What have you done for me lately?
A winning company culture is a key driver for business success. It simultaneously attracts good employees which share the organisation’s values, and entices customers with the vibrant business personality. Facebook, Apple and Disney are all examples of corporations with memorable company cultures. But what are the specific benefits of creating an attractive culture?
- Increase staff engagement and productivity
- Decrease staff turnover, cutting associated costs
- Create a positive working environment
- Enjoy the pick of the top talent
The advantages of building a company culture are profound. But how do you go about it? At Hunter Adams, we help clients define core values and build a winning culture designed to engage staff and customers. We understand that great culture drives profit. Here are some of our top tips for improving company culture. We don’t do anything that does not have a correlation to your bottom line profitability. These services are focused on reducing cost and increasing the value of the company and not simply spending your money.
Value Your Values
You’re probably sick of hearing about the importance of company values. However, there’s a reason so much emphasis is placed on them. Defining your company values helps employees understand the reason they get up in the morning, and allows everyone to move towards a common goal. Staff need to know what the company stands for – and what part they play – otherwise they will assume management’s only driver is profit and this will lead to a cost of disengagement for your business.
Communicate
From focus groups and feedback meetings to the weekly newsletter, keeping in contact with every single staff member is really important for culture. Everyone should be able to voice their opinions and speak up when they have an idea. Good communication within a company can make employees feel valued, and a valued staff member works harder.
Tell the staff the bad news stuff too – after all they probably already know it! Talk to the staff about what they want to hear about, not what management think is interesting – ask them, even better have someone independently ask them and then you have a solid vehicle for communication.
Engagement is fairly easy – ask the staff how they feel, acknowledge their feedback, work with them to prioritise it and address the factors that would make them leave. It’s not about surveys or focus groups it’s about demonstrating that management work for staff too.
Culture is like a diet, when bad habits slip in and you stop communicating all of the hard work is undone. It’s a daily job and disengagement comes from bad management decisions so stick to the plan and reap the benefits. Learn more about company culture by chatting to an expert.
