Building a great workplace culture and marketing it correctly is key when it comes to both recruitment and retention.
It’s one of the most expensive processes any business will go through, so it makes sense that, once you’ve hired the right people, you want them to stay!
A great workplace culture is essential in attracting the best people and ensuring that they stick around for the long haul.
In this blog, we’ll run through the 6 benefits of building great workplace culture, and our 8 top tips to help you improve your culture.
The benefits of a great workplace culture
1. Employee engagement
If people want to work and enjoy their time at your business, then employee engagement levels will go up.
Engaged employees are more enthusiastic, committed, and motivated, just the kinds of people you want in your employ!
2. Talent acquisition
Businesses that are renowned for their great workplace culture naturally attract the brightest talent.
On average, we spend 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime. That’s 3,750 days, or 10.2 years. If we’re going to spend that much time at work, then top talent is going to naturally gravitate towards workplaces that are engaging and offer them genuine opportunities.
3. Improved productivity
Happy employees are more productive. They feel a sense of purpose, and are inspired to do their best.
Positive workplace cultures also encourage collaboration, further improving productivity.
4. Bolstered creativity
When employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts without fear of criticism, you’ll start to see more innovative solutions than ever before.
More creativity can only benefit your business, win-win!
5. Better wellbeing
A great workplace culture places a strong emphasis on employee wellbeing, including physical and mental health.
Employees who feel their wellbeing is valued are generally happier, healthier, and less stressed.
6. Reduced staff churn
High staff turnover costs your business a fortune.
Positive culture = boosted job satisfaction and more loyal employees. This means that people are less likely to leave, saving you time and money in the long run.
Different teams require different inter-workplace cultures
We’re about to talk about how you can create a better workplace culture, however, before we get to that, it’s worth addressing that different teams require different inter-workplace cultures.
Teams will naturally form their own micro-cultures, and that’s absolutely fine. Your best bet as a business owner/director is to work on the overall culture of the business and allow the rest to happen organically.
These micro-cultures will react to changes in the business differently, so it’s essential that you have a good understanding of everyone who works at your business, both as individuals and as a whole.
Bear this in mind when approaching culture shifts.
How to create better workplace culture
So, without further ado, let’s jump into our tips about creating a great workplace culture.
Define your values
In many organisations, who they are and what they believe in isn’t clearly defined.
If this sounds like you, then a good place to start is by defining your company’s core values. These values will serve as the foundation of your culture, so it’s really important to get this sorted before you crack on with anything else.
Lead by example
Your senior leadership staff need to be onboard with any culture shifts, as they set the tone for the entire business.
Leaders should embody the values and behaviours you’re trying to instil; nobody’s going to follow if leadership isn’t on board.
Communicate clearly and fairly
You’ll never have the respect of your employees if you don’t communicate honestly, clearly and fairly.
Transparency is key when looking to build a positive workplace culture. Share the company’s mission, values and goals with everyone, but don’t dictate – communicate; it should be a two-way conversation – solicit opinions from everyone in the company, from the bottom to the top.
Consider forming a culture committee or hold focus groups to brainstorm ideas, and make sure you implement them and share how you’ve done so. Generally speaking, people appreciate being listened to and seeing their suggestions actioned.
Empower and trust your employees
Micromanaged employees never last for a long time.
People want autonomy at work. You’ve hired them for their skills, you need to trust them to crack on and take ownership of their outputs.
A culture of trust will permeate across teams – if you trust your management to do their jobs, they’ll trust their teams and so on.
Promote diversity and inclusion
You should foster an environment where all employees feel valued and respected. Encourage diverse perspectives and experiences in decision-making processes.
Diverse opinions will always contribute positively to your workplace culture.
Provide professional development opportunities
Stagnant employees leave businesses, it’s as simple as that.
You need to support continuous learning and growth. We recommend offering:
- Training
- Mentorship programmes
- Opportunities for career advancement
- Create attainable goals and KPIs
If you map out how an employee’s journey with your business will look, they’re far more likely to persevere when times naturally get tough.
Don’t neglect work-life balance
Always encourage a healthy work-life balance. It’s so easy for employees to slip into habits of overworking. It’s your job to ensure this doesn’t happen.
Provide flexible working options, reasonable working hours and policies that support ongoing wellbeing.
Overworked employees will burn out and productivity will dip – something we want to avoid at all costs!
Recognise and reward great work
Recognising employee accomplishments (both internally and externally) goes a long way towards boosting workplace culture.
Celebrate:
- Successes
- Milestones
- Role developments
Not only will it boost motivation of the individual involved, but it can also help to boost morale across the business, as others aspire to achieve similar things.
Got a great culture? Now it’s time to market it!
Once you’ve built your culture to where you want it, you need to market the fact!
Just like you’d market your business brand to potential customers, you need to create a great external employer brand that can be used as a powerful recruitment resource.
That’s where Catalyst come in. Our team of branding experts work closely with businesses just like yours, creating employer branding resources that you can use to attract better prospects and demonstrate to your customers/clients that you take employee wellbeing and satisfaction seriously.
