It’s plain to see that a great work environment with a positive culture helps keep employees happy and productive. Alternatively the dangers of a negative corporate culture can be very harmful. Such impacts can include high turnover, a poor reputation, difficulty recruiting, and overall stressed and unproductive workers. So, what does positive work culture really look like in a modern economy? And do you know where your company sits in the bell curve of company culture?
Here’s how to grade your company culture, and how to improve it if needed.
Here’s how to grade your company culture, and how to improve it if needed.
Evaluating Your Company Culture
Too many businesses make the mistake of thinking that everything is fine when it comes to office morale and culture. But the best way to evaluate that is actually to ask your employees for feedback on their perceptions and experiences. Make it easy for them to offer suggestions and provide information anonymously so that you can receive unfiltered and more valuable information. Another way to evaluate your company culture is to actively compare your offerings with that of your competitors. If you don’t bother to invest in team building or staff appreciation, training, or other experiences, chances are that you are falling behind other companies in your industry. Consider the following:- 70 percent of United States workers feel they are not engaged at work.
- Companies with engaged employees earn 2.5x more revenue than companies with low engagement levels.
- Only 12 percent of employees leave their company because of money. Instead, company culture is the primary culprit for turnover.
Raising Your Company Culture
If you find your own company culture to be lacking, there are a number of things you can do to bring your workers together. Start with the basics, like workplace safety, appropriate compensation, and staffing levels to address the most basic morale issues. But don’t stop there. Good enough is not good enough these days. Here are a few more advanced strategies and team building tools to help your company raise your own culture for positive change.- Embrace flexible work options – More and more companies are learning that by trusting their employees with more flexibility in the workplace they are able to be more productive and build stronger corporate cultures. Consider offering remote work options, flexible schedules, unlimited PTO, and extended parental leave to really get employees on board.
- Increase corporate communication and transparency – Employees want to know they are part of the work effort and the success of the company they are invested in. And that means being looped in on high level communications. Providing more of an unfiltered view of the business decisions that will impact their lives will help build trust and increase morale for a stronger corporate culture.
- Focus on building better teams – Team building might seem like a bit of a throwaway expense, but the fact is that the people we work with have a huge impact on the success of a business and the overall morale of a group. Culture is about people, so be sure you invest in the success of your teams by giving them the tools and opportunities they need to bond and work better together.
