Having a thriving company culture is important. It’s a direct reflection of corporate values and employer brand. It allows you to attract and keep the cream-of-the-crop talent while retaining valuable employees. When it comes to keeping employees happy, organizations should go above and beyond. Here’s five ways the create the best company culture.
1. Establish your mission
People want to work towards something. Communicate a clear company mission that people can get behind. Whether it’s providing the best customer service possible or innovating technology, employees want to know they’re doing good work so keep the vision positive and inspiring. Make sure you believe it too.
2. Stop. Collaborate...
It’s an age-old tale Vanilla Ice has been evangelizing since the dawn of time. Collaboration leads to more productivity and a positive workplace environment. Promote collaboration by providing an open office space both spatially and interpersonally. An open-concept workspace allows employees accessibility to each other by creating more opportunities to work together. You can take this concept a step further by using project collaboration apps like Asana and Trello.
3. ...and Listen.
Ice said collaborate AND listen. If employees are going to work together, it’s important to promote active listening and management should lead by example. Host brainstorming meetings. Fully concentrate on the person speaking and their ideas and not just passively listen in order to respond. Make employees feel heard!
4. Communicate your culture!
Company culture should be evident, however, it’s not always common sense. Outline it to new employees. Define it. Live it. Clearly communicate what’s expected of each individual in their role. Many companies use poster series, weekly meetings and happy hours to remind people. Most importantly, consider culture in every decision made. From the time candidates walk in the door for their interview to their 10 year anniversary, how is culture communicated? Communicating a positive culture and employer brand is key to hiring the best talent.
5. Never stop investing in your employees.
Investing in your employees is the greatest business decision you will ever make. Employees want to grow throughout their careers and simply having the opportunity to move up the ladder is no longer enough. The more employees feel invested in, the more loyal they will be to the company. So sign off on those enrichment courses and encourage company members to take on new roles. If the budget is tight, consider gifting your team some company swag. No matter the size of the investment, you’re definitely going to see positive ROI.
Check out some of the company culture swag Sock Club has designed!