Company culture will affect your companies reputation and more as millennials now make up a more substantial part of the workforce. They demand a decent work environment.
Not to mention that whenever one company’s culture becomes toxic, there are companies elsewhere that have bean bag chairs in the lounges and catered lunches.
Allow Your Staff to Express Sweet and Bitter Feelings Openly
The struggle that every company experiences with their culture is division.
Whether it’s the division of departments, functions, or management v. non-exempt staff, a division is the destroyer of any good company culture.
To create a forum for every employee you need to take the ideal situation and moderate it for the likelihood of unintended mishaps. While creating an entirely open floor where anyone can speak their mind is a great idea, someone will take advantage and say inappropriate or hurtful things.
Instead of taking that risk, try this! Create a living message or comment board, full of insightful notions of appreciation and quotes regarding hardship or strife.
How does this work and what will you need? On a leaf, apple or another template that fits in with your motif, write out a few words that offer a blanket feeling or statement.
Some offices have used candy (for the sweet) and grapes (to express sour feelings).
You might use comments such as:
- “I feel my words are heard, but no action is taken.”
- “Thank you for making the appropriate changes.”
- “Remember that workplace culture depends on personal growth and professional development.”
Then display every “comment” available in front of the wall. Employees may walk by and hang their pre-written comments without fear of offending anyone, or that their boss will think they’re uselessly complaining.
Sometimes, a person needs to let out that they feel that something didn’t work out the way they were hoping.
Not every complaint is a call to action, just the same way that not every compliment leads to a promotion.
Have space for your staff to express their feelings. You can take the information and run with it from there.
Read also: Keep Your Company on Track by Finding What It Lacks
Define and Identify Company Value
This doesn’t sound new, exciting or creative at all, but wait!
Most companies have the “company values” emblazoned on the walls in various shades of green, blue, or red.
But, does your company do more than merely lay claim to their values? Who at your work sets an example of how your company hopes to operate?
Set up voting booths for your staff to vote on who best embodies each of your companies’ values.
Let people write in who is “most dependable” or “most committed” or whatever your company holds in high regard.
By allowing people to write in who they believe fits the bill, you can not only declare a winner by majority vote but also keep an eye on your other shining stars.
Everyone appreciates acknowledgment for how they fit into the company’s bigger picture.
Reassess the Processes and Workplace Regularly
With processes and procedures in place, a workplace can quickly be overburdened with monotony and resentment.
But what happens when you’re given a chance to break these systems or improve them? Company culture should ring through every step of employment from hiring to retiring.
We propose a “Make or Break Day” where you can allow your staff to question and suggest improvements to current processes.
Often employees feel that their words fall on deaf ears while their complaints may give you valuable insight into a broken process.
One example solution is to use online recruiting software to save your recruiters time pouring over resumes and applications that come in from at least 5 different websites.
The only rule: you must have a solution.
Simple complaining doesn’t do any good, but you’ll be surprised at how many people come forward with creative and innovative solutions to problems you may have been trying to fix for a while now.