive feedback in a timely manner, it leaves them unsure if their overall performance meets or exceeds the expectations set by the company.
So, make sure that the team leaders and managers in your company are coaching their direct reports regularly. These leaders can follow the two broad types of coaching: instructional and facilitative.
Instructional coaching tends to zero in on ways of doing. The coach uses a range of more didactic teaching strategies, including telling and showing. This coaching strategy answers the question, “How should I present this data to my direct report?”
On the other hand, facilitative coaching is a strategy that aims to build internalized learning. The goal is to change not only in what the direct report does but also in their way of being in the world, including how the individual feels and thinks. The role of the manager or team leader is to provoke the direct report to arrive at new learning by evaluating and interpreting data.
- Create and Communicate Clear and Meaningful Values
Company values should be more than what typical employees would call philosophical BS. They serve as a guide for every person in the organization on how to interact with the community, customers and fellow employees.
Companies should have no more than five values. This way, the values are easy for workers to remember and understand what’s vital to the organization.
Leaders should also communicate the values along with the behaviors associated with each value. This helps employees understand company expectations, which minimizes uncertainty and aligns everyone on what people need to do at the organization.
Do take note, though, that values aren’t just for frontline staff. They apply to every member of the organization. If you want values to have meaning in your company, you’ll want to make sure that employees adhere to them daily.
- Integrate Modern Technology to Make the Job Easier
There’s no such thing as an incredibly easy job, so why make this worse for your employees? The beauty of today’s time is that you can take advantage of the advancements in technology. You can get work done with just a few clicks.
Many businesses use platforms that enable them to centralize their work, avoid communication problems and ease the workload.
A few examples of modern platforms that you can integrate into your organization are the following:
- Slack
- Skype
- Trello
- Google Apps for Business
- Jira
Your employees can use these platforms to improve project management and promote effective collaboration.
- Improve New Hire Orientation and Employee Onboarding
Here’s an unfortunate fact: 28 percent of employees resign in their first three months, according to a report from HR Dive. Your company should not contribute to this statistic.
The new hires in your company should receive an engaging, effective and welcoming orientation on the first couple of days on the job. They must also go through a well-thought-out onboarding process in the first three months on the job.
Organizations should make an effort to set up their new hires for success to make sure they feel connected to the organization, their team and the job. You can accomplish this goal by taking the following steps:
- Evaluate the performance of new hires on the first two months for ability and comprehension to make sure that they’re on the right career path
- Execute an effective and organized training program
- Make employees feel welcomed from the beginning
- Establish the right priorities on the first day of their work
Great company culture can help organizations succeed. Make sure you use this to your advantage to bring your business to the top.
