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In past posts, we've explored various angles of the modern-day company culture and the importance it has in the workplace. But how do you actually go about creating or improving a company’s culture? With millennials taking over the workplace, company culture has continued to shift and many top company leaders have noticed.
Corporate culture is the personality of a company, and includes elements such as work environment, company mission, values, expectations and goals. However, company culture isn't always positive. Corporations both big and small struggle with balancing culture with work performance. There are several warning signs that your company culture may not be as good as it seems, which directly affects employee’s attitudes and work performance.
Don’t fret! Here are some simple, straight forward methods for creating a positive culture.
CREATE HAPPINESS
This might seem overly simple, but creating happiness is critical when establishing company culture. If your employees aren’t happy, then what's the point? Unhappiness directly effects work ethic and performance among employees. According to statistics from the iOpener Institute, happy employees stay with their companies longer, commit twice as much time to their tasks and have more energy.
Employees are more likely to disengage when unhappy, which in turn decreases their capacity for creativity and critical thinking. So, take a step back and decide if your team members are happy in their work environment. If you find they aren’t, it might be time to re-evaluate and create a happy foundation.
DEVELOP A SENSE OF PURPOSE
Stemming from happiness, a developed sense of purpose is tied to an employee’s productivity and engagement. The first step of instilling purpose is setting goals. When company leaders can align employee’s performance goals to department goals, there will be a greater benefit in the long run. In addition to establishing goals, it’s important to explain the “why” behind a task or project.
Without a sense of purpose, employee’s will feel underappreciated and unmotivated. To avoid this, try communicating and rewarding behavior consistent with company values and goals. Giving people a sense of purpose – aside from making money – and aligning their personal goals with company goals will allow employees to feel their daily work is contributing to a broader purpose.
IMPLEMENT AND ENCOURAGE SOCIAL INTERACTION
All work and no play? This could be detrimental to a positive company culture. Your employees are working around the clock – they deserve to be rewarded! Encouraging your employees to take breaks and providing them with an office area to relax and hang out with one another is important to mood and concentration. After all, employees are the core of company culture and the way employees interact with one another contributes to the tone and culture of the office.
As social interaction increases, so does the respect and sense of purpose within a company. Some simple ways to promote social interaction are company retreats, lunches, volunteering, outings and other organized events. You might be surprised at what is achieved with employee interaction!
Every company is different and has diverse employees with various desires and needs, but one thing that remains the same is the need for a positive company culture. Implementing these simple steps will help to improve the overall workplace atmosphere daily. If a company can focus on creating happiness, increasing social interaction and instilling a sense of purpose among team members, there will be a noticeable increase in employee productivity and creativity.
