You can’t run your business on your own. While you should be paying your staff the wages they’re worth, your staff will not be at their fullest potential unless they feel like they’re a part of a committed and united team.
Here are seven secrets to creating a great company culture:
1. Have a Great Mission Statement
It’s easy to create mission statements that only appeal to your customers.
But what would this say about your company’s core values? That customer satisfaction and profits are the core priorities? That you’d do whatever it takes to drive profit, regardless of your team’s welfare?
Create a positive attitude towards teamwork by having a mission statement that concisely states your company’s goals towards both your customers and your employees.
Showing that driving profit isn’t the only goal will have your team feel more appreciated and motivated to bring you success in the long run.
2. Know the Difference Between Training and Development
Last year, a national study on employee outlook conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that only 35% of those surveyed believed their managers coached them on their job.
That means 65% don’t feel as though they have been properly trained on their job. So they may not be working as effectively or as efficiently as they could be.
Similarly, 24% strongly believed their jobs did not give them opportunities to learn and grow.
The easy solution would be to provide your staff with the relevant training, but this wouldn’t necessarily raise morale and productivity in the long run. Go beyond this by actually knowing the difference between training and development.
Typically, businesses train employees to do something, and the employees use their newfound knowledge to help grow the business.
But learning shouldn’t be something you give to your employees so they can help you increase profits.
It should be something you invest in to help your staff become better. Your team becomes more valuable as a result.
3. Encourage Two-Way Communication
It’s important to have a healthy relationship between you and your employees because listening to your staff nurtures a sense of shared responsibility for the company.
It might sound obvious, but it’s all too easy to become too engrossed in driving profits and not realize that you’re neglecting your employees’ well being.
Ensure that you’re taking into account all of your team’s feelings, whether they’re positive or negative.
Your staff will appreciate that you care about how they feel, which will create a positive company culture.
4. Create a Connection Between Company Goals and Employee Goals
Working with a united vision is incredibly satisfying. It becomes even more so when your team realize that they’re not just fulfilling your business’s goals, but also their own.
But it’s not always a case of raising wages and adding more perks to the job. If you want your company’s success to extend out into the long term, create and boost employee motivation by tying your company’s successes to your employees’.
Perhaps one of your employees wants to start their own company in the future. Maybe another wants to move up the ranks and get a managerial position at your company.
Show your staff that your company can nurture their future by providing them the skills, benefits, and rewards they need. This creates intrinsic motivation, which is a mighty force.
5. Let Your Staff Make Their Own Goals
This one might sound strange at first. If your employees are setting their own goals, then who’s to say that they won’t go off track?
On the contrary, the point isn’t to set them loose. You should empower your team to define their own goals and evaluate their own performance.
The same CIPD study found that 46% of those surveyed started looking for new jobs because they wanted to increase job satisfaction, and 31% wanted to reduce stress at work.
If you allow your staff to set their own goals and drive at work, tasks become less of a chore and your employees will see goals as more of a stepping stone instead of an obstacle.
And the result? They’ll be less stressed at work and be more motivated to try harder, which is a win for them and a win for you.
6. See Failure as a Positive Thing
Many of us don’t try new things because we’re scared to fail. That applies to all aspects of life, especially work.
If you come down hard on your team members because they’ve tried something new that failed, you’ll be discouraging initiative. They will be reluctant to try anything new in the future, which might lead to your company’s strategies becoming dry and outdated.
Instead of scolding employees who haven’t succeeded, take the opportunity to pull together ideas and solutions as a team. This makes sure everyone learns, and can improve for next time.
This shows your staff that it’s okay to take chances, be innovative and fail. It will also encourage teamwork and increase job satisfaction.
7. Consider Having a Defined Dress Code
Having a dress code or a uniform can go a long way in helping to create a great company culture. Invest in high quality, smart uniforms and workwear that represent your company’s values and branding.
That way, you can be sure that customers, potential and current, will see all of your staff at their best.
But it’s not just about appearances. If your team feels smart, they’ll want to work harder. They’ll feel appreciated that you put thought into their appearance. And when everyone is dressed the same or similarly, they tend to feel more like a team.
Of course, there are certain regulations you have to abide by, from health and safety to avoiding gender discrimination.
But on the whole, a uniform or dress code represents your team’s shared vision for the company and helps to boost morale.
Success and Unity
The key to a business’s success isn’t just its strategy and innovation.
It’s important that you start at the core – your employees. Create a great company culture, make your employees feel valued, supported and satisfied and you’ll find that they’ll be working at their best – as part of a united team.
How Do You Create a Great Company Culture?
If you have ideas you feel like sharing that might be helpful to readers, share them in the comments section below. Thanks!
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